# Teaching > General Teaching >  Help!! New to teaching British Literature!

## ccalitteacher

Ok - I majored in Chemistry in college and then went on to be a middle school/high school math teacher. I work at a private school where curriculum can be improvised to match college standards. I'm teaching 11th graders this year British Literature because they couldn't get no one else to. I am not using the textbook the school has because it is REALLY old and I have no curriculum other than pulling things off the Internet. I need some help! I don't know what to teach in Literature. We've been reading some Dickens, Beowulf, J.R.R. Tolkien just to name a few. I need any advice on what to teach. Please help! Thanks! 
Jennifer

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## Wilde woman

Hi Jennifer,
In terms of big names you're missing, you'd definitely want to include Shakespeare and Jane Austen. I was taught Romeo & Juliet first, but I've seen lots of schools start out with the hard-hitting tragedies...Hamlet, Macbeth, King Lear, or Othello. Personally, I think "As You Like It" would be a fun one to teach. For Austen, I guess most schools start with "Pride and Prejudice", though I think Emma is more fun. Maybe to shake things up a little, you could throw in Orwell's Animal Farm or 1984. From what I've seen, students respond well to dystopian lit.

Is this an advanced class you're teaching? If so, you might want to consult the AP literature guidelines. Last I remember, they don't have any required reading, but they give an extensive list of recommended authors. 

Have you done any poetry? How about some John Donne or William Blake?

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## ccalitteacher

Hey - Thanks for the suggestions. I haven't done any poetry yet, but I was hoping to at the end of the year. We have ordered the book 1984 and will be reading it next. I plan on including some Shakespeare, I just haven't decided on which piece. We only have one British Literature class, but I try to make an AP Literature because we are a college prep. school. I've looked at lists of authors, but I'm not sure which ones would be considered British authors and that would take a lot of time to look up. Once again, thank you for the suggestions. I am open to anything at this point. God Bless.
Jennifer

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## jon1jt

> Ok - I majored in Chemistry in college and then went on to be a middle school/high school math teacher. I work at a private school where curriculum can be improvised to match college standards. I'm teaching 11th graders this year British Literature because they couldn't get no one else to. I am not using the textbook the school has because it is REALLY old and I have no curriculum other than pulling things off the Internet. I need some help! I don't know what to teach in Literature. We've been reading some Dickens, Beowulf, J.R.R. Tolkien just to name a few. I need any advice on what to teach. Please help! Thanks! 
> Jennifer


No offense against you Jennifer, but I think it's a joke that your school administration has given you the task of teaching British Lit to 11th graders when your subject is science. Again, this is another example of the dysfunction running through American schools. H-E-L-L-O Americans, when are you going to wake up that your school system is a piece of crap?? And I don't even know why they have you teaching math with a chem degree. C'mon. 

Jennifer, just think when your students have to take a college lit course, or god forbid an upper level one, and have little or no idea what they're doing. It's as scandalous as the 830 Billion Dollar American Stimulus Bill.  :Rolleyes:

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## Redzeppelin

Hi Jennifer - 

Just because the lit book is old doesn't invalidate it as a useful teaching resourse in English classes - in fact, sometimes the older anthologies have better pieces in them than the new ones (for reasons I'll pass on sharing for now). Since a lit course is - by nature - a sort of "history" course based on stories, an old textbook is plenty useful and I would recommend you reconsider employing the textbook. Not only will that take care of copying expenses, but anthologies often have some good questions included.

Are you teaching in the US? 11th grade is normally American literature. It seems odd to be teaching that to juniors.

For juniors, if you're choosing Shakespeare, go with _Macbeth_. It's the shortest of the tragedies, contains no subplots and as such is easier to absorb than plays like _Hamlet_ or _King Lear_ (which should, ideally, be saved for their senior year).

If you're still stuck, PM me - I've taught English or 17 years and currently teach English 11 and AP English Literature and Composition to 12th graders. I'd be happy to send you some resources or make some suggestions if you'd like.


Good luck - you've taken on a tough job.

PS - umm...since you've only done a few posts, I won't assume you know "PM" - that means "personal message" me if you wish for more advice or suggestions  :Smile:

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## alestar89

> No offense against you Jennifer, but I think it's a joke that your school administration has given you the task of teaching British Lit to 11th graders when your subject is science. Again, this is another example of the dysfunction running through American schools. H-E-L-L-O Americans, when are you going to wake up that your school system is a piece of crap?? And I don't even know why they have you teaching math with a chem degree. C'mon. 
> 
> Jennifer, just think when your students have to take a college lit course, or god forbid an upper level one, and have little or no idea what they're doing. It's as scandalous as the 830 Billion Dollar American Stimulus Bill.


That was not helpful at all... ::insert four letter word here::

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## alestar89

Jennifer,

I would suggest you borrow from your local library either the Norton Anthology of British Literature (note that there's several volumes spanning the entire history of England) or the Broadview Anthology of British Literature. These can help you formulate a more structured course since that is basically what they are for. Often times, you will find full works already reproduced in them so you could just make copies of them or something. Also, especially in Broadview, there are some great introductory chapters to the different eras (Victorian Era, Romantic Era) and the connections with the changes British Lit has suffered throughout the ages. If you want to be more hip, you could try looking up well-known modern British authors. Go to your local bookstore and ask for help. You could also just look up names like Muriel Sparks (I'm sure there are some books that your students would love... they're witty, short and amazingly well-written). Or try modern plays: Samuel Becket, Tom Stoppard, etc.

I'm an English Major and my school inadvertently focuses on British Lit. as the underhanded specialization so if you'd like more help, more ideas or just someone else to talk things over with, I would be more than happy to do so. Just let me know!

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