Top 10 Texts for Your American Literature Curriculum

Just about every high school student will take American Literature at some point in their lives. What I remember from my high school experience was reading a bunch of dead white males whose experiences and ideas really had no relevance to my life. (Don’t get me wrong—I love a good description of a sinner hanging like a spider over the fires of hell, but there’s just so much more to explore!) I think that where teachers often go wrong is by starting at the beginning… and just never getting very far.

The problem with this approach is that students get the idea that literature is something that really doesn’t relate to their own lives.

But finding authors and texts that are both accessible enough and challenging enough to really stick with your students long after class takes a lot of work and research—and who has time for that when you are already dealing with so much as a teacher?

Here are my recommendations for poems and short stories that you might not have discovered yet. All of these texts are available online, and where you see a link it means that I have a ready-to-go unit on the text. (Think of this as a great option if you’re reading this post on a Sunday night and you’d like to teach the text tomorrow morning but would also like to, say, get a few hours sleep before then.)

And if you’d really like to make your life easier (and get enough sleep on many nights in the future), get my Full Year American Literature Curriculum and which includes units on all of the texts listed below plus full units on The Crucible and The Great Gatsby and 55 other texts not listed here.

My Top 10 Texts to Add New Life to Your American Literature Curriculum

“Half-Hanged Mary” by Margaret Atwood. Okay, technically this isn’t an American text (since Atwood is Canadian) but the topic is, and the poem is just so great! A modern feminist retelling of the Salem Witch Hunts of the Puritan period, this contemporary poem is a great choice for teaching poetic devices as well as for exploring some of the major themes of American Literature. It’s based on the true story of Mary Webster who was probably one of Margaret Atwood’s ancestors. This poem is long and challenging for sure, but it is also a fascinating tale of a real-life phenomena. While students might need a few class periods to fully read and analyze the entire piece, that time will be well spent on a fascinating and unique poem.
“Dakota 38” by Layli Long Soldier. Why did President Abraham Lincoln order the hanging of 38 Dakota warriors on December 26, 1862? The largest execution in U.S. history was the result of a complex history of money, land, and betrayal; it is also an event that has been brushed aside and ignored for the past centuries. This masterful poem by Layli Long Soldier is a great starting point for examining our shared history, through I definitely recommend including more resources to give your students enough context to understand this tragic event.
“Two Ways To Belong in America” by Bharati Mukherje. In this short but engaging essay, Bharati Mukherjee, the author of The Management of Grief, discusses the difference between her choices and her sister’s. The two different ways to belong as a non-native of this country are, according to Mukherjee, choosing to assimilate or not—immigrants must choose between becoming a part of the culture and country or retaining one’s homeland. This is not an easy choice to make, and the injustice of having to lose so much in order to belong in America is clear. This essay is short and accessible enough that I would include it in emergency sub plans.
“Prospective Immigrants Please Note” by Adrienne Rich. I love pairing this poem with Emma Lazarus’ classic “The New Colossus” as it gives a more nuanced view of what it means to step through the “door” of immigration. The poem itself is accessible and easy to read, and yet the ideas are complex and make for great discussion with students.
“If We Must Die” by Claude Mckay. What is the best way for people to maintain their dignity in the face of racism, oppression, and brutality? Written after the horrific events of the Red Summer of 1919, this timeless poem attempts to answer that important question. This classic of the Harlem Renaissance is also a great poem to explore contemporary issues of the Black Lives Matter movement.
“Language and Literature from a Pueblo Indian Perspective” a speech by by Leslie Marmon Silko. I know that it’s not always easy to incorporate non-fiction that is engaging and relevant to students, yet this essay (actually a speech written down in essay format) is a great choice for even the most reluctant readers. Silko touches on why stories matter, how stories are told in the Pueblo tradition, and how recent history has influenced the tradition of story telling. She also tells a few great stories which serve to convey culture, beliefs, and important ideas.
“Spunk” by Zora Neale Hurston. Hurston is one of my all-time favorite writers, and I love teaching her work to teens. Telling the tale of a deadly love triangle, this short, accessible story is a great choice for discussing themes of masculinity and femininity, gossip and norms, murder and revenge, and bravery. It’s also a lovely text for exploring point of view, dialogue, dialect, and characterization. This is also another text that is fairly short yet offers so much richness to your curriculum.
Hoop Dreams film. The filmmakers followed two boys from the inner city for six years of their lives, documenting their struggles, heartbreak, and triumphs. Watching this powerful film with my classes has always been highlight of the year—and I don’t even like basketball! Hoop Dreams was named by Roger Ebert “the great American documentary.” In his lyrical non-fiction essay on the movie John Edgar Wideman calls it “one of the most insightful, accurate, affecting, least sentimental, least propagandized treatments of Afro-American family life I’d ever seen.” It’s not a short movie, but if you can swing it, I highly recommend watching with your classes.
“not an elegy for Mike Brown” by Danez Smith. While this poem deals with some really tough topics, Smith’s performance of the poem is so compelling and the text is so relevant to students’ lives, that it really is worth the time. Danez Smith is a masterful, award-winning contemporary poet and performer whom you might not know—but don’t be surprised if you decide to include more of their poetry in your plans after reading (or better yet, watching!) this amazing poem.
“Hurt Locker” by Brian Turner. Brian Turner is a contemporary American poet and a veteran of the Iraq War—if you’re struggling to find poems that your students who don’t like poetry can relate to, I definitely suggest giving Brian Turner’s work a shot. This poem is short, powerful, and won’t be soon forgotten. I recommend watching a Turner read and explain his own poetry if possible. Note: “Hurt Locker” contains some profanity, so please read the poem before sharing with your classes.

Honestly, I found most of these texts after I left the classroom and had more time to spend to curriculum development—I can only wish that I would have found them while I was still teaching! These are the kinds of texts that really stick with students long after reading and can make a true impact on the way they view their world.

And if you’re looking for no-prep units on these competing texts plus a full year of writing, literary analysis, and much more great American Literature, be sure to check out my full-year unit by clicking here.