Putting together a strong high school reading list can be both exciting and challenging. The books you choose directly shape how students experience literature. A well-selected list can spark discussion, build critical thinking skills, and help students develop a deeper appreciation for reading.

Of course, teachers don’t always have full control over the reading list. Depending on your school or district, you may have the flexibility to add or suggest new books to the curriculum—or you may be working within a set list of required titles. Even so, many teachers still look for ways to refresh their reading selections, introduce new works, or recommend extra texts that support their learning goals.

If you’re looking to update your classroom reading list or suggest new titles for your curriculum, it helps to think carefully about what makes a book both instructionally valuable and engaging for students. 

Study Text Complexity

One basic thing to consider when building a high school reading list is evaluating a book’s complexity. State standards recommend teaching complex texts that challenge students in order to prepare them for readings they’ll encounter in college and beyond. Selecting texts with appropriate levels of difficulty ensures students are exposed to sophisticated vocabulary, sentence structures, and ideas that push them to grow as readers.

To that end, the Lexile measure is a great tool for deciding whether a book meets the complexity requirements for your students. A Lexile measure is a numeric representation of a text’s difficulty level, taking into account quantitative factors like word frequency and sentence length. Higher numbers indicate higher levels of difficulty.

Suggested Reading: How to Select Appropriate Texts by Lexile Measure

However, a Lexile measure is just one facet of text complexity. While it can tell you a book’s technical level, it can’t determine whether the text contains appropriate subject matter. For example, Elie Wiesel’s harrowing memoir Night has a Lexile measure of 570L, a level at which second and third graders are expected to read. When selecting titles by Lexile measure, make sure to thoroughly research each book’s content to keep your choices appropriate for your students’ maturity levels.

Consider the Classics

Beloved titles like Romeo and Juliet, Frankenstein, and The Scarlet Letter remain reading list staples, and for good reason. With enduring stories and universal themes, classic books give students a window into the past, exposing them to diverse writing styles, perspectives, and key points in human history.

You can’t go wrong with choosing classic literature for your book list, especially since most schools and districts usually make certain titles required reading. Some proven choices include The Great Gatsby and Of Mice and Men for American literature, Animal Farm and Lord of the Flies for British literature, and Macbeth and Pygmalion for studying plays.

Suggested Reading: Why Should We Still Teach the Classics?

Of course, not all students will enjoy reading classic literature. Some may find the language difficult or have trouble connecting to texts written so long ago. To help students get the most out of classic books, consider teaching them alongside relevant modern titles. Not only will this give students a better appreciation for the classics, but it’ll also enforce students’ understanding of modern work, as many contemporary authors draw inspiration from older literature.

Make Books Multitask

To supplement the English language arts material you already teach, try creating a multipurpose book list. By nature, literature is an endless source of material for ELA study, from grammar and writing mechanics to reading comprehension and vocabulary acquisition. 

Books provide the opportunity to teach language arts skills in context. This helps students better grasp the lessons presented to them compared to exercises done in isolation. For instance, teaching vocabulary from books gives students the chance to learn words in context, interpret elusive shades of meaning, and develop a greater interest in the book they’re reading.

The subject matter of the books on your list can extend beyond the ELA classroom, too. Check in with your school’s other departments and learn what topics they’ll be covering over the year. Plenty of nonfiction texts offer valuable literary merit while reinforcing students’ knowledge of other school subjects, such as history, science, and the arts.

Big Discounts on the Books You Need

Once you’ve identified the books that best support your curriculum and engage your students, the next step is making sure those titles are accessible in the classroom. Many schools rely on affordable paperback editions so that every student can follow along, annotate, and fully participate in discussions and assignments.

Prestwick House offers a wide selection of classic titles through our Literary Touchstone Classics line, designed specifically for classroom use. Teachers can also take advantage of our paperback discount offer, which helps schools purchase the books they need at reduced prices.

• You’ll always save at least 25% on every paperback you buy—even if you purchase only one.
• If the total retail value of your order is over $500, you’ll save 30% on every paperback.
• And if the value of your order is over $2,500, you’ll save 35%! It's that simple!

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