Edgar Allen Poe
Overall Goal
• Write informative/explanatory texts to
examine a topic and convey ideas, concepts,
and information through the selection,
organization, and analysis of relevant content.
KWL
What do you know about
Edgar Allan Poe?
What do you want to
know about Edgar Allan
Poe?
What did you learn about
Edgar Allan Poe?
Journal
Write down
anything that you
have heard about
or know about
American author,
Edgar Allan Poe.
What would you
like to learn about
him?
Day 1
• I will learn various facts about the famous
American author Edgar Allan Poe.
• I will explain in writing 10 facts about Poe.
• Using specific facts from Poe’s life, justify why
he chose to write about creepy, sad, and
morbid topics.
Poe Biography
• While watching the film, you will need to write
the following information in your journal:
– Ten facts that you learn about Poe’s life using the
bubble chart.
– Write three specific reasons why Poe was inspired to
write about creepy, sad, and suspenseful
experiences the way that he did.
Video Biography
• http://www.biograph
y.com/video.do?nam
e=booography&bcpid
=1753162054&bclid=
1859715279&bctid=1
861298412
Simple
Sufficient/Sophisticated
I think that ________wrote
________ stories because
_____________________,
______________________
and__________________.
____________, ___________
and ___________________all
provide evidence why ______
wrote _____________ stories.
Day 2
• Learning Target:
– I will understand the various literary elements that
Poe utilizes in his writing.
• Language Target:
– I will verbally define key literary terms of this unit
after taking notes.
Vocabulary
• Please use the Frayer Model for the next 4
literary terms.
Mood
• What is ‘mood’?
• Mood is the emotional attitude the author takes
towards his/her writing piece.
• I am in a _________ mood today/right now
because ________________.
• You can tell I am in a __________ mood today by
the way I _______________________________.
Share
• Read your two sentences to an elbow partner.
• For five Hawks: act out your mood in front of
the class. First person to guess correctly will
also receive 5 Hawks!
Foreshadow
• Hints within the text that show what might
happen next within the story
Suspense: Anxiety
or apprehension
resulting from an
uncertain,
undecided, or
mysterious
situation.
Personification
• Personification is giving human qualities to
animals or objects.
• Example: The tree’s branches caressed the
moon.
Create your own example
Objects
Human Qualities/Actions
Tree
Screamed
Sun
Cradled
River
Kissed
Grass
Seduced
Wind
Hugged
Fire
Whipped
Leaves
Grabbed
Simple
Sufficient/Sophisticated
_______________________________ means
_____________________________________
_____________________________________
I would paraphrase ______________by saying
_____________________________________
_____________________________________
An example of _______________________ is
_____________________________________
_____________________________________.
A synonym for _______________________ is
_____________________________________
_____________________________________.
Day 3
• Learning Target:
– I will understand key words within the story of
“The Tell-Tale Heart”.
• Language Target:
– I will write creative sentences using the key vocab
from “The Tell-Tale Heart” and share out with the
entire class.
The Tell Tale Heart
• http://www.archive.org/details/TheTelltaleHeart
The Tell-Tale Heart
by Edgar Allen Poe
Acute
(Adjective)
Highly sensitive
Raptors have acute
hearing and vision, which
is estimated to be eight to
ten times that of humans.
The ears of a raptor are an
important tool in locating
prey.
Example Sentence: The teacher’s acute hearing benefitted her when
the students whispered their gossip of the day.
Vexed
(verb)
Irritated
Example sentence: I vexed my cat
when I tried giving her a bath.
Sagacity
noun
Keen perception, with foresight and
judgment; wisdom
Example sentence: The student’s sagacity
shocked the teacher: she thought he was just
another mindless teenager hooked on video
games and Red Bull.
Dissemble
(Verb)
To hide the truth; pretend
Example Sentence:
Halloween is the perfect
day to dissemble.
Stifled
(Adjective)
smothered
Example Sentence: The heat stifled the kitten,
making him collapse with exhaustion.
Crevice
(noun)
A crack
Example sentence:
He slipped through
the crevice in the ice,
falling to his untimely
death
Audacity
(noun)
Shameless daring or boldness
Example sentence:
She had the
audacity to stand up
to the angry teacher.
Vehemently
(Adverb)
With intense emotion
Example sentence: She
vehemently screamed
at the dog who used her
beautiful front yard as a
toilet.
Derision
(Noun)
To Ridicule
Example sentence:
The derision from the
harsh audience made
the actor leave the
stage in shame.
Hypocritical
(adjective)
False or deceptive, like a person who is
pretending to be what he or she is not
Example sentence:
When the health
teacher was caught
eating at McDonald’s
every day, he was
called hypocritical.
Story Time
• Now write a complete story, using the words we
just went over within your sentences. You can
change the form of the word (from noun to
adjective, singular to plural, etc.) if you so
wish. Remember to use imagery, have a
definite/clear plot, and flesh out your
character(s). It should be AT LEAST a page
long.
Day 4
• Learning Target:
– I will understand how the character changes
throughout the story.
• Language Target:
– I will write a summary paragraph that describes
the main character of the story.
Literary Analysis Essay
•
•
•
•
•
Topic sentence
Concrete detail
Commentary
Commentary
Conclusion sentence
Example paragraph for “The Tell Tale
Heart” literary analysis
• The narrator is obsessed with a frail old man
because of his milky white eye. Every night,
the narrator sneaks into the old man’s room,
shining a thin strip of light from a lantern onto
the dreaded eye. He both fears and is
angered by the sight. Soon, he will not be
able to fight his terrifying fascination. The
narrator’s fixation of the old man’s eye is
draining him of his sanity.
In summary, ________ can be characterized as
__________. One concrete detail that shows
this is ________________________________.
One can see that _______ is ______________.
Also, this supports the fact that __________ is
_____________________________________.
Ultimately, we understand that the _______ is
_____________________________________.
Prose vs. Film
• Analyze the extent to which a filmed or live
production of a story or drama stays faithful to
or departs from the text or script, evaluating
the choices made by the director or actors.
Day 5
• Learning Target:
– I will understand that there are both similarities
and differences between a written version of a
story and a filmed version.
• Language Target:
– I will write down elements that the story and the
film both have in common and in contrast (Venn
Diagram).
Film vs. Story
Simple
Sufficient
Sophisticated
Unlike the _____, the
_____ is ______________.
The _____ is just like the
_______ in that they both
_____________________.
A distinction between the
_______ and the ________
is that ________________.
Both the _____ and the
The _____ is ___________. The _____ is ______;
_____ are _____________. In contrast, the _____ is
however, the _________ is
_____________________. _____________________.
The Raven
• What do you know about, “The Raven?”
• What do we know about Poe’s wife Virginia?
• What does the bird, the raven symbolize?
The Raven
Alliteration
• Alliteration is the repetition of initial sounds in
neighboring words.
• Examples:
– sweet smell of success, a dime a dozen, bigger and
better
Assonance
• Assonance is the repetition of vowel sounds in
words.
• Examples: fleet feet sweep by sleeping geeks
Stanza
Stanza is a unified group of lines in poetry
Ex: A candy bar.
A piece of cake.
A lollipop.
A chocolate shake.
A jelly donut.
Chocolate chips.
Some gummi worms
and licorice whips.
A candy cane.
A lemon drop.
Some bubblegum
and soda pop.
Vanilla wafers.
Cherry punch.
(My mom slept in
while I made lunch.)
Symbol
• Symbol is using
an object or
action that
means
something more
than its literal
meaning.
• Example:
ravens are
guardians of
graveyards and
the dead and
are symbols of
bad omens.
First listen, then watch, then analyze!
•
• http://odeo.com/episodes/23334503-EdgarAllan-Poe-The-Raven-read-by-ChristopherWalken
http://dotsub.com/view/58591756-7128-488cbfe9-22463d46d907#
• http://www.teachersfirst.com/share/raven/
• In your group you will take your assigned stanzas
from, The Raven, and:
– Determine what the stanza is saying and retell it in
language that a kindergartner would understand.
– You will need to look up any unknown words.
– Create a “kid friendly” stanza on a piece of computer
paper.
– Your “kid friendly” creation should be colorful and
beautiful because it will become part of our
classroom book.
– Remember, you are a communicator, your final
product should effectively communicate Poe’s ideas
and mood.
Stanza 1
• What time of night is it?
• What is the narrator doing at the beginning of
the story?
• What does he hear at the door?
Kid Friendly Language
Stanza 1
One cold, wet evening at midnight I was reading
a bunch of old and forgotten books. I was
very sleepy and about to nod off when
suddenly I heard a sharp knocking on the
door! I muttered under my breath that it
must be a visitor tapping at my door, just that,
and nothing more.
Stanza 2
• What time of year does the poem take place?
• What is the narrator wishing for?
• Who is Lenore?
Kid Friendly Language
Stanza 2
Oh, I remember now, it was in December when
this happened. There was a fire and each of
the little embers were jumping out of the fire
and dying out on the ground. I was thinking
how I wished the day was over. I was reading
to forget about my sadness over Lenore. She
was so beautiful that the angels named her
Lenore, but now she is gone.
Stanza 3
• How does the narrator feel at the beginning of
this stanza?
• What is rustling in the background?
• Why is his heart beating so fast?
• What does he keep telling himself?
Kid Friendly Language
Stanza 3
The purple curtain was blowing behind me and I
was so scared. My heart was beating so fast!
I kept saying to myself that is just a visitor
coming to visit me and it is nothing more. I
kept saying this to make me feel better
because I was so scared.
Stanza 4
• What does he say at the beginning of the
stanza?
• What happens when he opens the door?
Kid Friendly Language
Stanza 4
• After a while I decided to be brave and I said
out loud, “Sir or Madam” I was trying to sleep
and your knocking is waking me up! I barely
heard you at first but now I do. Then I opened
the door…but there was no one there!
Stanzas 5
• Why does the narrator continue to stare into
the darkness when he hears and sees
nothing?
• Who whispers Lenore back to him?
Kid Friendly Language
Stanza 5
• I stood there staring into the darkness, I just
kept wondering, and being scared. I think I
was thinking thoughts that no one had ever
thought before. But then there was a sound
in the darkness, and I heard myself whisper,
“Lenore?” After I whispered “Lenore,” there
was an echo… and I heard her name again.
Then there was silence again.
Stanzas 6
• How does he rationalize hearing the tapping
sound again?
• What does he think is making the sound?
Kid Friendly Language
Stanza 6
• After I closed the door, I felt a fire inside of
me. But then I heard that tapping again, it
was louder than before! I decided this time
that the sound had to be coming from the
window. I needed to investigate the sound
because I was sure that it was only the wind!
Stanzas 7&8
• How does the narrator initially respond to the
raven?
• What question does he ask the narrator?
• How does he describe the raven?
Stanzas 9&10
• What has no other human being ever
experienced?
• What does the narrator mean about his other
friends?
• What does he think that the Raven will do?
Stanzas 11&12
• Why does the author think that the Raven
keeps saying, “nevermore?”
• Why does the bird still intrigue the author?
The Black Cat
• I understand how suspense keeps a story
exciting and interesting
• I will cite textual evidence of suspense within
The Black Cat
• An example of suspense in The Black Cat is
when _____________________________:
“find a specific part in the story to copy down
the words that support your claim).
The Pit and the Pendulum
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmn79SoZ
4-k
Literary Analysis Essay
•
•
•
•
•
Topic sentence
Concrete detail
Commentary
Commentary
Conclusion sentence
Example paragraph for “The Tell Tale
Heart” literary analysis
• The narrator is obsessed with a frail old man
because of his milky white eye. Every night,
the narrator sneaks into the old man’s room,
shining a thin strip of light from a lantern onto
the dreaded eye. He both fears and is
angered by the sight. Soon, he will not be
able to fight his terrifying fascination. The
narrator’s fixation of the old man’s eye is
draining him of his sanity.
Literary Analysis Outline
• Introduction Paragraph
– What will you talk about
• Three ways that Poe creates suspenseful mood in a story.
– First example
– Second example
– Third example
• Describe a time in your own life where you experienced suspense.
– Describe the experience with details such as: What happened? Who was
there? When did it happen? Where did it happen? Why did it happen? How
did you react?
• How did the suspense affect Poe’s work and how did your experience
affect your own life?
– How does the element of suspense affect Poe’s work? (ex: did it make the
story more interesting? Did it scare you? Did you like it? Did it make you dislike
the story?
– How did suspense affect your own life? (Do you like being scared? Does it
bother you to feel suspense?
– Make a connection between your own experience and Poe’s suspenseful
writing.
• Conclusion