It's Lit! (Grades 9-12)

English Langauge Arts

Overview

It’s Lit! is a series of smart, funny video essays from PBS Digital Studios about our favorite books and why we love to read. Hosted by Lindsay Ellis, the series delves into topics like the evolution of YA, how science fiction mirrors our own anxieties, and why the book is sometimes just a bit better than the movie. 

Credit: PBS Digital Studios

Details

The series is not necessarily set up as an instructional tool. Like many other PBS Digital properties, it does not come with support materials. For the most part, the host asks the kinds of probing questions that young adults wonder about and provides excellent background through wonderful, storytelling. There are 14 episodes in their PBS LearningMedia collection and 19 videos in their YouTube playlist. 

Many of the topics require a fair amount of previous knowledge, so the recommended ages mostly fall within high school. These videos do an excellent job of getting conversations started in the classroom that students are likely having outside of them. With content pulled from The Great American Read series, Lindsey Ellis discusses different genres as well as classic and popular elements of literature.