In 1971, the year that "Masterpiece Theater" premiered on WGBH, the public television station in Boston, the author's family lived in London for the summer. Her life that summer had the taste and texture of an English novel, and she loved every minute of it, which might explain not only her choice to become an English teacher but also her lifelong…

This article describes the assignments the author created to engage preservice teachers in designing instructional materials that befit today's students to help them overcome hurdles sometimes present when learning classic literature. Secondary and middle school English teachers may find these assignments useful as well so their students, too,…