Teaching Literature in the Context of Literacy Instruction

For English teachers, literature is a beloved natural. This passion is our strength; it can also be our Achilles’ heel, if we do not understand how to channel our passion to serve 21st century students.

Jocelyn Chadwick and John Grassie explore how the familiar literature we love can be taught in a way that not only engages students, but does so within the context of literacy instruction which reflects the needs of today’s students. They address complex questions secondary English teachers wrangle with daily: where does literature live within the Common Core’s mandates? How can we embrace informational texts in our literature classrooms? And most importantly, how can we help students recognize how canonical works are relevant to them? Their solution is to create an integrated, side-by-side blend of canonical texts with works of contemporary authors and multimedia resources which help build a bridge to literacy, and provide the here-and-now students crave today. With examples of old and new texts and resources being used together to address a myriad of themes and challenging questions, the authors illustrate how to help students make connections between the literature and their own lives. A toolbox of the authors’ most often-used rubrics, templates and teacher resources is included.