ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS RESOURCES

APPENDIX: WORKS COMMONLY TAUGHT IN NC HIGH SCHOOL ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS

In the spring of 2002, each school and system received a survey form with NCDPI ELA Update asking for lists of works taught at each grade level. The survey asked for works required by the school or system as well as works used for enrichment and/or independent study. Given here, the results from the survey are very informal. Schools and systems approached the lists in different ways, from each teacher submitting a list to a system compiling works into a single list.

Most teachers listed novels and plays but did not include short stories, poems, or short non-fiction works. Thus, this list provides a fairly comprehensive view of texts used for parts of the Standard Course of Study but not of the entire curriculum. As stated in the NCELASCS, "students should read widely and deeply in all environments, in all genres, and in diverse traditions; they should read for different purposes, including entertainment, and they should be allowed to choose their own texts at least some of the time." (p. 76)

The selection of materials is a local, school, and individual teacher responsibility. This list is designed to provide information for high school ELA teachers across the state. The works listed are not intended as required or recommended reading for students. Teachers may find it helpful to examine unfamiliar titles and consider using them in their classrooms, based on their particular interests, community and student needs.

Within each list, all titles listed by teachers were included, as long as author information could be identified and the work could be found for sale. Titles that do not appear to follow the NCELASCS in a particular course (for example, an American literature title in English IV) have still been included, based on the assumption that teachers have considered the value of the selections and their connections to the other works appropriate to the literary focus of course in making their decisions.

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