Classics in the Classroom: Designing Accessible Literature Lessons » (1st Edition)

Carol Jago has taught English in middle and high school for 32 years and directs the California Reading and Literature Project at UCLA. She is currently president of the National Council of Teachers of English. Carol served as AP Literature content advisor for the College Board and has published six books for teachers with Heinemann. She has also published four books on contemporary multicultural authors for NCTE's High School Literature series. Carol has written a weekly education column for the Los Angeles Times, and her essays have appeared in English Journal, Language Arts, NEA Today, as well as in other newspapers across the nation. She edits the journal of the California Association of Teachers of English, California English, and served on the planning committee for the 2009 NAEP Reading Framework and the 2011 NAEP Writing Framework.

Reading the classics isn't easy. Students often balk at the difficult syntax, unfamiliar settings, and descriptive passages. Length alone keeps some books out of the curriculum. For a teacher to persist - sometimes coaxing, sometimes driving - requires an act of will. In Classics in the Classroom Carol Jago provides practical ideas for making these challenging texts come alive for contemporary students.

Continuing in the tradition of her popular book With Rigor for All, Jago argues that all students, not just those enrolled in honors classes, deserve to read great literature. To make this happen requires artfully crafted lessons that address specific textual challenges. In Classics in the Classroom Jago shares her lesson plans and materials for teaching:

• vocabulary
• character study
• story grammar
• literary elements
• metaphorical thinking

Jago also offers practical wisdom for helping all students learn and enjoy great literature. Simply assigning books is not enough. Teachers need an instructional plan that makes difficult texts accessible.

	Introduction
Ch. 1	Seven guiding principles for literature teachers	1
Ch. 2	All about words	21
Ch. 3	Choosing which books to teach	39
Ch. 4	How stories work	60
Ch. 5	How poems work	75
Ch. 6	Lesson design for classical literature	95
Ch. 7	Literature, knowledge, and the high school graduate	148
	App. A: Recommended classic texts	161
	App. B: Classic bestsellers	168
	Works cited	171
	Index	175