Are you reading a novel or a play with your students, and it feels like they hate it? Are they checked out? Lost? Confused? Unable to make sense of the text or connect to it? Maybe it’s the length. Maybe it’s the language. Maybe it’s just senioritis. Whatever the reason, getting through a long or complex text with disengaged students can feel terrible. Should you ditch it? What can you do to right the ship?
Whether you’re teaching something philosophically complex, like Frankenstein, psychologically rich, like The Catcher in the Rye, or full of challenging language, like Hamlet, you might be feeling like you just need a way to “get through” the book or play. But what if you could get through it AND turn your kids around to where they actually LIKE the text? Let’s go over some ways to help students connect, engage, and think critically with a longer text that they may not initially like so much. Here are some general, flexible strategies that can help you turn reluctant readers into curious thinkers.
1. Front-load Themes and Context
Before starting the book, build curiosity and context. Many students resist difficult texts because they don’t see the point of reading the story or they can’t see how it’s relevant to them. I find that starting with context/background helps A LOT. If it’s too late to start over, you can incorporate context & background info within the unit via carve-out activities, too!
Introduce the central conflicts and themes through topics you know your students care about. I’ll be using some of the texts I teach for examples throughout this post, but think about how you could do the same with your text!
For example, take Frankenstein. You could help students dig into key ethical questions about technology, artificial intelligence, and scientific responsibility, relating these topics to the issues of today. Or before diving into The Crucible, you could discuss moral panic, false accusations, and social hysteria through modern examples of “cancel culture” or viral social media pile-ons. For 1984, we examine privacy concerns, surveillance technologies, and propaganda through the lens of today’s digital landscape. (Full unit here!)
When approaching The Scarlet Letter, I’ve found that starting with discussions about public shaming on social media and being judged or ostracized by one’s peer group or within something like a group chat creates immediate ways for students to connect with Hester Prynne’s experience. Before reading The Awakening, we might discuss contemporary perspectives on gender roles and societal expectations, even getting into modern discourses about who does what within a family; this can help students understand Edna Pontellier’s struggle in context.
With Hamlet, it’s great to introduce concepts of revenge, indecision, acting/lying/being fake, and mental health before we start reading/viewing the play, and for The Catcher in the Rye, discussions about authenticity, alienation, grief, and teenage rebellion can resonate deeply with students who often see themselves or their peers in Holden Caulfield. I also like to talk to them about why the novel has been controversial through the years!
Last, the intricate, interconnected stories in Dubliners become more accessible when students first consider how their own city or town shapes their identity and opportunities. Joyce’s Dublin suddenly feels less foreign when viewed through this lens!
Grounding literature in familiar social and emotional territory primes students to see these texts not as boring old books by old dead people, but as tools for understanding the world around them.
2. Use Multimedia
Reading isn’t always the best way to get your students into the text at first. If students are shutting down, meet them where they are visually, emotionally, and experientially. Movies, audiobooks, video clips, slideshows with images, and even memes can serve as entry points into dense or unfamiliar material.
Film adaptations are a classic way to help students understand challenging texts. Kenneth Branagh’s Hamlet makes Shakespeare’s language more accessible; once the students have seen a film/stage adaptation of the play, they have an idea of the characters & the plot, and it makes reading through the language much easier. The recent Frankenstein adaptations, though they often stray from Shelley’s narrative, can provide us with visual representations of the creature that can prompt discussions about monstrosity and humanity; I don’t watch any films in full, but I do show images & clips of the creature as he has been portrayed by various artists & directors. The Crucible film starring Daniel Day-Lewis is a yearly FAVORITE with my students. It’s so well done; the sets, costumes, and acting are all amazing, and it really helps students visualize the hysteria and tension of Salem in 1692. I find they are also more ready to share their opinions and get into the story when we watch the film alongside doing reader’s theatre with it. (Here’s my full unit!)
For 1984, clips from modern dystopian films (or the film version of 1984) or news articles/clips about surveillance technology can provide immediate visual connections. When teaching The Scarlet Letter, I’ve used short scenes from the film adaptation to help students visualize Puritan Boston. You can also find excellent drawings and video re-enactments of life in Puritan Boston from 1640-1650 online.
Don’t be afraid to go modern, either. You can pair The Awakening with contemporary films or even TikToks about the pressures of living up to the expectations of being a wife/husband & mother/father, or The Catcher in the Rye with popular coming-of-age movies or memes so that students begin to recognize how timeless these conflicts really are. For Dubliners, short films or clips from documentaries about Dublin in/around 1915 or contemporary short stories, films, or documentaries about modern urban life can create accessible parallels.
Audiobooks can be particularly helpful for students who struggle with reading comprehension. Hearing Frankenstein‘s philosophical monologues or Hamlet‘s soliloquies performed by skilled actors can really boost your students’ understanding. I often read aloud key passages or chapters, or use a great audiobook to have students read along with in class. Typically, I’ll choose the most significant parts for us to read that way, and then other parts will be assigned as at-home reading/homework reading.
Connecting a classic to contemporary media isn’t dumbing it down! You’re building a bridge to help students understand and get into the text.
3. Chunk It!
The biggest mistake? Pushing through a text just to say you finished it. If students are bored and lost, continuing on full speed helps no one.
Instead of assigning five chapters at a time for homework, or reading for an hour or more aloud to the class (that’s crazy!), try breaking the text into smaller, purposeful chunks. Focus on key moments and important passages, and analyze those deeply. You can have the kids read less important chapters/scenes at home (even give them a link to an audiobook or stage version on YouTube), and then read aloud the really key parts together in class.
With Frankenstein, I prioritize the creation scene, the part about the creature’s first few months, and the pivotal confrontations between Victor and his creation, including Elizabeth’s death; we read these together & complete detailed close reading activities together or work through structured discussion modalities that require students to use text evidence to support their points.
For Hamlet, we focus on the major soliloquies, Hamlet’s meeting with Ophelia, Ophelia’s death, and the graveyard scene, rather than reading every line together in class. This way, I can assign the reading chunks for students to do at home, and then we re-read key parts in class & do activities with them.
The Crucible works well when you choose the most dramatic “episodes” to read together. You can use the movie for the bits you don’t read aloud, or have students read everything in a reader’s theatre style, but then do close reading activities and discussions over the most exciting parts, like the 2nd half of Act I, Elizabeth’s arrest, and John Proctor’s confession.
For The Catcher in the Rye, reading aloud Holden’s key encounters and moments (Mr. Spencer, when he talks about Allie & Allie’s death, the date with Sally, talking to Phoebe in her room, the scene at the carousel) can be a way to help students get a feel for his voice and help them empathize with Holden more.
When teaching The Scarlet Letter, I’ve found that emphasizing the scaffold scenes (at the start & then with Dimmesdale up there in chapter 12), key parts about Pearl’s characterization, the forest meeting between Hester and Dimmesdale, and Dimmesdale on the scaffold at the end, creates a stronger understanding of the novel’s structure and symbolism for my students (Full unit here!). And for 1984, we might pluck out and read together the part about Winston’s diary entries, important chapters that develop his relationship with Julia, the cell in the Ministry of Love with the chinless man and the skeleton man, the Room 101 scene, and the ending. This provides students with a stronger grasp of the essential arc of the story. Other parts can be read at home or during silent reading.
The Awakening‘s key moments, like Edna’s first swim, standing up to Leonce on the porch, her moving out of the family home & having her party, the scene with Adele giving birth, and her final return to the sea, are some natural focal points to read together & dig into with close reading questions & class discussions (Full unit here!). With Dubliners, selecting representative stories (“Araby,” “Eveline,” and “The Dead”) often works better than attempting all fifteen. I usually read most of the stories, but I do often skip “An Encounter,” “Two Gallants,” “After the Race,” “A Painful Case,” and “A Mother.”
You don’t have to read every word aloud in class to get meaningful engagement. And you don’t have to get upset that many of them don’t read the homework readings or don’t read when you give them time in class. Let that go, and focus on the fact that many of them DO complete their readings, and for the whole class, sometimes zeroing in on powerful scenes offers a deeper experience than line-by-line drudgery.
4. Leverage Psychology, Sociology, and Pop Culture
Students love to learn about psychology, sociology, and pop culture. Use that to your advantage by layering in real-world psychological or social frameworks within your unit!
Frankenstein comes alive when paired with bioethics debates or discussions about artificial intelligence ethics. Students suddenly see Victor and his creature not just as characters in a Gothic novel from a zillion years ago, but as representatives of human hubris and the consequences of creating without consideration.
Hamlet‘s psychological complexity invites application of modern understanding of grief, trauma, and mental health.
The Crucible naturally connects to social psychology studies on conformity and mass hysteria.
The Catcher in the Rye benefits from frameworks of adolescent psychology and trauma responses. When students understand Holden through the lens of grief over his brother’s death, his behavior takes on new dimensions, and they often have an easier time relating to him and empathizing with him.
The Scarlet Letter opens up discussions about social control and the psychological effects of both shame and guilt.
1984 connects deeply with concepts of cognitive dissonance, propaganda techniques, and authoritarianism.
The Awakening‘s exploration of female identity and societal expectations pairs well with discussions of gender roles, past and present.
Joyce’s Dubliners lends itself to sociological examinations of class, religion, and national identity. (Full unit here!)
When students are given tools to interpret texts in ways that connect to real-world behavior, they engage with literature the way they already engage with social media, celebrity gossip, or true crime podcasts: curiously and critically! (Try these CRITICAL LENS writing assignments to tap into these ways of reading with any text!)
5. Do Something Physical
Reading can feel passive & slow to many students. Shake things up with activities that invite movement, creativity, and group interactions! Perhaps the ideas below could work or be tweaked for YOUR “long slog” novel or play!
For Hamlet, try:
- Character “interrogations” where students question Hamlet, Claudius, or Gertrude
- Creating TikTok-style videos expressing the feelings within key soliloquies
With Frankenstein, consider:
- A mock trial of Victor Frankenstein for his actions/inactions
- Designing our own drawings/artistic interpretations of the creature that reflect his true nature in the novel
For The Crucible, try:
- Sociograms mapping the power relationships in Salem
- Creating “news coverage” of Elizabeth’s arrest & the trials
The Catcher in the Rye works well with:
- Mapping Holden’s journey through New York City
- Acting out key scenes & making short films
For The Scarlet Letter, try:
- Character masks revealing outer words and actions vs inner thoughts
- “Press conferences” where characters must defend their actions
With 1984, engage your students with:
- Creating propaganda posters, radio ads, or telescreen clips
- Making body biographies for Julia and Winston
The Awakening offers opportunities for:
- Creating visual representations of Edna’s emotional journey
- Have students pretend to be Robert, Adelle, Edna, or Leonce, and others ask them questions about their thoughts or reactions to key events
For Dubliners, consider:
- Creating visual representations of the “paralysis” Joyce depicts, or other key thematic elements
- Write and direct a short film in the style of the Dublin stories (with a strong epiphany at the end), using your own local setting and illuminating key things about that place & culture
Activities like these help students internalize character motives and themes in a low-stakes, collaborative way. They also appeal to who might not thrive with traditional discussion or essays.
6. Adaptability
If your class feels lifeless, burnt-out, and the book or play is turning into a slog, if you’re dreading another day of pushing through a text no one’s enjoying, maybe give yourself permission to pivot.
This could look like focusing on Hamlet‘s soliloquies rather than the entire play. Maybe you summarize a few pages or paragraphs in Frankenstein so you can move on to reading the more gripping and significant parts. For Dubliners, you might select just three stories that best represent Joyce’s themes.
With The Crucible, you could shift to a dramatic reading of key scenes rather than trying to read the entire play. For The Catcher in the Rye, focusing on key scenes and skipping over chapters that don’t seem to resonate with your students could be the key.
When teaching The Scarlet Letter, I ALWAYS skip the custom house introduction! With 1984, emphasizing the forbidden relationship between Winston and Julia often creates more engagement than the political theory: I often summarize the part where we’re reading Goldstein’s book rather than having the kids read it.
Students are more likely to remember how a class made them feel about literature than exactly how much they read. Don’t sacrifice curiosity and connection for the illusion of “coverage.” I always ASSIGN the whole thing, but I’m careful about what I assign for home reading & what we read together in class or do a close-reading activity with. For those who skip their homework reading, they won’t be missing the KEY bits, but I’m also not sending a message that we’re JUST doing excerpts or that I don’t think they SHOULD read the whole thing.
7. Hold Students Accountable—But Creatively
Engagement doesn’t mean throwing rigor out the window. Create accountability that enhances rather than punishes.
For Hamlet, assign students to track specific motifs like madness, performance/acting, and revenge, or give them a variety of activities throughout the unit where they do different types of close reads.
With Frankenstein, students might follow themes of creation, responsibility, and isolation throughout the text, and maybe you give them guided notes as well as some creative projects or group activities as well.
When teaching The Crucible, you could use a mix of performance (reading aloud), reading quizzes, and activities around historical context, character development, and major themes or morals to make up their final grade.
For The Catcher in the Rye, students might keep a running list of Holden’s contradictions or lies, analyzing what each reveals about his character. Perhaps you run a variety of discussion modalities where students earn credit for participation, and then end with a presentation or a short film project.
With The Scarlet Letter, tracking symbolism can be highly engaging; my students also enjoy drawing scenes or making comics conveying what happened in a key chapter.
In 1984, students could document the ways the Party attempts to (and does) control people’s thoughts and actions.
For The Awakening, tracking Edna’s gradual awakening and transformation/rebellion can create an engaging framework for their reading.
With Dubliners, assigning each student a recurring symbol or theme (paralysis, escape, epiphany, decay, religion, alienation, etc.) can them a specific focus as they navigate the stories.
One effective tactic is to assign reading roles that can then feed into larger class discussions. This divides the cognitive load and gives each student a specific purpose for his or her reading. You could ask students to do these simple roles, mixing it up as you go along: Key Quote Finder, Character Analyzer, Symbol & Motif Searcher, and Theme Tracker.
8. Keep Reflecting on What Matters Most
The value of the classic texts we teach isn’t just in their content. There’s also a ton of value in using these whole-class novels to teach the process of learning how to read and think about difficult material.
When you teach Hamlet, the goal might not be for students to fall in love with Elizabethan tragedy. It might be to help them grapple with complex language, recognize dramatic irony, and engage with enduring questions about mortality and purpose.
With Frankenstein, students learn to recognize the multiple layers of narrative and question the reliability of narrators. The Crucible can teach students to recognize historical allegory and learn to apply what they’re learning to contemporary events.
The Catcher in the Rye is a great one for helping students identify voice and perspective in narration. The Scarlet Letter develops their ability to interpret symbolism and understand Puritan influence on American identity.
1984 cultivates critical thinking about language, totalitarianism, and information control. The Awakening develops students’ understanding of societal constraints and personal rebellion. Dubliners teaches close reading of subtle, realistic fiction.
If students walk away saying, “That was hard, but I learned a lot,” that’s a win! Think about what it is that you’re teaching BEYOND just “The students have read X classic play or novel,” and try to let that guide the activities and assessments you pair with the reading. You want to be doing MORE than JUST reading the text & “getting through it,” and often, if it’s feeling like a slog, it’s because you haven’t fleshed out what you’re DOING with it beyond just trying to get them to read it.
You Can Do This!
Teaching long or complex texts to students who are telling you they are bored and not into it is no fun. But you CAN fix it. You just need a little adaptability, creativity, and responsiveness to your students’ needs.
Whatever the text, the ultimate goal is the same: connection.
By meeting students where they are and showing them why these stories still matter & can be relevant to us today, you’ll help them grow as readers, thinkers, and human beings.
And that’s something that makes sticking with these full-length texts worth it, year after year!
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