What "classics" and YA novels should a high school English teacher read?

Question

I don't have much of a literature background, and am preparing to teach in the next six months to a year. I want a balance of YA and "classics." I've had a random sampling of works in undergrad, where I studied journalism, and grad school. Shakespeare and The Odyssey are covered. What else?

Answer 1

The House on Mango Street is creeping over from the YA category to "classic." Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson is a really good one. To get a good sampling of YA, I also suggest you look into some Chris Crutcher and Walter Dean Myers. My favorite of Crutcher's is Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes and from Myers it would either be Shooter or Fallen Angels. Recently, I also really enjoyed Keeping You a Secret by Julie Ann Peters.

For American classics, be sure you bone up on some standards like Gatsby and The Old Man and the Sea (or maybe The Sun Also Rises). A Raisin in the Sun never misses with high schoolers, and The Crucible sometimes hits a chord. Their Eyes Were Watching God is a must. I think Native Son is also a good one, though it is pretty racy.

For world classics, you can't go wrong with Night by Elie Wiesel or All Quiet on the Western Front. Check out, too, if you have a chance, Candide, Cyrano de Bergerac, and A Doll's House. Some also enjoy Things Fall Apart, The Good Earth, and Nectar in a Sieve. I also love Death and the King's Horseman, though I'm not sure if it's made it into the canon yet.

For British, go for Beowulf and Canterbury tales, maybe a little Dickens with Great Expectations. Throw Lord of the Flies in. Sample a little Austen, perhaps, like Emma or Pride and Prejudice. Wuthering Heights is a standard, though I don't care for it--I prefer Jane Eyre. Check out a little Shaw--I like Mrs. Warren's Profession, but you're more apt to see Pygmalion in the classroom. A little Swift is also useful, especially A Modest Proposal.

Please let me know if there's anything else you want to know! I have scads of lists and suggestions, and we haven't even gotten to short stories or poems! Good luck!

Answer 2

What grade(s)???

In high school we read (to the best of my recollection):
Romeo and Juliet*
All Quiet on the Western Front*
Catcher in the Rye*
the Odyssey*
Lord of the Flies*
I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings*
A Tale of Two Cities*
Anna Karenina
The Stranger
The Color Purple
The Great Gatsby*
The Sun Also Rises*
The Scarlet Letter*
Billy Bud
The Awakening
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn*
Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man
Frankenstein*
Hamlet*
The Canturbury Tales

*The ones with the star I consider to be "must reads."

Answer 3

The Stranger, Baeowolf, Picture of Dorian Gray, etc. Look on amazon.com or got to the library to find a list of age appropriate books.

Answer 4

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