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Teaching High School Literature Successfully at Home
(Dedicated to the "Literarily Challenged")
by Scott Stein
Teaching high school literature is like all of homeschooling --- your dedication and faithfulness is essential for success, but you must have the right tools for the job.
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For those who haven't yet experienced it, homeschooling a teenager is very different from homeschooling an elementary school child—high school homeschooling is more challenging for mom and dad as well as for the teenager. To the uninitiated: you can be subject matter experts in some subjects, but most likely not all, and you'll quickly discover your limitations as you prepare to homeschool your high school student. Not to worry—you are probably more capable than you may give yourself credit for, and this is especially true when it comes to teaching high school literature.
I know what you're thinking: this guy probably has a degree in English. Ok, you're right, but even though I have a background in literature, like most homeschooling parents, my schedule (and of course my wife's) is absurdly full, so I struggled with how I was going to teach literature, given the amount of time it takes to select and prepare to teach literature. When teaching literature, you have these specific tasks:
- Determining a schedule (What to read and when?)
- "Lecturing" on (or teaching) the literature (Where are teaching notes, helps, etc.?)
- Creating tests (and how do I grade and correct the tests?)
- Assigning and grading term papers
Probably the first question you ask yourself is, "Does my teenager really need to know much about literature?" Good question.
Why Teach Literature?
Not all secular literature is desirable for Christians to read, not to mention the fact that some is diametrically opposed to the Christian faith. You have to carefully choose what you plan to teach. Consider the following benefits of teaching literature. The study of literature
- Improves vocabulary—critically important for those planning to take the PSAT or SAT.
- Expands creativity and enlightens students about the creative and writing processes.
- Develops analytical skills.
- Assists in discerning worldly attitudes/values in contrast to Christian values and teaches students how to counter those beliefs with the truth.
- Improves understanding of the English language and English-speaking cultures.
If you are as concerned about the content and/or language of some literature as I am, you can choose to either eliminate that literature from your curriculum, or you can decide to use such works of literature to work through with your teenager to help him or her grapple with objectionable themes in the context of the Christian faith. You teenager will learn to critique literature through the eyes of faith, strengthening his or her faith and Christian worldview. This is especially important for Christian homeschoolers that will attend a public university. English departments in public universities are frequently unfriendly to Christians.
Please don't misunderstand—I'm not advocating a "read anything" approach. For example, I would never recommend having your teenager read anything by an author like D.H. Lawrence (Lady Chatterley's Lover) whose themes are unapologetically sexual/pornographic. Even a novel as seemingly harmless as The Red Badge of Courage (appears on many college-bound reading lists) causes me pause, as it is written in the context of the author's philosophy/religion of naturalism (pantheism). I must confess that I struggle with what my teenager should read as a part of a well-rounded, college-preparatory education. Ultimately, we have to trust that the Holy Spirit will lead us as to which books, authors, and themes we should include in our high schooler's curriculum.
What to Read?
Prepare to be overwhelmed with suggested titles, especially when reviewing "college prep" reading lists on the Internet.
Some things to consider when making literature selections:
Exclude the inappropriate, even if they are on "everyone's" list. Some literary "works of art" are garbage (no real nice way to say it) that a Christian should have nothing to do with. Note those titles that repeat on reading lists. You can also compare these titles with reading lists from Christian homeschooling groups. Ask other Christian homeschoolers about a specific literary work if you are in doubt—use your local support group, a Christian homeschooling chat room, or at any of the many online Christian homeschooling discussion lists. Include a variety of literature—novels, short stories, poetry, drama, essays, fiction, non-fiction. Include some books that are not on the lists—Pilgrim's Progress may not show up on any college-bound reading list, but it is a Christian classic that every teenager needs to read. Take the maturity of the themes presented into account and maturity of your teenager Include literature that mirrors your teenager's interests (it motivates them to read; you'll also want to include literature they aren't interested in to make sure they can discipline themselves to do "boring" work) Consider the time of the year (seasonal reading helps increase interest) Use literature above your teenager's reading level (but don't give them reading they cannot comprehend) Pace the reading assignments to maintain interest (most people can't read Moby Dick in a week) Contact the English department of a particular college you're interested in for their recommendations of books they consider essential for success in college Have your teenager read the entire Bible more than once during their high school years even if they have done so many times already. The Bible is a good foundation for understanding English literature and used to appear on most reading lists. Without a solid knowledge of the Bible, college students cannot understand the context of most of British and American literature. SPECIAL NOTE: Some reading lists contain contemporary literary works. While there are some excellent contemporary writers, it is best to make sure that your teenager reads literary classics found on a majority of college-bound lists. Discount high school reading lists that seem to be promoting various forms of political correctness at the expense of education of the classic works of literature. Here are some sources of reading lists you can use when trying to determine what should be on your teenager's transcript at graduation:
Websites
Classical Christian Education Support Loop: 1000 Good Books List: Senior Reading Level 10-12
http://www.classicalhomeschooling.org/celoop/1000-senior.html
University of Kansas College-Bound Reading List (from Eclectic Homeschooler Online, "The Magazine for Creative Homeschoolers…Published from a Christian Perspective") http://www.eho.org/store/college_bound_reading_list.htm
A to Z Cool Home's Cool Homeschooling. Ann Zeise has many excellent homeschooling resources. Her reading list is one of them: http://www.gomilpitas.com/homeschooling/articles/122997.htm
College Bound Reading List, compiled by Arrowhead Library System http://www.als.lib.wi.us/Collegebound.html (teaching resources are available at a companion site: http://teachers.hypermart.net/links/pages via www.athomeschool.com)
Public-Library Reading Lists
City of Tempe Public Library College-Bound Reading List (an annotated list) http://www.tempe.gov/library/youth/bfcb.htm
City of Corpus Christi Public Library College-Bound Reading List
http://www.library.ci.corpus-christi.tx.us/readingroomya.htm
New York State Reading List (from a NY English Teacher) http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Ithaca/5818/booklists.html
Book:
Reading Lists for College-Bound Students (3rd edition) by Doug Estell, Michele Satchwell, and Patricia Wright, ISBN: 0764561014 (softcover) has "an annotated list of the 100 books most often recommended by colleges."
Sites That Have Lists of Reading Lists
http://www.quailhaven.com/academy/booklists.htm
http://www.homeschoolchristian.com/Library/ReadingLists.html
After deciding on what literature to assign, you then have to acquire the literature. Don't run out to your local bookstore yet—unless money is no object to you. You should research the availability of teacher's notes, lesson plans, and study guides before purchasing books (see below), as that will strongly influence your decision as to what to teach.
Acquiring Literary Works (Some for FREE!)
If you plan on purchasing the just paperback versions of many literary works, you may feel that you'll need to get a second job just to afford four-year's worth of literature. There are several options other than outright purchasing new copies of literature:
- Co-oping and sharing. Check with your local homeschooling organization and/or ask other parents for books you need. Our local organization maintains a library for members to use. Homeschooling associations could also share materials for even greater availability of literary resources (a homeschooling "inter-library loan").
- Public Library. This should be obvious, but in today's electronic world, you may forget about the local library or local college library.
- Your Personal Library. Ok, you know that you stashed away a few old classics from high school or college. If they aren't brittle from baking in the 150 degree heat of your attic, your home schooler may be able to use them. Our son thought it was kind of cool to read a copy of a book that dad and all of his aunts used in high school.
- Homeschooling Book fairs—usually have some used books for sale
- Online—homeschooling sites, book swaps
Homeschooler's Curriculum Swap http://www.theswap.com
Homeschoolinformation.com (http://homeschoolinformation.com/Resources/used_curriculum.htm)
- Discount Bookstores. My personal favorite is Half Price Books (http://www.halfpricebooks.com). For Christian books, Christian Book Distributors (http://www.christianbook.com) is excellent. I have also been successful buying used books through www.amazon.com at up to 50% off. IMPORTANT: When buying used books through Amazon or a similar vendor, check to see how many positive customer reviews there are (1000+ is a good rule of thumb) of the reseller that Amazon is hosting.
- Online Texts. You can get a great deal of literature FREE in electronic format. I like the digital format because you can't beat the price and because it can be quickly searched for certain passages, characters, events, etc. Of course, reading Shakespeare on your computer screen could become a bit tedious and is expensive to print out. For shorter works, it is probably worth the ink you'll spend to print the literature out vs. purchasing a copy of even a used book.
Sites where you can get the complete texts of many works of literature:
· Project Gutenberg http://promo.net/pg
· Bibliomania www.bibliomania.com
· Electronic Text Center at the University of Virginia Library http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/ (Extensive collection, includes foreign language texts)
· University of Texas Library http://www.lib.utexas.edu/books/etext.html
· Great Books Online, Bartleby, http://www.bartleby.com/
· The Online Books Library at the University of Pennsylvania, http://digital.library.upenn.edu/books/
· Internet Public Library http://www.ipl.org/div/books
· The Literature Network www.online-literature.com
· An Online Library of Literature http://www.literature.org
Once you've decided and acquired the texts, you're now ready to tackle the most difficult part of high school English—teaching it!
How to Teach Literature
Most homeschooling parents can handle the selection and procurement of literature without much fuss. It's when homeschooling parents actually think of teaching literature that their circuits can overload.
A Word of Encouragement—You're Already Teaching "Literature!"
If you read the newspaper, watch TV, read your Bible, read stories on the Internet, etc., you are "interpreting literature"—that is, you are trying to understand what the author is saying (the message of the story) and how he or she is saying it through analysis, deduction, reading of criticism/commentary, character study, language evaluation, etc in order to understand the message of the literature.
You grapple with, understand, and teach the Bible's truths to your children. Though our purpose for reading the Bible is to learn about God and discern His will for our lives (among many purposes!), the processes of studying the Bible and the methods of teaching about it to your children or Sunday School classes are very similar to when you teach secular literature. You need the leadership of the Holy Spirit to teach literature, especially since secular literature often challenges God by promoting what the author believes is truth.
Methodology
The same processes and methods you use when critically reading the newspaper, watching the evening news, or judging what movies and television shows you and your kids should be viewing apply to preparing to teach literature. The difference is that when teaching literature, you have to understand the message and techniques used to deliver the message in such a way as to be able to explain them and teach your teenagers how to critically approach a work of literature. If this seems threatening to you, relax—there is plenty of free teaching help online. Below are some sources that will help you teach literature.
TEACHING TOOLS:
Analysis, Criticism, Study Guides, Tests, and Term Papers
Electronic resources for teachers of English, Oxford University, England http://www.english.ox.ac.uk/special/teachers.html Oxford provides several outstanding sections of teaching tools: 1) Starting points: gateways and collections of links, 2) Teaching and learning, 3) Specific authors, periods, genres. Unlike the sites recommended below, the resources at this site are of a "scholarly" nature—great for deeper research and literary criticism. They are the kind of resources your teenager needs for term papers.
Bibliomania. www.bibliomania.com Bibliomania states that it "brings you an extensive library of reference books, biographies, classic non-fiction and religious texts." They also have a fine section on literary criticism for advanced (aka AP) teens. There is a message board for students to discuss the literature, and Bibliomania offers students additional help: "If you are really stuck, email us at answers@boards.bibliomania.com." The site is free, but you have to register. Bibliomania discusses literary works using this outlined format (these are links on the site):
Table of contents
Introduction
Biography
Background
Choice of Subject, Literary, Predecessors and Sources
Synopsis
Themes
Sample and Questions
Further Reading
Pink Monkey. Provides free "booknotes" at http://www.pinkmonkey.com/booknotes/notes1.asp, or you can buy hard copies of any booknotes on the site. Their approach is very similar to Bibliomania, but they supply two key additional parts that are very helpful for homeschooling parents: "tests and answers" and "term paper ideas." The tests can be adapted and used as part of your class, and Pink Monkey even includes the answers to the essay questions! They also offer a message board for students to discuss each work of literature.
THE AUTHOR AND HIS TIMES
THE NOVEL
The Plot
The Characters
Other Elements
THE STORY [paraphrased story with notes]
A STEP BEYOND
Tests and Answers
Term Paper Ideas
REFERENCE
The Critics
Advisory Board
Bibliography
Sparknotes. Sparknotes are available at http://www.sparknotes.com/lit and are very much like Pink Monkey and Bibliomania. They also provide short, multiple-choice quizzes that you can use. This sample Sparknotes's outline is for George Orwell's 1984. Like Bibliomania, the site is free, but you have to register.
Introduction
Context
Plot Overview
Characters
Character Analysis
Themes
Book One
Book Two
Book Three
Bookrags. http://www.bookrags.com. Bookrags's approach is slightly different from other literature study sites in that they have many links to their analysis and criticism within the paraphrased sections of the literature in addition to offering a menu of topical links. "Over 150 literature study guides include chapter summaries, character and objects, topic tracking, author biography, plot summary, and important quotes." Like Pink Monkey, they offer a message board for students to discuss each work of literature.
Big Chalk. Formerly free "Homework Central" is an excellent source of literature teaching help. They can serve as a handbook of literary terms or a literary dictionary to help you discuss the following: (from their "studying literature section") http://www.bigchalk.com/cgi-bin/WebObjects/WOPortal.woa/Homework/High_School/Literature/Literature/Special_Subjects/Studying_Literature_48289.html
· Schools of Criticism & Theory
· Allegory
· Allusion
· Analogy
· Irony
· Oxymoron
· Simile
· Symbol
· Elements of a Story: Basic Introduction
· Point of View: Intro & Types
· Setting
Many "homework help" sites like Big Chalk also provide free literature notes/study guides and analyses. Simply search "homework help" in any search engine for an abundance of sites.
Progeny Press (http://www.progenypress.com) has several good literature study guides. They are not free, but they are distinctively Christian. Sample lessons are available online.
While the previous sites will help you with teaching the literature and offer term paper ideas, they usually offer much guidance on how to assign, write, or grade a term paper. Below are some links to term paper help sites.
Term Paper Help
Teaching the Term Paper Writing Process to Students
Writing research papers (from "The High School Hub" http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/research/index.html http://highschoolhub.org/hub/hub.cfm)
How to Write a Research Paper (University of Michigan) http://ipl.si.umich.edu/div/teen/aplus/
Writing a Research Paper (Purdue University) http://owl.english.purdue.edu/workshops/hypertext/ResearchW/
A Guide for Writing Research Papers (Capital Community College) http://webster.commnet.edu/mla/index.shtml
Sample of term paper assignment http://www-geology.ucdavis.edu/~GEL36/TermPaperInst.Html
Alternatives to term papers: http://smccd.net/accounts/skylib/faclibassign.html and http://www.lib.berkeley.edu/TeachingLib/PaperAlternatives.html.
Grading Term Papers (these sites can also help you in setting the expectations for a term paper)
http://www.nmc.edu/staff/ftank/www/116s01/tpaprub.pdf (Very defined rubric)
http://www.isqa.unomaha.edu/wolcott/PaperGuidelines.htm
http://www.niu.edu/pub_ad/p326/criteria.htm
http://www.udel.edu/chem/white/teaching/CHEM647/anA.html (addresses graduate-level chemistry term papers, but has a useful outline of factors in grading a term paper)
http://silver.neep.wisc.edu/~neep602/termpaper_style.html
"Common Weaknesses of First Term Papers," http://home.cc.umanitoba.ca/~oneillbl/essayhelpweb.html
To find additional help in teaching literature, you can use a search engine to search for "study guides," "teaching aids," or teachers' sites (education portals). Just typing in the title of many of the classics will yield good results.
Teaching high school literature is like all of homeschooling—your dedication and faithfulness is essential for success, but you must have the right tools for the job. Now you have some "right tools" to get you started teaching literature to your high school homeschooler. You will be successful because you are motivated and committed to doing a good job of it. Count on it—you'll spend a lot of time reading in preparation to teach, but with the resources you have for teaching literature, you'll be successful. Teaching literature to your high school homeschooler just might be much easier than you thought.
Scott Stein is a homeschooling dad in Fort Worth, Texas who masquerades as a corporate trainer when he's not working with homeschooling stuff. Since he loves literature (and biology lab), his wife makes sure that he is an active, teaching homeschooling dad, and that's fine with him. He can be reached for questions or comments at Scottcs@hotmail.com. ©Scott Stein, 2003
