For many high schoolers, assigned reading is a dreaded task. I use to struggle to complete the first few chapters let alone the whole book. That was until my 11th-grade English teacher helped me understand the art and beauty of literature.

Creating a Love for Literature for High School Students

It all started with The Great Gatsby, which will forever hold a special place in my heart. My teacher helped bring the pages to life by teaching us about the historical context, symbolism, and veiled meaning of the author’s word choice. This was the key that unlocked the bookworm trait I never knew I had. Not only could I not put that book down, but every book thereafter was like a treasure waiting to be dug up, and I could not stop digging.

That year we also read To Kill a Mockingbird, Of Mice and Men, The Crucible, and The Scarlet Letter; all of which have had a lasting impact on me. My love for reading has continued into adulthood, but it all started with a teacher helping me understand what I was reading on a deeper level. That is what Book Club is all about.

How Book Club Benefits Teachers and Students

We’ve compiled a list of the top read books in High School English and Literature classes and found videos (most under 5 minutes) to help students understand the book beyond the words on the page. These video study guides consist of multiple videos, one for each chapter (or scene from a play and similar sectioning) as well as additional videos discussing various aspects of the book like historical context and character analysis.

Each post contains a playlist of all these videos in one convenient location. Teachers can use individual videos as part of their lessons. As a bonus, we’ve added Common Core State Standards alignment to aid in your lesson planning. Students can watch the videos for homework help or prepare for a test. Below is the complete list of all the books in SchoolTube’s Book Club. This list will continue to grow, so bookmark this page for easy access and check back often.

Book Club Books

• 1984
• A Christmas Carol
• A Midsummer Night’s Dream
• A Raisin in the Sun
• A Tale of Two Cities
• Animal Farm
• Beowulf
• Brave New World
• Crime and Punishment
• Death of a Salesman
• Fahrenheit 451
• Frankenstein
• Great Expectations
• Hamlet
• I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
• Invisible Man
• Jane Eyre
• Julius Caesar
• Lord of the Flies
• Macbeth
• Moby-Dick; or, the Whale
• Of Mice and Men
• Othello
• Pride and Prejudice
• Romeo and Juliet
• Slaughterhouse-Five
• The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
• The Alchemist
• The Canterbury Tales
• The Catcher in the Rye
• The Crucible
• The Giver
• The Grapes of Wrath
• The Great Gatsby
• The House on Mango Street
• The Importance of Being Earnest
• The Odyssey
• The Outsiders
• The Raven
• The Scarlet Letter
• The Taming of the Shrew
• The Tell-Tale Heart
• Their Eyes Were Watching God
• To Kill a Mockingbird
• Wuthering Heights