It’s at the core of every English teacher’s job. How to create an engaging novel unit. Here are the first five steps to engaging all my learners, no matter the text I use.
Map it out
The first step in creating an engaging novel unit is to have a plan. I always start with the end in mind. Usually, that means having a vision for my assessment. As often as possible, I like to incorporate voice and choice in diverse project offerings. (More to come on that in a short while.)
Once I know where the novel unit is headed, I can more effectively map out the anchor points along the way. It might be the introduction of a character. Or a pivotal plot moment. Regardless, I’ll latch onto the key points in the text. From there, I’ll create seminal activities that are usually more involved. That means for me as well as my students.
With the chapters or moments we have left, I like to map out any engaging novel unit with a blend of independent work, large group instruction, and group tasks.
Learning Stations as a Preview
The second step in an engaging novel unit is to ensure your students have the necessary information before reading the text. Though I don’t teach social studies, a lot of the time, key events in history shape the texts we read.
Take, for example, Night by Elie Wiesel. There is no reasonable way you could jump right into the text without some background information first. I want my students to have at least a baseline understanding of what and when the Holocaust was. And its key figures. And its racial motivations. And its aftermath.
But I don’t want a boring lecture.
So I love to introduce historical information like this with learning stations. Or, I’ll sometimes call them a jigsaw activity. Basically, students are responsible for a small portion of information that they then teach their group. After everyone has shared their information, students walk away having learned a lot but done relatively little “work.”
You can check out a tried-and-true jigsaw activity of mine here.
Accommodate ELL Students in your engaging novel unit
This year, almost half of my classes have been infused with Spanish speakers. And I have worked my tail off to be as inclusive as I can for these learners, most of whom are Spanish-speaking.
When we cover a larger text in my class – like Hamlet or Oedipus Rex or Of Mice and Men – I always create an abridged and translated booklet for my ELLs.
This starts first with abridged summaries of the chapters or scenes from a text. I usually adapt these to be at a fourth grade reading level, which I have found is most language-appropriate for my lower-level ELLs.
Then I translate those summaries into Spanish using translator apps online. I put these translations side-by-side with the English summaries. And I’ll include graphics and other images to aid understanding if there’s room on the page.
These booklets have been a lifesaver for me. They’re such a helpful accompaniment to the texts we read. I love to see how they boost the confidence of my ELL students.
You can check out some of my best ELL booklets here and here. But if you don’t teach either of these texts, head over to the “ELL Resources” category on my Teachers Pay Teachers page.
Consistent and Purposeful Exit Slips
Another key step in building an engaging novel unit is to have a plan for assessing student learning along the way.
My students learn early in the year they can expect some form of exit slip every day. It’s hard work being so consistent. Especially when there is so much else to accomplish in a class period! But it’s worth it.
I even suggest building “stock” exit slips that can work with any text. I did that when I first taught Catcher in the Rye and it was a huge timesaver. Check out my Catcher bundle here.
Plan Interactive and Memorable Activities
It might sound self-explanatory when building an engaging novel unit, but engaging activities are a must.
As I mentioned before, I try to pinpoint three to five key moments in any given text. That number fluctuates depending on the text, of course.
From there, I put a lot of time and energy into creating memorable activities that really get my students to think outside the box. Depending on the class and the time of year, these can also be partner- or group-based.
And any way I can “trick” my students into forgetting they’re in English class is a plus. For example, when we read Oedipus Rex, I have students role play from the first word of the tragedy. First, they step into the role of detective; then interrogator; and finally, lawyer. This creative role play piqued their interest, for sure, but still required they pay close attention to the text. They were able to pick out key details in the text they would never have “felt like doing” if they had a boring worksheet.
Check out more here for how I created this engaging novel unit activity.
Concluding Thoughts for planning an engaging novel unit
Hopefully you’ve gotten at least one idea from this list of engaging novel unit steps. Check out the follow-up to this post to learn the final five ways I finish my planning process strong.
