“Which texts should I include in my course?” This is possibly one of the most exciting tasks on every language and literature educator’s to-do list! Given the vast array of choices, as well as your enthusiasm of sharing interesting texts with your students, selecting appropriate texts can feel a bit like going down a rabbit hole. To get you started, we’ve put together a curated collection of 36 engaging non-literary bodies of work.
Featuring 12 different non-literary text types – including music videos, advertisements, and comics – this highly-browsable collection is designed to support your planning process. The collection houses non-literary texts from a range of writers, producers, artists, and speakers – Christiane Amanpour, Stanley Kubrick, Scott McCloud, Brené Brown – and can be flexibly adapted to suit your students’ learning needs. For every body of work, the collection also highlights the following:
- Suggested literary works – perfect for pairing
- Recommendations for supplemental texts – YouTube videos, additional works, etc.
- Related global issues and concepts – a big help for assessments and classroom teaching
Ideas for using the resource:
- Browse the collection like a lifelong learner! Read supplemental texts to find out more about each body of work. Look for global issues that resonate with your students.
- Break students into teams. Ask each team to nominate a non-literary body of work for closer inspection. Students can present their findings to the class to build consensus.
- Look for literary works you’re interested in teaching. Browse the selection of associated non-literary texts. Try to find a pair that will be engaging for your students.
