Check Out These NCTE Titles on Teaching Literature!

Stories Matter: The Complexity of Cultural Authenticity in Children's Literature, edited by Dana L. Fox and Kathy G. Short, collects a richly diverse and passionate group of essays on topics such as the social responsibility of authors, the role of imagination and experience in writing for young people, cultural sensitivity and values, authorial freedom, and the role of literature in an education that is multicultural.

Copublished by NCTE and the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, New Visions for Linking Literature and Mathematics by David Whitin and Phyllis Whitin shows how teachers can integrate a range of books to meet school objectives in language arts and mathematics. The book offers practical strategies for introducing math-related books to elementary school children and presents explicit connections to the NCTE and NCTM standards.

Studying Literature: New Approaches to Poetry and Fiction by Brian Moon applies insights from contemporary literary theory and research to a variety of literary texts, along with accessible discussions and stimulating exercises and activities to help high school students investigate the values, assumptions, and practices that underlie literary activity.

From “how-to-do-it-tomorrow” approaches to ideas on structuring a course or curriculum, Inquiry and the Literary Text: Constructing Discussions in the English Classroom will help newcomers and veterans alike make the most of student discussion and inquiry in middle school, high school, and college literature classrooms.

Literature and Lives: A Response-Based, Cultural Studies Approach to Teaching English provides an invaluable resource for teachers who want to explore how reader response and cultural studies approaches can open up new possibilities for teaching and learning. Author Allen Carey-Webb shows how to connect literature with other genres, disciplines, and topics, including film, music, politics, and history.

Looking for new approaches to teaching American literature? Making American Literatures in High School and College features essays that explore the complicated process of canon formation, including the role of anthologies; pair “classic” and contemporary texts; and examine local histories and the idea of “place.”

Visit NCTE’s online bookstore for more books on teaching literature!