How to Make Literature Interesting to High School Students
Counted among the top habits that make a well-informed individual with character, reading makes for a great activity, and is among the prime habits literature teachers look to cultivate in their students.
It can be hard to interest students, particularly high school students, in literature, given the reputation classics have for being “boring”, lengthy, and hard to understand. However, using a few methods, you can arouse the interest of high school students in literature, and get them excited about reading and analysing works in the classroom.
Instructions
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Mix up your teaching style and methods. Studying literature doesn’t mean the entire class needs to be holed up in the classroom poring over long and difficult texts like the Iliad and the Odyssey. Encourage animated discussions in the classroom (you can trigger these by bringing up a particular point, and then letting the students take it from there), and ask students to read out loud. If you happen to be reading a play, for example, you can assign parts to different students. It is also important to show them that literature is not restricted to the classroom – for example, while teaching them Shakespeare, you can take the students to a theatre to see a performance of “Hamlet”, or watch a movie based on the work in class.
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Mix up the reading list. It is important to incorporate classic works in the curriculum as this offers students a glimpse into the universality of literature, and the themes that have been prevalent throughout the ages. However, it is equally important to show students how literature has evolved and changed through the ages, and the shape, influence, and relevance it has in contemporary times. For this reason it is important to have a well-rounded reading list that incorporates both the old and new – teach them Beowulf alongside the Harry Potter series, for example, or include a variety of genres, like fantasy. You can also ask students for suggestions on which works they would like to cover in class.
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Set up a reader's-theatre production to incorporate fun activities in the classroom. This can be done both with and without costumes and props. Acting out scenes from the works will help students retain the material, and develop a deeper understanding of the characters and themes. For example, acting out Caesar’s assassination scene from Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar” will help students remember the scene like nothing else.
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Encourage your class to participate in Banned Books week. This is a week which marks the celebration of the freedom of literary texts, and encourages the reading of books that have been banned at one point or another, such as "The Catcher in the Rye" by J.D. Salinger. Students are likely to be highly enthusiastic about this one, as the prospect of reading banned, controversial material has a distinct attraction to it.
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Organise an author visit. This will help students connect with the work like nothing else. Having a published author give your students a talk will help in educating them in regards to the entire process of producing and publishing literature. An event of this sort could also be a great boost for any budding writers in your class.
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