Law Meets Literature: A Novel Approach for the English Classroom

This text was developed by three experienced English teachers, who also happen to be lawyers. The law provides a new dimension to popular literary themes, like justice, fairness and equality. These legal documents will enhance the discussion in the English/Language Arts classroom. With the Common Core State Standards’ emphasis on incorporating primary documents of historical and literary significance, literature teachers have more opportunity than ever to use case law and other legal documents as texts. Each thematic unit includes essential questions, familiar fiction and nonfiction selections with connections to the theme, teaching notes, and relevant cases with before, during, and after-discussion questions. The text demonstrates not only the importance of the thoughtful selection of legal documents to meet state and national standards, but also includes new approaches to classic texts. With an easily accessible format, teachers will overcome any intimidation of case law and embrace the use of legal documents to enhance the literature in a new, insightful way.