Reading and Writing with the Classics: Empowering Students to Think and Express Deeply

Classic literature is not just about reading old stories; it is about learning to read closely, think critically, and write with purpose. In my classroom, classic works become springboards for students to develop essential reading and writing skills while exploring the richness of the human experience. Here’s how our approach to reading and writing with the classics evolves from middle to high school and why it matters.

Middle School: Growing as Readers and Writers
In middle school, our Writing About Literature: Plays, Poetry, and Prose class is designed to help students move beyond surface-level reading and basic book reports. We read poetry, short stories, and novels, but the heart of our work is learning how to read like writers and write like readers.

Students learn to spot literary devices like similes, onomatopoeia, and foreshadowing, and understand how these tools shape a story’s meaning. We examine how authors build tone, mood, and motif, and analyze how characters change and themes develop over time. Every reading is an opportunity to ask: How did the author do that? Why did they make those choices?

Writing is woven into every lesson. Students practice writing clear, focused paragraphs and essays that analyze plot, character arcs, and themes. They learn to use evidence from the text to support their points and organize their ideas logically. We also bring in historical readings to show how context influences both what writers create and how readers interpret.

By the end of the course, students have built a toolkit of reading strategies and writing techniques that help them approach any story with confidence and insight.

High School: Reading, Writing, and Arguing with Context and Depth
At the high school level, our Ideas in Context: Integrated Reading and Writing course takes reading and writing to the next level. Students tackle challenging texts such as Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics, Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, Dickens’s Great Expectations, Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales, and Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter. They learn to read not just for what happens, but for why it matters.

Reading is an active, investigative process. Students research each work’s historical and philosophical background, asking questions like: What ideas shaped this story? How do its themes connect to the world then and now? This context-driven reading leads to a richer, more nuanced understanding.

Writing assignments challenge students to move beyond personal responses into academic argumentation. They learn to craft thesis statements, structure essays, and develop arguments using evidence from both the text and historical sources. Workshops and peer reviews help students refine their writing, making each draft more straightforward, stronger, and persuasive.

Research skills are emphasized as well. Students learn how to find reliable sources, integrate quotes, and cite correctly, preparing them for the demands of college-level writing and beyond.

Why Reading and Writing with the Classics Matters
When taught as both a reading and writing class, classic literature does more than build academic skills. It empowers students to read thoughtfully, think critically, and express themselves clearly and convincingly. By engaging deeply with stories from different times and places, students learn to see the world and their own writing in new ways.

Our goal is to help students become not just better readers and writers, but also more thoughtful communicators and lifelong learners.
The classics provide the models and questions. Reading and writing give us the tools to join the conversation.

In short, teaching classic literature as a reading and writing class equips students to analyze, argue, and create. These are skills that matter in every discipline and in life. Through close reading and purposeful writing, students discover not only the power of great stories but also the power of their own voices.