How to Pick Textbooks for a Literature Course

You know the course requirements of the literature course you have been assigned to teach and you have an outline of the topics you want to cover. Now you need to select textbooks that support your curriculum. Picking the textbook that fits your style of teaching, your curriculum and your students' needs isn't as hard as you might think.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

1. Inquire about your school's policy regarding state-, accrediting council-, and institutionally-mandated guidelines for the literature course you are assigned to teach. Most schools have expectations regarding what is included in an instructor's lesson plans. Some schools expect a lesson plan to be submitted by an instructor for approval before a syllabus is created.

2. Follow institutional guidelines to create a syllabus. Be sure it covers all the mandatory requirements.

3. Add additional elements and resources that are learning-level appropriate and that would enhance the class.

4. Look for textbooks that support the curriculum you have devised. Keep in mind the following criteria when developing your list of possible literature textbooks: your own personal expertise and teaching style, your goals for what you want to students to learn, the level of difficulty of the literature course, the breadth of knowledge students are expected to possess and the cost of materials.

5. Consult your school's Librarian for assistance. The primary role of the Librarian in the academic environment is to develop the school's collection and programming to support the school's mission. A Literature Subject Specialist Librarian is able to assist you in locating the best resources for the class you are preparing to teach.

6. Review each textbook carefully before choosing it for your literature course. The book needs to meet all of your requirements. If the book is not interesting to you it will not interest the students at all. The better the book, the better the chance of the students getting involved in the topic and participating in your class.

Tips & Warnings

• For students with little to no background knowledge on the literature chosen, supplementary reading or a survey-type textbook that includes foundation information, such as an anthology, is advisable.
• For difficult or complicated reading, books that include annotations and footnotes of difficult concepts and ideas are helpful.

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