Colorado 6th grade reading list

Only 3 titles are cited to Colorado for 6th grade: A Work in Progress, Dogtown and Fowl Play. The other 718 books on this page are grade-appropriate titles from national reading lists and awards, not Colorado assignments. Each book shows its reading level and a cited source. Lexile levels on the list run from 410L to 1120L.

Top Colorado 6th grade pick: A Work in Progress by Jarrett Lerner — on 1 Colorado list

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Books on this page721Cited to Colorado3Lexile410L–1120LSourceColorado Academic Standards✓ sources cited per book

Most-assigned on state lists: across every US state’s official reading and award lists, the Middle (6–8) titles appearing in the most states are The Giver (20 states), The Hunger Games (14 states), and Ground Zero (8 states). From our 2026 study of 13,258 source-cited assignments (as of 2026-07-13).

Our pick to start — most-cited for Colorado 6th grade

These are the 3 titles named in Colorado’s own curriculum documents for this grade — everything below is the wider national list. Read against the Common Core Appendix A complexity band; reading level is not thematic maturity, and several sit below the band because they are assigned for discussion.

  1. A Work in Progress

    Jarrett Lerner

    Cited in 1 Colorado curriculum document, taught from grade 4 to 8. Covers mental health, identity and resilience.

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  2. Dogtown

    Katherine Applegate & Gennifer Choldenko

    Cited in 1 Colorado curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 6. Covers friendship, perseverance and humor.

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  3. Fowl Play

    Kristin O'Donnell Tubb

    Cited in 1 Colorado curriculum document, taught from grade 3 to 6. Covers mystery, family and grief.

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3 books cited for Colorado 6th grade

Assignments tied directly to Colorado’s Colorado Academic Standards with a Colorado-specific citation.

718 additional grade-appropriate books for 6th grade readers

The 721-book total above includes 3 titles with direct Colorado citation; these 718 additional titles cover 6th grade in the broader canon. They don't have a Colorado-specific citation yet but are commonly taught at this level.

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Teacher or librarian? Print this list as a checklist — free to photocopy for your class or library (details).

Other Colorado grades

5th grade · 7th grade · 4th grade · 8th grade

Reading lists by grade (all states)

5th grade · 7th grade · 4th grade · 8th grade

Same 6th grade in other states

California · Texas · Florida · New York · Pennsylvania · Illinois

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About the Colorado 6th grade reading list

This list combines books cited in Colorado Academic Standards with books from national sources that list titles for 6th grade: the Common Core State Standards (ELA), plus awards such as the Andre Norton Award for Middle Grade & Young Adult Fiction, the Golden Kite Award and the Newbery Medal. ReadingList currently tracks 721 titles for 6th grade in Colorado, of which 3 carry a direct Colorado citation and 718 are grade-appropriate titles whose reading level overlaps 6th grade. Across the list, Lexile measures span 410L–1120L.

6th grade sits in the 6-8 grade band, where students are middle-grade readers. At this stage the emphasis is on analyzing theme, character, and author's craft across full-length novels and their first classics. Assigned reading skews toward full-length novels, plays, memoir, and frequently-challenged contemporary titles, with text complexity that, per Common Core’s Appendix A reading bands, typically falls around roughly 700L to 1010L. Measured against that 925–1185L range, of the 56 titles here with a Lexile score 8 are grade-level, 48 are more accessible (often assigned for theme over challenge), and 0 are stretch texts that may need scaffolding. Because readers in a single 6th grade classroom can span several hundred Lexile points, this list is best read as a starting point rather than a fixed requirement.

Colorado’s English Language Arts requirements are set by Colorado Academic Standards (cde.state.co.us). Most states pair their own standards with the Common Core text-complexity framework. The 6th grade list below blends Colorado-specific assignments with widely taught national titles. Every title links to its primary source on the book’s detail page, so you can confirm exactly where and why it is assigned.

How to use this list:match a title to your child’s most recent Lexile or guided-reading level rather than to the grade alone. Teachers building a 6th grade unit can pair a Colorado-cited core text with a grade-appropriate companion novel; parents previewing summer or supplemental reading can check each book’s content notes and challenge history before assigning it.

Common questions

What books do 6th grade students read in Colorado?
Books with a Colorado-specific citation for 6th grade include A Work in Progress, Dogtown and Fowl Play. Individual schools and districts choose their own titles, so check with your child's teacher for the exact list.
How many books are assigned to 6th grade students in Colorado?
This list has 721 books for 6th grade students in Colorado. 3 of them have a Colorado-specific citation; the other 718 are grade-appropriate titles from national reading lists and awards, not Colorado assignments.
What's the Lexile range for 6th grade reading in Colorado?
Lexile measures across the 6th grade Colorado reading list range from 410L to 1120L. Books without a published Lexile (poetry, drama, picture books) are not included in this range.
Where does this reading list come from?
Colorado-specific entries reference Colorado Academic Standards (published at www.cde.state.co.us). The other books come from national sources that list books for 6th grade: the Common Core State Standards (ELA), plus awards such as the Andre Norton Award for Middle Grade & Young Adult Fiction, the Golden Kite Award and the Newbery Medal. Each book's page links the primary source for every listing.

Reading guides for parents

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State-specific entries sourced from www.cde.state.co.us. National references cited on each book’s detail page.

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