10 Big Themes to Teach in Literature (That Students Actually Care About)

When you teach literature, one of your biggest challenges is helping students actually care about the texts you are reading with them.

I find that this often starts with finding the right theme.

Not the dusty, disconnected kind. But the real, raw themes that teens are already navigating in their own lives - the kind that make them sit up, lean in, and say, “Wait… that actually hit.”

These are ten of the big ones I’ve found students genuinely connect with, plus suggestions for texts that help bring those themes to life in your classroom.

1. Identity and Belonging

Teens are figuring out who they are. Let’s be honest; at their age, it’s part of the job description. So when characters are exploring identity or struggling to fit in, students connect almost instinctively. These texts open space for reflection, empathy, and growth.

If you want to explore it, try:

• The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton – teen perspective on class and belonging

• “Still I Rise” by Maya Angelou – unapologetic identity and resilience

• Everything Everything by Nicola Yoon – explores identity and isolation

2. Freedom and Control

Teenagers are constantly testing limits - of themselves, of others, and of the systems around them. So I find that the theme of freedom and control tends to open up big, bold questions from them in the classroom: What would you do? Why does freedom matter? Where’s the line?

If you want to explore it, try:

• The Giver by Lois Lowry – dystopia and personal freedom

• 1984 by George Orwell – classic, but still sparks real debate

• Only Ever Yours by Louise O’Neill – chilling gendered control in a modern dystopia

3. Grief and Loss

Unfortunately, many students already know what it means to lose something or someone. By our teen years, many have experienced loss in different forms - the break down of a friendship, the separation of parents, the loss of a loved one or pet. I think that texts that explore grief and loss give them a way to process emotion through the safety of fiction, poetry, or drama.

If you want to explore it, try:

• A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness – magical realism, grief, and truth

• Bridge to Terabithia by Katherine Paterson – friendship and sudden loss

• “Funeral Blues” by W.H. Auden – raw emotion, powerful form

4. Justice and Injustice

I think today’s teens are more politically aware, more socially conscious, and more willing than ever to use their voices. So bringing in texts that explore the theme of justice and injustice ignites discussion and invites big conversations about fairness, truth, and the systems we live in.

If you want to explore it, try:

• The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas – police violence, activism, and voice

• An Inspector Calls by J.B. Priestley – social responsibility and systemic injustice

• “I, Too” by Langston Hughes – short but powerful protest poem

5. Power and Corruption

I always feel the power and corruption are closely tied to justice and control, so this theme speaks to students because it mirrors both the headlines they read and the dynamics they see around them - even in schools, homes, or relationships.

If you want to explore it, try:

• Macbeth by William Shakespeare – timeless warning about unchecked ambition

• Animal Farm by George Orwell – allegory of political power and betrayal

• We Were Liars by E. Lockhart – privilege, deception, and crumbling power structures in a family

6. Growing Up

Coming-of-age stories are timeless for a reason. Students don’t just read them - they live them. This theme invites vulnerability, humour, and rich class discussions. It means that at points, they empathize with the characters and truly connect with them, which is great because so many people want to be seen and heard

If you want to explore it, try:

1. Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi – a teen’s coming-of-age during the Iranian Revolution

2. On the Sidewalk Bleeding by Evan Hunter – short story with a gut-punch ending about identity and youth

3. Radio Silence by Alice Oseman – contemporary YA about pressure, purpose, and finding your voice

7. Love (But Not the Cheesy Kind)

Since lots of teens are experiencing first loves, huge crushes, complicated friendships, or shifting family relationships, I tend to find that most teens can connect with this one, or it at least it raises ideas and questions. They know that love doesn’t have to mean romance, and this theme allows for a wide emotional range.

If you want to explore it, try:

• Valentine by Carol Ann Duffy – subverts romantic tropes in brilliant, bold language

• Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng – love, silence, and misunderstanding in families

• Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds – verse novel about love, grief, and revenge

8. Outsiders and Marginalised Voices

A lot of teens feel like they don’t quite fit in, but this generation is also more inclusive, more open, and more curious. They respond well to voices that challenge expectations or reveal hidden perspectives, and I’ve found exploring marginalised voices in the classroom has sparked some great discussions.

If you want to explore it, try:

• The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time by Mark Haddon – neurodivergent perspective

• Poet X by Elizabeth Acevedo – slam poetry, identity, and finding your voice

• The Arrival by Shaun Tan – a silent graphic novel about immigration and being lost in translation

9. Memory and the Past

Teens may not always think of themselves as reflective, but many of them are quietly processing a lot. This theme opens the door to legacy, trauma, nostalgia, and how the past shapes the present and it leads them to naturally question more.

If you want to explore it, try:

• Beloved by Toni Morrison – powerful and haunting exploration of memory

• The Things They Carried by Tim O’Brien – story fragments that blur truth and fiction

• Remains by Simon Armitage – memory, trauma, and guilt in a single soldier’s story

10. Hope and Resilience

This one matters more than ever. Whether they’re facing exams, anxiety, or change, stories of resilience give students the emotional anchor they often don’t know they need and therefore get more out of texts that explore hope and resilience more than they expected to.

If you want to explore it, try:

• Refugee by Alan Gratz – three refugee journeys across history

• Invictus by William Ernest Henley – short, punchy, powerful resilience

• Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo – dual narrative verse about grief, sisterhood, and healing

What If You’re Stuck With a Text You Didn’t Choose?

It happens. You’ve inherited a syllabus or exam text that’s dusty, overused, or just not it. But that doesn’t mean you can’t pull something meaningful from it.

Start by flipping your angle. Don’t teach the same theme everyone else teaches - go sideways.

• Great Expectations doesn’t have to be about Victorian society; instead, try focusing on shame, ambition, or the idea of reinvention.

• Macbeth? Go beyond “ambition is bad” and look at the performance of masculinity, manipulation in relationships, or the burden of guilt.

• WW1 Poetry? Dig into unspoken grief, toxic nationalism, or generational trauma - they’ll see more than trenches and poppies.

Modern connections matter. Ask: What would this character post online? Who would they be today? If students can see themselves in the margins, the story starts to open up.

How to Go Deeper with Theme (Without Killing the Joy)

Spotting a theme in a paragraph isn’t enough. If you want students to really engage, give them ways to make it personal, different, or slightly weird - or a bit of all of it!

◆ Recast the format: Diary entries, unsent letters, podcast monologues, first-person confessionals
◆ Make it modern: Romeo slides into Juliet’s DMs, Macbeth livestreams his downfall, Viola does a quick GRWM video for crashing a nobleman’s court in disguise
◆ Get visual: Create character Pinterest boards, Spotify playlists, or design blackout poetry using a key passage
◆ Encourage challenge: I always tell my students: you don’t have to agree with me - in fact, I hope you don’t. Push the text, pull it apart, rebuild it.

Literature isn’t about finding the right answer — it’s about what you do with the ideas once they’re in your hands.

Final Thoughts

Themes are how students find themselves in literature and sometimes how they escape for a while. The more space you give them to explore, the more magic you’ll see.

So when in doubt? Let them dig deeper. Let them challenge the canon. Let them imagine something wilder, weirder, or more personal than you expected.

That’s where the real work (and the joy) lives.