More than any other short story writer, Edgar Allan Poe still captures the imaginations of his readers 150 years after his death. What I love most about his writing is that he appeals to even the most reluctant readers. In order to teach his most classic short story, however, you will definitely want to think about including The Tell Tale Heart Analysis Activities for varying levels of student abilities.
More often than not, students enjoy the process of delving deeply into twisted plots and even more twisted characters. They become fascinated by Poe’s tales because the stories appeal to every one of us for various reasons. In The Tell Tale Heart, Poe describes the slow yet growing madness of a person bent on the death of an old man simply because of his eye, yet we are morbidly captivated.
We WANT to know the end! We NEED to know the end!
To help our students comprehend this frightening piece of iconic American literature, let’s guide them by focusing on specific areas for The Tell Tale Heart Analysis!
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5 Ways To Help Your Students Focus on The Tell Tale Heart Analysis
1. Focus on Vocabulary
To know every word in the dictionary is impossible. And for some students, knowing every word in a short story is just as impossible. Why not expose your students to the most important words of “The Tell Tale Heart” before they even begin reading? They will most certainly thank you as they read the entire story.
Here are 3 examples from the story to help your students as they work on The Tell Tale Heart Analysis:
- mad-crazy, insane
- dreadfully-awful, horrible
- cunningly-clever, deceitful
ACTIVITY IDEAS:
- Identify 5 words and look them up. Many times, students have access to technology, so they can easily search for and write down definitions!
- After looking up the definition of a word or several words, students can research synonyms and antonyms for each word.
- When students become more familiar with their vocabulary words, they can create a quick image for each word.
- Students can present their words, meanings, and images with the class; they will learn other ways of seeing words from their classmates!
Need simple-to-use vocabulary graphic organizers? See below!
Having a brain freeze when teaching vocabulary? CLICK BELOW!
2. Focus on Plot
Identifying plot elements might seem super basic, but because of Poe’s use of higher-level language, many students may struggle to accomplish this goal. Make sure to explain each element first before your students begin to go more deeply into The Tell Tale Heart analysis!
Exposition: the introduction to the characters, setting, and conflict; helps to set the stage for the reader
Rising Action: action that takes place after the exposition and leads up to the climax; develops the characters and builds suspense
Climax: the most important part of the story; highest point of action that causes a change in some way
Falling Action: action that takes place after the climax; leads to the resolution
Resolution: the end of the story that resolves the conflict, reveals a change or lack thereof in the main character, and ends with a reflection connected to the meaning of the story
Click below for help with identifying the plot elements of this classic story!
Check out this post for more help with teaching the short stories of Edgar Allan Poe!
3. Focus on Characterization
Focusing on characterization is the next level of analysis beyond plot and vocabulary. The goal is to get students to identify the traits of a character–primary or secondary–and/or how a character changes throughout the text.
THE TELL TALE HEART ANALYSIS OF CHARACTERIZATION STEPS:
- Choose a character to analyze: the narrator or the old man.
- Identify 3-5 pieces of evidence throughout the story for that character.
- Analyze how the character changes from beginning to end.
- Write a paragraph or create visuals that highlight the changes.
If you want a step-by-step way to teach The Tell Tale Heart Analysis, click below!
Make examining character traits simple and easy for any passage with this Graphic Organizer Pack for characterization. It will help middle and high school students examine how the author uses textual evidence for a specific purpose, making The Tell Tale Heart analysis even more effortless!
4. Focus on Theme
Theme is simply a message from a story. Usually, we write a theme in 1 or 2 sentences, not a single word or phrase.
When students take the time to synthesize all of the information from a reading passage, they can come up with a more universal message relating to various topics!
Let’s say that you want your students to do The Tell Tale Heart analysis focused on creating thematic statements.
First, you will want to identify major topics in the story. Ex. murder, insanity, crime, hate, prejudice
Next, you will want to link the above ideas to what actually happens in the story.
Lastly, based on the topics and evidence, you will want to write a message linked to what the author is trying to about the topic.
EXAMPLE THEMES:
- Insanity will lead people to do horrific things if unchecked.
- People should not judge someone based on physical characteristics.
Check out this THEMES MADE EASY Pack for help with teaching themes as a part of The Tell Tale Heart analysis!
5. Focus on Psychoanalytic Criticism
This method is a bit tougher than the rest. Through psychoanalysis, we can examine the mental and emotional states of the characters as well as their implications. Then, the major objective would be to connect the character(s) to the author.
From what we know about Edgar Allan Poe, this type of analysis might be super interesting for students. They could research Poe’s background and try to make connections to this particular story!
Consider the following:
- Poe’s early life
- Poe’s addictions
- Poe’s marriage
- Poe’s family
- Poe’s education
- Poe’s career
- Poe’s death
By focusing on the psychological aspects of the narrator, students will find some VERY convincing similarities.
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