5 Ideas for Teaching Literature

In today’s world of instant gratification, bite-sized bits of information, and constant entertainment, it can be hard to get students interested in and excited about classic literature. Ideally, we would sprinkle in some contemporary texts in our curriculum. But, that’s not always realistic. So what’s a teacher to do? Change things up. Keep reading for five creative ways of teaching literature.

Connect to Current Events

We all know that this generation has a tendency – as a whole – to only engage in a text if they see the value or the connection to their own lives. Gone are the days of reading/studying something just because the teacher said to. We can bemoan this, or we can lean into it.

As I’ve mentioned in other posts (check out this one on revamping my curriculum or this one on diversity in American Lit), I’ve been moving away from teaching chronologically (at least in my American Lit classes) and transitioning to teaching more thematically using Essential Questions (EQs). One of the driving forces behind this decision was the ability to include current events. It’s hard to get students excited about analyzing the Declaration of Independence **or a Founding Father’s speech for rhetoric – but if we can tie it into a search for more rights/the stripping away of rights? Much better. In fact, it was this idea (along with an EQ Pack from Mud and Ink Teaching) that spawned our first unit in English 3 – Stories of Rebellion.

Other ideas:

Fahrenheit451 and the current push for book banning in classroom libraries
1984 and constant surveillance in the digital age
The Handmaid’s Tale and current rulings on bodily autonomy (I’d approach this one very gingerly – especially if you are in a more conservative state/district)

Use Multimedia

Let’s face it. Attention spans aren’t what they used to be. Even as adults, many of us struggle to focus on large amounts of texts at a given time. Enter multimedia. Ted Talks. Podcasts. Music videos. Film versions. Incorporating a variety of texts (yes, these count as text) is a great way to break up the monotony and appeal to all learners.

Whenever possible, I always show the film version of a text we’ve read in class. Something about seeing the events come to life seems to help cement the text in the student’s minds. Plus, it opens up great discussions about director’s/producer’s choices: Why did they leave out X? Include X? What’s with the music or the lighting or the camera angles? All of these questions force students to think critically, but they get to watch a movie, so they don’t realize they’re actually working ** insert evil laugh here**

Some of my current favorite multimedia:

Native American Virtual Field Trip and any Native American text
thematic music connections (most recently “Livin’ on a Prayer” and “Fast Car”) as well as photos with Of Mice and Men
“The Danger of a Single Story” and “My Identity is a Superpower”– pretty much any unit on identity or differing perspectives
“Half-Hanged” (Lore podcast) and The Crucible

Creative Projects

I love a good creative project. Now that I’m not teaching a state-tested grade, I have the freedom to move away from traditional multiple-choice assessments (which I’ve never really liked anyway) and move toward more choice – including creative outlets.

Yes, we still write essays and take the occasional multiple-choice quiz. However, I’ve found that students have much more buy-in – and therefore put in more effort – if they are allowed to demonstrate their understanding through creative means.

One of my favorite tools for creative projects is Canva. If you haven’t tried it yet – do it. Now. It is amazing, and new features are being added all the time.

Some creative projects I’ve used in the past:

Create a soundtrack for the text
Create social media profiles for a character
Write an alternate ending or a scene from a different perspective
Create a newspaper full of all the key information
Create a “Get Ready With Me” as a character from a text (this one was actually suggested to me by a student and it turned out really well)
Rewrite a scene but set in a different time (I do this one a lot with Beowulf ).

Give Students Choices

Choice plays a pivotal role in personalizing curriculum design and fostering student autonomy, engagement, and ownership of learning – all things that we as English teachers strive for.

Ideas for incorporating choice:

choice reading – whether as part of book clubs/lit circles or as part of independent reading. Giving students a choice in what they read results in them being more likely to actually read rather than fake it.
choice boards – I love a good choice board for final projects. I’ve defaulted to them for semester exams for several years, and I have gotten some great results. Allowing students to choose how they demonstrate mastery of a concept, skill, EQ, etc. caters to their strengths and preferences and results in more buy-in.

When students have a say in their learning, they are more likely to be motivated and invested in their educational journey. By offering choice, we optimize curriculum design and promote individualized learning experiences.

Incorporate Interactive and Collaborative Activities

Last, but not least: Make. The. Students. Do. The. Work.

Use stations. Question trails. Mock trials. Escape rooms . Hexagonal thinking. Pretty much anything that gets them talking and working together. Bonus points if the activity gets them moving (like stations or question trails) or involves competition (like being the first to “escape” an escape room).

I’ve used stations to introduce Of Mice and Men, The Crucible, Beowulf, and Their Eyes Were Watching God. Doing so allows the students to get all of the information they need without having to listen to me drone on and on. Plus, I incorporate videos, infographics, and photos – that multimedia piece. Two birds, one stone.

Prior to an end of unit assessment, I’ve used hexagonal thinking (read more about that here ) for Purple Hibiscus and The Crucible. Hexagonal thinking forces students to not only work together to create the most logical connections, but to think critically and be able to justify their decisions.