High School English Literature: Resources for Students, Teachers and Parents
Shakespeare, classic American or European fiction, and contemporary poetry are only a few of the categories of high school English resources you can find on the Web. This High School English Literature Web Guide points you to the best sites on the Internet, whether you’re looking for an obscure sonnet, essays about Renaissance literature or historical background and literature study guides.
Expand All Guide SectionsHigh School English Literature Help
High school English literature is so much more than just reading. There are names and dates to remember, timeframes and historical contexts to fit everything into, and poems, sonnets, plays and novels to analyze. Whether you can’t wait to devour more Jane Austen or are dreading that next essay, we’ve found the literature Web sites that can get you from freshman year through graduation.
Insights for High School English Literature Help
- Use exact words to find just the right quote or poem. For example, searching “Dickinson poem” may be too broad, but “Emily Dickinson, rose” will bring up just the right poem. Refer to the findingDulcinea Guide to Web Search for more tips.
- Never plagiarize. Just because something is on the Internet doesn’t mean that it’s fair game, and even accidental plagiarism can earn you a failing grade. To find out more about what constitutes plagiarism and how to cite other people’s work properly, see the findingDulcinea Plagiarism Prevention Web Guide.
- Reading authors such as Shakespeare can be daunting to some. For those who could benefit from hearing the words spoken, there are online services that provide audio recordings of Shakespeare's works.
Top Sites for Help with High School English Literature
For general high school English literature help …
SparkNotes
has summaries, context, characters, chapter overviews, reviews and quizzes for texts from “1984” to “The Yellow Wallpaper,” arranged alphabetically.
Bellmore-Merrick Central High School District
in New York has final exam study guides and overviews of some common high school English literature books (for example, “Romeo and Juliet,” “Of Mice and Men,” and “The Catcher in the Rye”), all written for high school students by high school students.
For high school English literature help by subject and topic …
The Luminarium
has everything you could want for British literature between 1350 and 1800, organized by period. In each section you’ll find information, quotes, works and biographies, as well as essays, articles and additional sources for notable writers of the period.
Shakespeare Online,
maintained by Shakespeare enthusiast Amanda Mabillard, offers play analysis, sonnets, plays, a biography and a timeline.
America.gov,
a site of the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of International Information Programs, presents "Outline of American Literature" online. The publication provides historical overviews for different periods in American history and literature.
Teaching High School English Literature
Teaching high school English literature means casting a wide net, from the Middle Ages to contemporary American writing. We’ve found Web sites that fully utilize the Internet to help keep your students engaged no matter which century they’re focused on.
Insights for Teaching High School Literature
- We usually avoid recommending sites that are mere directories of links to outside sources. In our education guides, however, we make exceptions to this rule in order to provide you with as much helpful content as possible. Make sure to approach every directory with caution and evaluate the links before using a tool in the classroom.
- To help your students understand the historical context of what they’re reading, use the resources recommended in the findingDulcinea U.S. History Web Guide.
Top Sites for Teaching High School Literature
For high school literature lesson plans …
Teaching Literature
covers how to teach literature with lessons and activities. Look for novel guides and teaching guides for American, British and multicultural literature, as well as dramas and young adult literature.
eNotes
has a searchable lesson plan database, criticisms, study guides for students and a section on Shakespeare.
Literature Lesson Plans
is a searchable collection of lesson plans, curriculum units, biographies and study guides for more than 150 well-known authors.
Poets.org
has information about poets and a poem-a-day to use in class, and offers help planning a National Poetry Month. Visit the For Educators page for lesson plans, teaching tips and success stories from other teachers. The forum offers an opportunity to discuss poetry in the classroom with other teachers.
For high school literature Web sites to use during class …
Mythweb
covers heroes and gods with story overviews, and has a searchable encyclopedia of Greek mythology with links to myth resources.
Speak the Speech
has recordings of Shakespeare plays to listen to in class.
Annenberg Media
has links to the “Voices & Visions” PBS series on poets. Choose from videos on 13 American poets to use in class.
PAL
(Perspectives in American Literature) provides historical context for authors within American literature. Browse authors by alphabetical list or time period.
For minority and international literature resources …
San Antonio College LitWeb
has information and resources about and by African-American writers, women writers, Chicano writers and writers around the world. Use this site to expand on textbook coverage of multicultural literature.
The University of Virginia Library
Electronic Text Center has links to writings by African-American, female and Native American writers.
For free English literature texts available online …
The Internet Classics Archive
has 441 works of classic literature in a searchable archive. Visit the index to find excerpts from classic Greco/Roman literature including Homer, Aesop, Sophocles and Hippocrates, as well as some Chinese philosophers such as Confucius.
Bartleby.com
has one of the largest free collections of poems on the Web. Search or browse the database of thousands of poems.
Project Gutenberg
is a free source (though donations are requested) for more than 100,000 online texts. In addition to eBooks, you’ll find downloadable audio and image files.
High School English Literature at Home
Your children may want to discuss what they’re reading or ask you for help as they study for a test or write a paper. Here are sites that can help you help them when they study high school English literature at home.
Insights for High School English Literature at Home
- Ask your child’s teacher what the class is reading and what’s coming next so you can prepare ahead of time and make sure your child is ready when the unit starts.
- Take a look at the other sections in this Web guide for more sites that may help you at home. And, visit the findingDulcinea Homeschooling Web Guide for ideas about bringing literature into the home classroom.
Top Sites for High School English Literature at Home
Ferrum College Writing Center
has tips for reading literature, definitions of themes and plot, and key questions that children can use before, during and after they’ve read a text. Use it as a helpful homework tool.
A to Z Home's Cool Homeschooling
has advice for parents on teaching high school subjects at home. The section on English offers advice on developing a writer's toolkit, a list of key literature terms, how to encourage reading and more.
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