Teaching a novel using the common core state standards

Danielle Holley
Wed, 22 Apr 2026 17:44:46 PDT

The purpose of this project was to explore ways that teachers can use the newly adopted Common Core State Standards to drive their instruction while teaching a novel. I created lessons for teachers to apply to the teaching of any novel and also gave specific lessons to use while teaching the novel The Adventures of Ulysses, by Bernard Evslin. I created lessons that addressed the Common Core's English Language Arts standards in reading literature, reading informational texts, writing, speaking and listening. My goal for this project was to explore how teachers could incorporate the use of informational texts, multimedia tools, the arts and their community as a way to support the teaching of a novel. I mainly incorporated these other resources as a way to get students to analyze literature more deeply and to help them strengthen their understanding of the novel itself. I wanted them to meet the rigorous Common Core State Standards while still experiencing literature as art and having a feeling of connectedness to the novel. The outcome of this project was a novel-centered unit that is aligned to the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts. There are two separate units included in the project. One unit was designed to be adapted to any novel and therefore is less specific and more of a suggested outline for a unit. The other unit is specific to The Adventures of Ulysses and includes detailed lesson plans that could be used by any teacher who teaches this novel.