Literature Teaching Guides

Teach literature with classroom-proven resources that fit your curriculum, your schedule, and your students.

Preparing a literature unit can be challenging. There are assessments to develop, lessons to write, activities to create, vocabulary to define, and so much more. Searching online for ideas can be frustrating because you never know what you’re going to get, and reworking other teachers’ lessons can be just as time-consuming as starting from scratch.

More than 50,000 teachers have used Prestwick House Literature Teaching Guides because they know that when they pick up a Prestwick House Guide, they’re getting the best premade lesson plans on the market, saving valuable time, and building fun, effective, and creative units their students will love.

Each Prestwick House Literature Teaching Guide takes a unique approach to teaching literature—whether you’re introducing literary theory or encouraging students to draw personal connections to the text—and they’re easy to integrate into your curriculum.

All of our Literature Teaching Guides are available in print, as well as downloadable PDF files. And when you buy a downloadable PDF, you'll save $5!

Find the Right Literature Teaching Guide for Your Classroom

Not sure which guide is right for your next literature unit? Start here. Whether you're looking to encourage personal reflection, challenge advanced learners, or simplify lesson planning, there's a Prestwick House resource made just for you.

I want a complete literature unit that saves me hours of prep time.

Try Literature Teaching Units. Each unit includes a chapter-by-chapter study guide packed with vocabulary lists and questions about the book’s elements, essay and discussion topics to drive classroom conversations, plus an end-of-unit assessment.

If you’re looking for more challenging lesson plans, AP Literature Teaching Units may be a better option.

I want students to better connect emotionally with the books we’re reading.

Use Response Journals. These engaging resources prompt students to reflect on literature reading in a personal, meaningful way. With one or more questions for every chapter and a multiple-choice comprehension assessment at the end, Response Journals support reading comprehension while encouraging deeper thinking.

I need hands-on exercises that get students excited to read.

Check out Activity Packs. From creative projects to collaborative games, these premade lesson plans for literature units go beyond plot recall and help students analyze texts through engaging, student-centered activities.

I’m teaching a book for the first time and need a variety of materials in one place.

Choose Complete Teacher’s Kits. Each all-in-one kit includes a Literature Teaching Unit, Activity Pack, and Response Journal—everything you need for a full literature unit with multiple ways to reach every learner.

I’m teaching an AP Lit class and want college-level materials.

Go with AP Literature Teaching Units. Modeled after the AP Literature and Composition exam, these advanced teaching guides include rigorous literature lesson plans, reading comprehension exercises, and analytical writing prompts to help students build mastery.

I want students to think critically about the text using different literary lenses.

Use Multiple Critical Perspectives Guides. These literature units introduce students to literary theory—Feminist, Marxist, Psychoanalytic, and more—through activities and assessments that encourage deeper literary analysis.

I need to support students at multiple skill levels.

Try Levels of Understanding Guides. Organized using Bloom’s Taxonomy, these guides help you scaffold lessons and discussions at multiple levels, from comprehension to evaluation.

I want to build a focused mini-lesson around a short story.

Download Instant Short Story Packs. These packs include ready-to-use literary analysis activities for popular short stories. Plus, as a digital-only resource, they’re available immediately after checkout, perfect for when you need a last-minute mini-unit or a lesson plan for a substitute!

Learn more about teaching great works of literature in your classroom.