Teaching literature in English language subject in 8th grade classes of elementary education in Fortaleza municipal school.

Abstract

Teaching in the Brazilian public network presents many deficiencies already known to many: insufficient resources, unevenness of students with their grades, inadequate assessment system, among others. Furthermore, the lack of taste for reading is a problem not only for students, but for the entire Brazilian population. What does not contribute much to improving this scenario is the literature teaching system in some schools, focused on classifications of literary schools and information on authors and styles, uninteresting for young people in general and separated from any reading of literary texts in the school environment. Cosson (2006) defends the need for literature as a necessary experience in schools in order to “make the world understandable”. In a similar way, Cândido (1988) assures that the right to literature is as basic as any “incompressible good” as it guarantees spiritual integrity. This article proposes, inspired by Cosson's basic sequence in his Letramento Literário: teoria e prática, to reflect on the application of a didactic sequence of literature classes based on the text of The Tell-Tale Heart, by Edgar Allan Poe within English classes in an 8th grade class at a public school in Fortaleza.

Keywords: literature, English language, public school, elementary education, Edgar Allan Poe