by Edgar Allan Poe

Opening ActivityUsing your prior knowledge, a dictionary, or

your phone, define the following words in your

composition book. Then, use at least four of

them in a sentence.

Acute

Audacity

Conceived

Crevice

Derision

Hypocritical

Stealthily

Stifled

Vehemently

Vex

Definitions

Acute: (adj.) sharp or keenAudacity: (n.) shameless daring or boldnessConceived: (adj.) thought ofCrevice: (n.) a crackDerision: (n.) ridiculeHypocritical: (adj.) false or deceptive; pretending to be

something you’re notStealthily: (adv.) cautiously or secretlyStifled: (adj.) smotheredVehemently: (adv.) with intense emotionVex: (v.) to disturb or to annoy

Anticipation Guide – Agree/Disagree

• Read each of the following & write whether you agree or disagree with each statement.

• After we read the story, we will come back to these statements & determine whether we think the narrator agrees or disagrees with each statement.

1. People who are insane always know that they are insane.

(Agree or Disagree)

2. Sane people sometimes imagine that they hear things.

(Agree or Disagree)

3. If you commit a major crime, sooner or later you will be

caught.

(Agree or Disagree)

4. When you’ve done something wrong, it’s agony to wonder if

you’ll be caught.

(Agree or Disagree)

5. All people share the same fears (i.e., the same things frighten all

people).

(Agree or Disagree)

Edgar Allan Poe• An American poet, short-story writer, editor and literary critic, and is

considered part of the American Romantic Movement.

• Best known for his tales of mystery and the macabre

(grim or ghastly).

• Poe was one of the earliest American short story

writers, and is considered the inventor of

the detective-fiction genre.

• He was the first well-known American writer to try

to earn a living through writing alone, resulting in a

financially difficult life and career.

• Born as Edgar Poe in Boston, Massachusetts.

• Poe's father deserted the family and his mother died

when he was young. Poe was taken in by John and

Frances Allan, of Richmond, Virginia, but they

never formally adopted him.

A Life of Tragedy

• In 1836, Poe married his thirteen-year-old

cousin, Virginia Clemm.

• In 1847, Clemm died of tuberclosis.

• Poe’s loneliness and drinking increased.

• Although his writing was popular,

he made only $15 for one of his most

popular poems, “The Raven,” and

he died virtually penniless.

• He was found lying unconscious in a

Baltimore gutter on a rainy day in 1849,

and he died four days later of unknown causes.

Author vs. Narrator

• The narrator of a work of fiction or the speaker of a poem is a creation of the author, just as the characters in the work are.

• This is especially true of a first-person point-of-view narrative.

• The narrator in “The Tell-Tale Heart” says “I was never kinder to the old man than during the whole week before I killed him.” This is not Poe, the author speaking, but an unnamed narrator that he has created.

Time to READ the story,

“The Tell-Tale Heart”

by Edgar Allan Poe

Essential Question #1

How does point of view influence a story’s mood?

Point of view is the vantage point from which a story is told. Point of view influences both the way the information is conveyed as well as the word choice that helps the author create the

story’s mood.

Essential Question #2

How do effective writers create mood in their short stories?

A writer uses literary “tools” to create mood such as carefully selecting details (descriptive words, dialogue, imagery, and setting), relying on sounds and rhythms, and using symbolism.

“The Tell Tale Heart” close reading

1. Annotate the following:– Unfamiliar words (look them up)– Anything you find confusing, interesting,

surprising or important– Strong imagery, word choice, figurative

language, irony, allusions, symbols, tone/mood, themes, setting/historical period, POV (effect), reliability of narrator, repetition (effect), etc.

– Impress me!

Close Reading Lesson

• Using your notes and discussion of the passage, come up with at least three close reading instructions and/or follow up questions that will lead your students into an understanding of a particular literary element.

• Be prepared to present.

• For example, when I was “leading” you to an understanding of how characterization helps to establish the tone, I asked you to do the following:– Summarize the passage– Are the narrator’s intentions good or bad? What

evidence in the text supports your answer?– Find three things in the passage that the narrator

says or does. What do these examples reveal about the narrator? Explain.

– How does the narrator’s persona contribute to the tone of the passage?

Evaluating Your Students• Read through your students’ responses to the questions and

prompts that you gave them. Give them a score based on Mrs. Terry’s grading scale:

• 9-10: Exceeds expectations with higher-order thinking, insight and elaboration

• 8- Meets: Demonstrates mastery of the concepts and/or literary elements

• 6-7 Approaching: You can tell that they have a basic understanding of the concept but have not demonstrated mastery.

• 5- Falls Far Below• In addition to the number score, give them some written

feedback.

Turning it In

• Give your students back their work so they can see how they did.

• I will collect the students’ work, including the passage, questions, and answers.

• Make sure your group members’ names are on the top paper that you are turning in.

• If your “teachers” didn’t put their names on their assignment, please write their group number next to your names.

“Tell Tale Heart” literary elements group work

• Get out your stories.• With your group members, respond to the question

you are assigned.• Write your responses on your table with Expo marker

(please no other doodling!).• When everyone is finished, we will do a “gallery walk”

and respond to / add to other group’s responses.• Note: you may want to take notes- these concepts will

be included on your test TOMORROW!

1. When the officers arrive, what is the sound that the narrator hears? How can you logically explain this sound? What does this sound symbolize?

2. Is the narrator reliable? Why or why not?3. Find three examples of imagery from the text.4. Find three examples where the narrator is trying to

establish his sanity.5. Find three examples where the narrator’s sanity is

called into question.6. Find examples of verbal irony from the story.7. Find examples of dramatic irony from the story.8. Find examples of situational irony from the story.

Additional Test Review Questions• What is the narrator’s motivation for killing the old

man? Which passage from the text shows this?• What is the mood of the story?• What is the tone of the story?• What is the POV of the story?• What is an example of foreshadowing in the story?• How does the author build suspense in the story?• Identify the exposition, rising action, climax, falling

action and resolution of the story (if the story has them).