LitCharts

Well, this has been challenging to think of ever since I first checked out LitCharts when the arrived.  The challenge lies in students' not using others' work instead of their own.  One of my main concerns lies within this larger picture--I'm wary of providing the kids with what they may well see as "official" analysis of a text and therefore more important or correct than their own.  It takes a strong will, at 13 or even 17 years old, to even think of disagreeing with an instructor-provided, professional analysis of challenging text.

So I would use this tool as an example of simply another take on the text.  Specifically, I might work with an English teacher to offer LitCharts information as analysis for critique.  For instance, students would read LitCharts' analysis of a chapter and also write their own, citing differences and arguing their own points of view.  I would specifically allow the students to read the LitCharts information along with writing their own analyses because they would be required to come up with something unique, cite differences between their own take on the text and LitCharts', and be able to discuss these differences in a text-based conversation.

Thus, I would hope to eliminate the urge to avoid reading the original text and to teach them to create, value, and defend their own perspectives.