The Use of the Canon in High School Classrooms
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Lindsay Reid Luminoso - PED3177C
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ool+Classrooms
The Canon
The Canon: a sanctioned or accepted group or body of related works.
Table of Contents
The Canon
1) What are students reading?
2) Resource Guide
3) Lesson Ideas
4) Generate Discussion or Comprehension
5) Articles
This wiki will explain what the literary canon is and defined as, why it is important to study and how
teachers can integrate the canon into the classroom. The Western literary canon commonly include
works of fiction such as some epic poems, poetry, music, drama, novels and other assorted forms of
literature.
According to Glenn W. Most, "literary canons can be defined as the devices that permit us to
distinguish between the books we can admit without shame that we have not read and the books
that we feel so ashamed about not having read that we usually feel obliged to pretend that we have"
(37). By including the Canon in the classroom, students are able to understand and contribute to a
culture that relies heavily on the knowledge of such books. The references seen in pop culture based
on the Western Literary Canon is vast and students will be able to participate in an informed
conversation about these texts. Furthermore, Most and many other scholars in this field argue for
the use of Canonical texts, stating "Canonical texts lend themselves to being viewed not only as the
most entertaining but also as the most useful ones: their depiction of the structure of moral action
can seem particularly helpful in training us, and our children, for various kinds of success we wish for
ourselves and for them" (51).
In recent years, there has been great debate over modernizing the canon and adding a more
diversified array of text for students to identify and work with. The argument is known as the canon
debate and is reflected in academic literature surrounding the canon. However, John Guillory makes
a counter-argument, "The assumption has been that canonical authors in some sense "represent"
their race, gender, or class constituencies, in a fashion not wholly unlike the way in which legislators
might represent their constituencies in government" (37). The argument against the canon is that it
is predominantly written by white males and does little to account for other perspectives. However,
the canon is constantly metamorphosing and changing.
Applebee concludes that “rather than being diluted in recent years, the role of the literary canon
seems to have been strengthened” (1991, pg. 41).
1) What are students reading?
Catholic Schools
Public Schools
Independent Schools
Huckleberry Finn 76%
Romeo and Juliet 84%
Macbeth 74%
The Scarlet Letter 70% Macbeth 81%
Romeo and Juliet 66%
Macbeth 70%
Huckleberry Finn 70%
Huckleberry Finn 56%
To Kill a Mockingbird 67% Julius Caeser 70%
The Scarlet Letter 52%
The Great Gatsby 64% To Kill a Mockingbird 69% Hamlet 51%
Romeo and Juliet 63%
The Scarlet Letter 62% The Great Gatsby 49%
Hamlet 60%
Of Mice and Men 56% To Kill a Mockingbird 47%
Of Mice and Men 56% Hamlet 55%
Julius Ceasar 42%
Julius Ceasar 54%
The Great Gatsby 54% The Odyssey 39%
Lord of the Flies 52%
Lord of the Flies 54%
Lord of the Files 34%
(Applebee, Arthur, "Center for Learning and Teaching Literature Final Report" Office of Educational
Research and Improvement, 1991, Page 41)
There is a delicate balance when deciding what books should be read in the high school classroom.
There is much debate about having literacy canon. However, there are many factors which prove to
be highly successful when implementing a canon text. A teacher must chose a text based both on
accessibility and quality. Because the canon texts have been taught in the classrooms for decades,
there is a plethora of resources available for teaching and for students to work with. Contemporary
novels can be used in conjunction with canon texts to enrich themes or stories lines. However, the
canon itself is readily accessible for most teachers.
The canon has withstood the test of time and has endured. According to John Searle, an American
Philosopher, The process of list-making—defining the boundaries of the canon—is endless: "In my
experience there never was, in fact, a fixed 'canon'; there was rather a certain set of tentative
judgments about what had importance and quality. Such judgments are always subject to revision,
and in fact they were constantly being revised." The novels that are studies have proven to be of
high literary quality.
By teaching the canon, a teacher can draw on their personal experience and familiarity with much
greater ease than allowing students to choose a novel or by reinventing the syllabus with new
choices. Canon novels often have overarching themes that cross-connect with other units of study.
Furthermore, majority of the novels found in the canon are also found to be "best books of all time"
poll winners. Time Magazines poll of 100 Best Books of all Time, voted through public opinion,
includes several of the titles of the canon. Also, Random House did two studies of favorite books by a
board of scholars and readers and found that canon novels ranked extremely high in both polls as
favorites. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald ranks in the top 15 in both studies, Lord of the Flies
by William Golding ranks 23rd and 41st. Amazon.ca also created a list of best selling, greatest novels
of all time which included over 5 of the major titles.
"All modern American literature comes from one book by
Mark Twain called Huckleberry Finn" -- Ernest Hemingway
2) Resource Guide
"Another idea that needs to be considered in respect to the Canon is the ways of teaching the
Canon. If the current system of using the Canon has failed so often for so long it may be time to
change or alter the ways that teachers attempt to teach the Canon. The works that are considered
part of the Canon are considered to be the best works. Those works thus have merit and are worth
looking at and studying in the classroom. Maybe it is time for educators to look at the ways that they
approach the works of the Canon in the classroom and try to make things more interesting for the
students." (Reading the Canon)
Teaching Guide.doc
This document offers a number of different strategies when first working with the canon. It allows
for teachers to look at how they want to teach a unit or lesson based on a number of different
questions and activities.
Sunderman, Wendy L. "Reading, Living, and Loving Lord of the Flies" The English Journal 89.2, Nov.,
1999, 49-54.http://www.jstor.org/stable/822139
"Reading, Living, and Loving Lord of the Flies" can easily help a teacher when grappling with working
with the literary canon. This document looks at why we use novels like Lord of Flies in our
classrooms. It focuses on the importance of literary canon in the classroom. It's focus is on teaching
a classic novel in non-classical approaches and looks at how this novel can relate to modern issues.
A handbook of critical approaches.pdf
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This document is a key resource for approaches to canon literature in the classroom. It looks at
novels like Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, Frankenstein by Mary Shelley as well as the play Hamlet
by Shakespeare. This document attempts to ask questions that will create a thorough and critical
analysis of novel studies in the classroom.
A Letter to Students on Why We Read The Odyssey.doc
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This document helps explain why we look at canon literature in the classroom. It specifically
discusses Thy Odyssey by Homer. However, this note from a teacher to her students is a template
for why certain literature is chosen over others in the classroom. Canon novels are rich with history
and representation with pop culture that students might not be aware of.
Cristaudo, Wayne, __Great Ideas In The Western Literary Canon__, New York: University Press of
America, 2003.
This book is a great resource because it looks at why certain books are chosen for the Literary Canon
and their importance in a broader sense.This book looks at 12 different texts and how they use
different themes, concepts and ideas that resonate through the text and through time. "The texts
chosen are those that remain, often centuries after their appearance, beacons of illumination and
wisdom." The twelve chapters of this book each deal with one literary canon text and the central
idea that propels it. "The ideas are examined as events possessed of their own field of resonance,
and it is by tracing them in their narrative, dramatic or lyrical development that one can appreciate
how these great texts speak as powerfully as they do to generations of readers."
What Makes a book great, a so-called classic, is its quality of always being modern, of its
author,though be long dead, continuing to speak to each new generation -- Lawrence Clark Powell
3) Lesson Ideas
Because Canon novels have withstood the test of time, they have been printed and reprinted with
many different editions. It is suggested that a teacher can use this to their advantage when
introducing a novel study. Before discussing the book, a teacher can ask her students to get into
groups and discuss how a novel cover depicts what the novel is about. A teacher can assess the
students knowledge of the novel and their critical thinking skills.
Edith Wharton in a book by Catherine Ross, argues that " it may be said that there is no abstract
standard of values in literature: the greatest books ever written are worth to each reader only what
he can get out of them. The best books are those from which the...readers have been able to extract
the greatest amount of thought of the highest quality" (53) In order for students to understand and
identify with texts, teachers need to create units and lesson plans so that students are not just
reading, "to get it done." There is an aesthetic value to texts and students should appreciate what
they are learning. By creating a classroom canon study that is both informative and exciting,
students should engage more with the material and hopefully take more from the text. Here are just
a few ideas about how to create exciting lesson plans to allow students to connect with canon texts.
Furthermore, canon novels are studied so often by so many students that there is an abundance of
resources available for teachers. Lesson plans and unit ideas can be found easily to help teachers in
their planning.
The Canon - Lesson Bank
"To Kill a Mockingbird is one of the greatest American books. It covers some important topics like
censorship, literacy and gender, which are still very much prevalent today as they were during that
time" -- Hilery Walker
4) Generate Discussion or Comprehension
It may be interesting to note that many of the books that are studied in the classroom, canon novels,
have at one point been banned by governments for the controversial depictions of content,
language and themes. Teachers might use this as a way to generate discussion as to why we study
books and if banning books really works (I believe that Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury states
otherwise). For resources about the banning of classic novels in the classroom the American Library
Association has compiled resources and information that will be helpful for teachers. Banned or
Challenged Books
Rosenblatt believes there is much good in the classics, but urges caution in how they are taught:
"Many of the great classics have elements of vivid action, strong emotion, and suspense that may
provide an incentive for the more mature or the more secure student to clear away the obscurities
due to unfamiliar language or literary forms. Too often, however, the classics are introduced to
children at an age when it is impossible for them to feel in any personal way the problems or
conflicts treated."
There are many ways to incorporate age appropriate and enriching resources into the classroom. By
presenting the material in a different way, students might gain a better understanding or the
material might spark their interests more. Here are a few examples of connecting multimedia to the
canon texts.
We should be challenging ourselves as readers, even when we’re no longer required to do
so, especially when we’re no longer required to do so. InThe Western Canon, he repeatedly insists
that “reading deeply in the Canon… will not make one a better or a worse person, a more useful or
more harmful citizen,” but in the same breath he insists that reading Shakespeare and company will
“augment one’s own growing inner self,” will “enrich mind or spirit or personality.”
(http://www.popmatters.com/pm/feature/94396-airplane-books-junk-literature-and-the-westerncanon-all-novels-are-l/P2)
Huck Finn Song
This video is called "Huck Finn Song" and it looks at the novel Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain in a
video which can help visual learners comprehend key concepts of the novel. Also, this video is
entertaining and uses multimedia to grab students attention. It can be used at any time to reinforce
content and ideas.
Macbeth Rap
This video raps out the play Macbeth by William Shakespeare. Rap is a popular form of music that
might allow the students engage with the play more actively than simply reading it. The creator of
the video has included key quotations that bring the text into the video.
Pinky and the Brain Intro
This video can be shown in conjunction with the novel Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck. This
video can be explained as a pop cultural reference to the relationship found in the novel between
Lenny (Pinky) and George (the Brain). Students might be interested in seeing how modern society is
actively portraying classical, canon texts.
The Reduced Shakespeare Company Presents the Complete Works of William Shakespeare.
The Reduced Shakespeare Company is 3 men performing 37 plays in less than two hours. They use
comedy, puppet shows and modern interpretations to bring Shakespeare into the 21st century. This
abridged collection offers students a brief look at the importance of Shakespeare and a brief
synopsis of his work. This clip is of the first part of Hamlet and allows students to visually watch the
play and see just one interpretation of it. An activity that follows this video: Have students to
present one scene from Shakespeare in two minutes and give it a twist: Do a scene in the theme of a
Broadway musical, a murder mystery story, a soap opera, etc.Life is short.
From the Back Cover: The complete works of Shakespeare are long. To the rescue: THE REDUCED
SHAKESPEARE COMPANY, the three-man comedy troupe known for fast, funny, physical
condensations of real serious stuff. They wrap up the Bard's outsized oeuvre in 90 roller-coaster, ribtickling minutes. After warming up with a nothing-is-sacred send-up of Romeo and Juliet, they're off,
dispensing with the comedies in one fell swoop (because the tragedies are funnier). You decide after
you see Othello as a rap song, Titus Andronicus as a cooking program, and the show's unforgettable
finale - Hamlet - told with the help of audience members and lascivious sock puppets. Contains
material not seen on the PBS broadcast. "Intellectual vaudeville" - The New York Times. "Inspired
American spoof merchants...slings and arrows of outrageous comedy" - Daily Telegraph. "This trio of
modern Marx brothers will leave you in stitches" - Boston Herald.
5) Articles
Guillory, John. "Canon, Syllabus, List: A Note on the Pedagogic Imaginary Transition 52, 1991, 3654 http://www.jstor.org/stable/2935123
This article looks at the construction of the term canon and how it is only an imaginary function.
Guillory works to examine the importance of a literacy canon as well as the problems associated
with trying to add more representation to the literary canon. Guillory postulates: Is an author's
background enough to give a group representation in the canon? This article raises a lot of
fundamental questions with the canon debate.
Does a Literary Canon Exist.pdf
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By Sandra Stotsky. This article looks at the past century of literature. Stotsky cannot see a pattern of
prevalent literature read in the classroom. She argues that the popular literature has constantly
changed and updated over time.
Final Report.pdf
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By Arthur Applebee. This article ranks the popularity of novels that Applebee believes makes up the
literary canon. He looks at why certain books are used and how the literary canon functions in
different school systems.
A Study of Book Length Works.pdf
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By Arthur Applebee. This article looks at a variety of studies conducted to determine literacy in the
classroom. Applebee determined that schools had kept a large number of popular novels, the
literacy canon, in the curriculum for the past 25 years. It gives important reasons why teachers have
and should work with specific texts over others. Applebee also focuses on the assignments that
correlate to the texts.
The Western Canon - Harold Bloom
Bloom looks at Western Literary and expressed his opinion on why it is reviled and revered and
studied at great lengths. He urges his reader to look beyond the standard interpretations and reexamine the beauty of the texts and discover the magic which made them classics in the first place.
References:
Applebee, Arthur N. Centre for Learning and Teaching Literature Final Report. Washington, D.C. :
Office of Educational Research and Improvement, 1991.
Guillory, John. "Canon, Syllabus, List" Transition 52, 1991, Pg. 36-54
Most, Glenn W., "Canon Fathers: Literacy, Mortality, Power" Arion 1.1, 1990, Pg. 35-60.
Reading the Canon, http://www.cedu.niu.edu/~shumow/itt/Reading%20the%20Canon.pdf
Ross, Catherine Sheldrick, Lynne (E.F.) McKechnie, and Paulette M. Rothbauer. Reading Matters:
What the Research Reveals about Reading, Libraries, and Community. Westport, CT: Libraries
Unlimited, 2006. Pg. 53