Choose a piece of literature that will challenge your students, yet will be easy enough for them to comprehend. Keep students' interests in mind. For example, select Virginia Woolf's "Orlando" for students interested in gender identity.
Make a list of the English mechanics and grammar you want to teach your students. An example selection includes: run-on sentences, semicolon usage and paragraph formation.
Read your selected piece of literature. Look for examples of the grammar components you will teach. Note the examples, with corresponding page and line numbers, on your list. If using "Orlando," for example, note the author's use of semicolons and parenthetical em dashes in the first few pages.
Divide your piece of literature into sections, with at least one but no more than three grammar components in each.
Assign the literature to the students, with each section comprising one session.
Discuss, with your students, the relevant grammar of each section. Discuss the events, overall mood and meanings in that section. Explore the relationship between the author's choice of form and expression of meaning. For example, in a discussion of the first few pages of "Orlando," highlight the use of em dashes, then discuss the tone the author creates through parenthetical statements about gender.
Add one vocabulary word per day to a vocabulary list. Choose words that relate to student interests. For example, if you teach English to science students, add words such as "hypothesis" or "sublimation."
Discuss, with the students, the meaning, etymology and nuances of each word.
Administer one extra-credit test per week to assess the students.
Choose poems that explore oddities, tones and figures of speech within the English language. Look for pieces with clear examples, such as E.E. Cummings' lack of capitalization. Look for pieces that correlate with your students' interests. For example, if you teach English to parents, choose Shakespeare's "procreation sonnets" (1 through 17), which center on progeny and aging.
Assign one poem per session.
Discuss the language nuances or broader themes of the poem with the students. For example, use "Sonnet 1" to teach the archaic differences between "thy," "thine," "thee," "thou" and "the." For a younger audience, choose "Fire and Ice," by Robert Frost, to discuss the theme of ironic entitlement.