Are you a teacher, and do you sometimes ask yourself questions when you have to 'give a literature lesson'? 

And what do you do with literature in that lesson? How do you work with texts - and which texts anyway? Of what length, from which source?  How do you test? Do those texts need to be literary? What does that even mean?

And even more important: what do you actually want the pupils to get out of your classes? Is that clear to you? Do you want them to read at home later, do you want them to know the history of Literature, do you want them to be able to break down a text in its different constituents? Or do you want them to feel justified in what they think and see? 

Or perhaps you want your pupils to be challenged by differences, rather than comforted by similarities?

That is the approach of this site: using literature (fiction of any kind) to develop critical thinking skills, empathic feelings, understanding of differences, and to foster curiosity and a desire to make sense of the world. Using literature as a means to an end, as a tool, rather than as an end in itself. 

Teaching with literature, and not teaching literature for itself.

That sounds wonderful, but in order to reach those goals a few things need to be considered - and that is what you wil find on this site, for example:

• Are you clear as to how and what you think about literature? What are your beliefs about it, its use, its nature, its relevance, its place in the class? Those essential questions must really be considered first - you can hardly reach your goals if those are not clear. Even if you do not believe in this site's objectives, your lessons can benefit from considering those questions!

• I also offer some general principles behind the site's approach to using literature in class: those principles really organise everything else. 

• There are also more general considerations around literature that will help you refine your approaches by drawing some distinctions often forgotten: inductive vs deductive reading, for example, or the importance of thinking about Genres.

• There are also some essential differences you need to identify before starting: for example, is it clear to you that topic, theme and argument are not the same? That there is a difference between Analysis and Interpretation? You need clarity on those differences so as to design the best possible lessons.

• Teachers need tools, and ways to help learners make sense of texts: how to interpret, and how to ask questions (and which) for example. Those tools - and more - is also what you will find here.

• You will also find a description of the project 'Literature and citizenship', a collaboration with secondary school teachers in the Netherlands aimed at finding concrete ways to develop citizenship competencies using fiction and visual material: check it out...and join us! We provide workshops and material tailored to your school's interests and needs when it comes to literature, citizenship, and how to use one to foster the other.

While there are many approaches to dealing with fiction/literature in class (historical, analytical, academic, cultural, motivational among others), this site is really only interested in working with texts to foster critical reading and thinking skills in relation to developing citizenship competences. And while this does not mean that everything else is irrelevant, there are yet solid reasons for seriously considering this approach, especially in (v)mbo, havo, and certainly at onderbouw level too. It will become clear that you can combine this approach with others, find your own way into pedagogical and methodological choices, relate it to other skills (e.g. Language ones).