Engaging American Novels: Lessons from the Classroom

In today’s world, in which reading is sometimes considered passe and visual literacy rules, urging students to read novels can be a truly demanding task. But the ability to help students find novels engaging is a mark of an exceptional teacher. This collection focuses on ten frequently taught American novels, both classic and contemporary, that can help promote such engagement: Of Mice and Men; Out of the Dust; The Great Gatsby; Adventures of Huckleberry Finn; To Kill a Mockingbird; The Bluest Eye; The Outsiders; The Chocolate War; Their Eyes Were Watching God; and Bless Me, Ultima.

This collection opens with large ideas about reading texts, written by highly respected leaders in our field: Sheridan Blau, Carol Jago, Jeffrey D. Wilhelm, Robert E. Probst, and John Noell Moore. Their brief but bold arguments challenge teachers to think about how students best engage with texts, especially novels. The following chapters provide specific lessons, written by classroom teachers who have successfully taught these novels. Each lesson is an effective model for classroom use that you can adopt and adapt to meet your and your students’ needs.