Literature can affect students in powerful ways—from fostering a lifelong love of reading to expanding their world view.

At Prestwick House, we’re here to make sure you have the tools necessary to keep literature alive in your classroom. Below, see which of our programs and resources can help you solve some of the most common challenges of teaching literature.

My school can’t afford enough books for each of my students.

Budgetary constraints shouldn’t bar students from reading great works of literature, which is why we created Literary Touchstone Classics. Starting at just 99¢ per copy, these high-quality editions of beloved texts are available for more than 75 different titles, including Romantic and Gothic literature, Greek dramas, and the works of Shakespeare.

Speaking of Shakespeare, many of my students struggle with understanding the Bard’s complex language.

Not to worry! Our Side By Side editions of Shakespeare’s classics may be a great fit. These books present both Shakespeare’s original text and a modernized translation in a parallel format, encouraging your students to better understand each play without feeling overwhelmed by the sometimes daunting language.

Preparing a new literature unit from scratch takes way too much time.

Say goodbye to hours and hours of tedious prep work! Prestwick House Literature Teaching Units have everything you need to teach a work of literature, including grade-appropriate reading objectives, discussion and essay questions, a chapter-by-chapter study guide with vocabulary and reading questions, and a summative assessment.

There’s not enough time in my class schedule to help students both prepare for the AP* Literature test and dig deeply into the texts I’m teaching.

While we can’t control time (we wish!), we can help you manage the balancing act between AP Literature test preparation and in-depth text analysis. AP Literature Teaching Units will help you guide your students through close readings of famous literary works. Each title-specific Unit includes clear academic learning objectives, a chapter-by-chapter study guide, comprehensive discussion and essay prompts, and free-response and multiple-choice questions modeled after those found on the AP exam.

My students need scaffolding to move from simple comprehension to deep analysis of the texts we’re reading.

Consider trying Levels of Understanding, our literature program based on Bloom’s Taxonomy of the cognitive domain. Each title-specific book in this series breaks down complex questions and themes into smaller parts so that students develop the skills needed to evaluate literature critically and with increasing independence.

My students need to analyze literature from a variety of perspectives.

Our aptly-named Multiple Critical Perspectives guides are the best match for your students in this situation. Each title-specific guide introduces your students to three of six critical theories—Archetypal, Feminist, Freudian, Marxist, Formalist, and New Historicist—and provides activities to examine the work from each perspective. This format is sure to help students at any level think about what they are reading in new and interesting ways. 

I need more variety in the types of activities my students complete while studying a book.

Check out our collection of text-specific Activity Packs, available for over 150 titles. Each ready-to-use resource contains a ton of creative activities for exploring a book’s literary elements, including completing charts, maps, and diagrams, writing poetry, news articles, and book reviews, conducting debates and mock trials, creating collages and comic strips, and more.

What other literature problems are you trying to solve? Leave a comment below, or email us at info@prestwickhouse.com. We’re always happy to help you find resources for your teaching needs!

*AP, Advanced Placement, and the Advanced Placement Program are registered trademarks of the College Board, which was not involved in the production of—and does not endorse—these products.