Must-teach novels are here! March is National Reading Month!
I’ve teamed up with Melissa from Reading and Writing Haven to bring you 6 Must-Teach Novels for Secondary ELA. As English teachers, we love to read and share our passion for literature.
The three novels I’ve chosen are intertwined with my teaching career, as I’ve grown personally from them and grown professionally from them. They lend themselves to various and engaging activities. Night, Animal Farm, and A Separate Peace are my must-teach novels for secondary ELA.
Night
Overview: Elie Wiesel survived unspeakable events as a Jew during the Holocaust at Auschwitz that he courageously spoke in Night.
Why I personally like it: I cry at several points in this story – every time that I read it. (I’ve probably read it fifty times.) The direct message and non-fluff syntax haunts me. The courage Wiesel shows in sharing this story also amazes me.
Best teaching moment: Seeing the impact of Wiesel’s straightforward message on my students. Years later, students return and comment on parts that still resonate with them.
I find teaching Night a personal responsibility: that the Holocaust happened and that we as humans have a responsibility to guard against it ever happening again is a profound lesson.
Night is about a hundred pages, and as Oprah once said, should be “required reading for all of humanity.”
Animal Farm
Overview: Animals throw out their tyrannical leader (the farmer) and overtake the farm. They set up a new government. A new dictator emerges. Surprise! George Orwell was talking about the Russian Revolution the entire time.
Why I personally like it: I don’t share Orwell’s completely dark outlook on governments, but I do believe that history can repeat itself.
Best teaching moment: This sounds cruel, but when the events surrounding Boxer come to a close (ahem), students are furious! Everyone loves Boxer!
To see that anger with students – walking into class and slamming down books – thrills my English-teacher soul.
A Separate Peace
Overview: Two teenage boys deal with a world war and the struggles of friendship. A lack of communication and the increasing presence of war change their lives.
Why I personally like it: The last paragraph of the book may be the most poignant paragraph I’ve ever read.
Best teaching moment: Finishing the book and asking students to turn back to chapter one. We reread the section from the adult narrator, and students see the beauty of a book truly connected.
Part of teaching literature is showing students why they can love it. This happens when I teach A Separate Peace by John Knowles. The parts that overlap (the world war, the war brewing within Gene) and the beautifully woven imagery (the worn marble stairs, the infamous tree) show students that within a novel, every line matters.
Plus, some students are passionate that (spoiler!) Finny did not need to die for the book to make sense. Students realize they can have opinions about the liberties an author takes, and that is a huge step in their analysis of literature.
It’s important as secondary ELA teachers that we remember why we became passionate about literature. In reminiscing about must-teach novels for this post, I became excited again, excited to share the fun and exploration with my students.
As it is National Reading Month, what better time is there?! I’d love for you to join us – comment below as to your must-teach novels for secondary ELA, and then pop over to read Melissa’s must-teach novels for secondary ELA.