Tips to teach literature

Teaching literature can be exciting and challenging all at the same time. In a world where everything
happens in nanoseconds and kids are constantly engaged with technology, it can be difficult to get them to
engage with longer texts. It can help to introduce literature by starting with forms they're familiar with
and then working up to longer texts. Then, as you delve deeper, work on the literary elements and have
open discussions that encourage students to engage with the narrative.
1. Begin with texts they're familiar with.
When students hear "literature," they may groan at the thought, which is why it's important to hook them
with things they're already familiar with. Use song lyrics to introduce poetry or comic books to introduce
narrative structure, for instance.
For younger students, try nursery rhymes and songs. For middle schoolers, use comic books, song lyrics,
or even kid's magazines. With high schoolers, try popular song lyrics, blog posts, or short stories/novellas
that lead to movies.
These familiar texts will help bring your students into literature without as much drama.
With younger students, make sure you're picking out books that are at their reading level. They won't
enjoy reading books that they struggle with.
2. Have the students write out the main idea.
The main idea is what the story is mostly about. It's essentially the plot of the story in a single sentence.
Boiling the plot down to the main idea will help students see it better as a whole.
You can work together on writing out main ideas in class. For elementary and middle school students,
pick familiar stories, such as fairy tales or Disney movies. For high school students, try fairy tales or
recently released movies. Then, assign one for homework.
3. Teach students how themes differ from the main idea.
Whereas the main idea essentially summarizes the plot, the theme is the moral lesson or message of the
story. You might say it's why the story was written.
Use the same examples you did for the main idea and point out how the themes are different. For
instance, the main idea of Cinderella might be that a girl is treated harshly by her stepfamily and then
goes to a ball and falls in love with a prince. The theme might be "Be kind and work hard."
Stick with short, simple themes for elementary and middle school students. In high school, you can work
on more complex themes and incorporate the idea that stories can have more than one theme.
4. Create open discussions with specific, directed questions.
Avoid vague questions, making sure you give direct parameters for what you want. Otherwise, students
won't know how to respond. In addition, give students time to think about the questions before you ask
them to talk about them. For instance, you could give them 5-10 minutes to write about them before
turning it into a class discussion. Alternatively, you could send the questions home with the students to
talk about the next day. For example, instead of saying, "What do you like about the book?" ask a more
direct question, such as, "Which characters do you think make good choices? Name at least 1 character
who makes good choices and why you think they do. Are they rewarded for those good choices?" This
kind of question can work for younger and older students; just be sure to adjust it as needed to your
students' level.
5. Encourage students to talk about being accepting of different answers.
When a student throws an answer out about a theme or something that doesn't necessarily have one
answer, ask them to explore it. Get them to back up what they're saying with what they've read in the text.
For example, you might say, "That's an interesting thought. What in the text makes you think that?" By
asking students to expand on their ideas and not dismissing them outright, you encourage them to speak
up. Then, by asking them to back up what they say, you're teaching them to analyze and interpret the text.
6. Allow multiple drafts when asking students to write.
When students are learning how to write about literature, it can be difficult to get going in the right
direction. For at least the first essay, break it down into multiple drafts that they turn into you. For the first
draft or two, focus on completion and improvement, helping students learn how to write better about
literature.
7. Try cooking with younger students.
Many books including cooking or food as a main part of the story. Cooking foods or drinks you find in
the books with your class can help the story come alive for them. Plus, you'll be teaching other skills,
such as math and cooperation. For instance, try making green eggs and ham with Dr. Seuss's book or
molding chocolate for Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.
8. Let students dress up as characters.
Dressing as a favorite character in a book can help connect students to a story, particularly elementary and
middle school students. For older students, try having a party using a book as a theme. For example, you
could have a swinging '20s party after reading The Great Gatsby.
9. Break students into small discussion groups.
The more you can get the students talking, the more they'll take from the book. Discussion groups can
work for younger or older students; you just have to tailor the organization to the age group. Have
students work on common goals together that they can report on or turn in for credit.
For younger students, try assigning each student a job, such as a recorder, searcher, reader, and so on.
Give them tasks like naming characters and answering simple questions. With older students, write open-
ended discussion questions and have them jot down 2-3 of the main points they come up with.
10. Encourage students to retell the text in their own way.
Have them write a song about the story or create a play, for instance. Alternatively, they could make a
video, write a blog post, or tell the story through Tweets or text messages. Let them get creative, as long
as they incorporate the main themes and plot.
Let them use whatever technology they think is fun at the time, which changes from year to year (and
sometimes day to day).
How to teach literature skills in a language classroom
Teaching literature skills can help an instructor provide critical knowledge about a fictional text and some
helpful methods for analyzing it. When students understand how to approach a literary text, they can
develop important capabilities that can help them succeed in a future career. By learning about different
strategies for teaching this skill in a classroom, you can determine which option may work best for you
and your students. In this article, we define what literature skills are, discuss why they're important and
explain how to teach these skills with 10 different strategies.
What are literature skills?
Literature skills are proficiencies linked to reading fictional compositions, including critical thinking,
vocabulary and writing. They involve analyzing a text to understand its core themes and the motivations
of its characters, which can teach a student how to construct a narrative themselves and ask meaningful
questions about a text's relevance. Studying literature skills can also involve studying how to
communicate effectively, as a teacher may instruct a class to discuss a text during a lesson.
Why is it important to teach literature skills?
Considering the following reasons why it's important to teach literature skills in a classroom:
Develops critical thinking skills
By analyzing a fictional text, students can learn how to develop a perspective on its messages and
determine how it can relate to outside concepts. Some nonfiction authors use narrative techniques, so
literature skills can help students apply critical thinking skills in different contexts.
Offers cultural knowledge: Students can read fictional texts about people from different societies or
cultures, which can help them understand how diverse groups of people express themselves and conduct
their lives. It can help them develop empathy for people in different situations.
Provides vocabulary in context
It may be helpful for students to observe how people use new vocabulary words in a sentence. This can
also help students recall these words more efficiently and correctly in the future.
Enhances writing capabilities
Reading a fictional text closely can help students learn how language works, particularly sentence
structure and rhythm, which may help students develop their writing abilities. As a result, students might
correspond more effectively in the future or decide to become professional writers.

How to teach literature skills

Here are some key strategies for how to teach literature skills in a classroom:
1. Start with short stories
Use short stories to develop a student's knowledge of narrative principles and structure. Short stories often
have the same depth and scope as a longer novel, but a smaller word count may allow students the ability
to focus more on its details. Sharing several short stories can help you show multiple authors, genres and
styles to your class and enhance their base of literature knowledge. Consider having students reread a text
multiple times to inspire new questions about its meaning and generate new topics of analysis.
2. Focus on a story's elements
The five main narrative elements are plot, character, setting, theme and conflict. As they appear in most
genres of literature in some capacity, you can offer students an opportunity to develop a robust
understanding of their definitions and applications. Consider providing a writing or reflection assignment
alongside nightly reading homework, then engage the class in a discussion.
For example, you can construct a diagram or map that students complete with information about a story's
elements. It may be helpful for them to write notes for future reference or to prepare sentences they can
use in an essay. After they complete the assignment, you can instruct students to share their observations
with the class and spend some time adjusting their definitions if necessary.
3. Involve reading methods
Reading methods are specific frameworks and actions a person uses to find meaning in a text. For
instance, using a compare-and-contrast method involves noticing similarities and differences between
certain ideas or characters. Focusing on cause-and-effect in a story can help a student understand how one
plot component connects to another, or track a character's emotional arc throughout a text. By introducing
these methods to students, you can give them critical resources for analyzing texts and writing about their
perspectives in a future essay assignment.
4. Use engaging texts
Find texts that compel your students to discuss them with each other and analyze their story elements. To
find texts, you can ask your students to share a favorite book and align their choices with suggestions
from a textbook. There are also multiple online community resources where teachers share their students'
favorite in-class fictional books. Depending on the requirements of your curriculum, you can also
incorporate a student's favorite outside text into a daily lesson or assign homework that allows students to
make their own selections.
5. Show age-relevant media
Depending on an administration's guidelines, you can show students television shows or movies that
illustrate important ideas from fictional texts. Providing multiple media can stimulate a student's
engagement and overall interest in the learning process, which can help them develop critical literature
skills to use for future book discussions and assignments. Elementary and middle school students might
benefit from a cartoon film, while high schoolers may find value in a sitcom or fictional podcast episode.
You can also show a media adaptation of an in-class book to enhance their understanding.
6. Visualize concepts
Use a chart, graphic or drawing to illustrate important topics and themes in a fictional text. For example,
you might use a flowchart to connect one concept to another by writing them in different circles and
connecting them with lines. You can also instruct students to draw a certain scene or characters from a
text during a lesson, then have a class discuss why they depicted a scene in a certain way or chose one
image over another. Students who are visual learners or enjoy artistic expression may especially benefit
from this literature skills strategy.
7. Meet with students one-on-one
To help engage students in the process of learning literature skills, you can meet with students to
determine some constructive goals. It may be helpful to evaluate a student's literature capabilities, such as
language and reading comprehension, to determine an effective strategy for teaching them literature. You
can also discuss a favorite book, movie or another form of media to learn more about their preferences
and thought process for discussing fiction. Consider meeting with students on a regular basis to stay
updated about their progress.
8. Assign small-group discussions
Have students discuss a fictional text in small groups for a certain length of time during a lesson. It may
be helpful to offer a few guiding questions to frame their thought processes or assign a small writing
assignment for them to complete as a team. Consider pairing students who are highly engaged in class
materials with a student who's currently improving their strategies. This can encourage collaboration in
the classroom and allow students with diverse skill sets to share their resources.
9. Assign creative essay projects
Offer alternative essay projects to encourage students to improve their literature skills. For example, some
students may appreciate an opportunity to film and edit a video based on a literary concept or record a
podcast discussing critical themes, symbols or character arcs. Other students may enjoy writing blog-style
articles on a moderated website that discusses similar content. It may be helpful to assign a project using
an in-class fictional text and create guidelines with similar criteria to an essay prompt, while also allowing
students who prefer essay writing to submit more traditional assignments.
10. Host a writer's workshop
When assigning a writing assignment about a literary text, you can dedicate a part of class time for
students to review and critique each other's work. As a result, they may learn new writing strategies from
each other, discover new perspectives on the text's core messages and find different ways to analyze
different narrative elements. Students can also learn to receive and give feedback, which may teach them
how to convey their thoughts about a literary text clearly and effectively.

Open Book Exam Questions

Q. 1. Define Pedagogy, elaborating multiple factors we should consider in this context.
Q. 2. Elucidate any six of many strategies we discussed in the classroom for the effective teaching of
literature.