“Tell Tale Heart”
Lesson Plans
Stage 1—Desired Results
Enduring Understanding:
Students will understand that…
 Guilt affects one’s actions.
Objective and Essential Questions:
Students will address…
Objective: How does guilt affect us?
Essential Questions:
 What is guilt?
 Why does it happen?
 Does everyone experience it?
 How do varying degrees of guilt
affect our actions?
Outcome:
Students will be able to…
 Make a claim and defend their argument using evidence from the text.
Common Core Standards Addressed:
Reading: Literature
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.8.3 Analyze how particular lines of dialogue or incidents in a story or drama
propel the action, reveal aspects of a character, or provoke a decision.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.8.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text,
including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of specific word choices on
meaning and tone, including analogies or allusions to other texts.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.8.6 Analyze how differences in the points of view of the characters and the
audience or reader (e.g., created through the use of dramatic irony) create such effects as suspense or
humor.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.8.7 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.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.8.10 By the end of the year, read and comprehend literature, including stories,
dramas, and poems, at the high end of grades 6–8 text complexity band independently and
proficiently.
Reading: Informational Text
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.8.2
Determine a central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text, including
its relationship to supporting ideas; provide an objective summary of the text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.8.10
By the end of the year, read and comprehend literary nonfiction at the high end of the grades 6-8 text
complexity
Speaking and Listening:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.8.1.A
Come to discussions prepared, having read or researched material under study; explicitly draw on that
preparation by referring to evidence on the topic, text, or issue to probe and reflect on ideas under
discussion.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.8.1.B
1
Follow rules for collegial discussions and decision-making, track progress toward specific goals and
deadlines, and define individual roles as needed.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.8.1.C
Pose questions that connect the ideas of several speakers and respond to others' questions and
comments with relevant evidence, observations, and ideas.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.8.1.D
Acknowledge new information expressed by others, and, when warranted, qualify or justify their own
views in light of the evidence presented.
Writing:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.8.1.A
Introduce claim(s), acknowledge and distinguish the claim(s) from alternate or opposing claims, and
organize the reasons and evidence logically.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.8.1.B
Support claim(s) with logical reasoning and relevant evidence, using accurate, credible sources and
demonstrating an understanding of the topic or text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.8.1.C
Use words, phrases, and clauses to create cohesion and clarify the relationships among claim(s),
counterclaims, reasons, and evidence.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.8.1.D
Establish and maintain a formal style.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.W.8.1.E
Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the argument presented.
ELD Standards:
I.A.8.1.(Em) Exchanging information and ideas with others through oral collaborative discussions on a
range of social and academic topics
I.A.8.2.(Em). Interacting with others in written English in various communicative forms (print,
communicative technology, and multimedia
I.A.8.3.(Em) Offering and justifying opinions, negotiating with and persuading others in
communicative exchanges
I.B.8.5. (Em) Listening actively to spoken English in a range of social and academic contexts
I.B.8.6. (Em) Reading closely literary and informational texts and viewing multimedia to determine
how meaning is conveyed explicitly and
implicitly through language
I.B.8.7. (Em) Evaluating how well writers and speakers use language to support ideas and arguments
with details or evidence depending on
modality, text type, purpose, audience, topic, and content area
I.C.8.10. (Em) Writing literary and informational texts to present, describe, and explain ideas and
information, using appropriate
I.C.8.11. (Em) Justifying own arguments and evaluating others’ argument sin writing
I.C.8.12. (Em) Selecting and applying varied and precise vocabulary and language structures to
effectively convey ideas
Stage 2—Assessment Evidence
Performance Tasks:
Other Evidence:
Respond to the objective in essay format.
 Annotations on the text
See rubric below.
 Notes in spirals
 Group Discussions
Student Self-Assessment and Reflection:
 Students will assess their thinking by engaging in group discussion.
 Students will assess their writing on the rubric. See rubric below.
Stage 3—Learning Plan
2
Learning Activities:
 Prior Knowledge: Interpreting Non-Print Activity (See worksheet below.)
 Texts:
1. “Insanity” photograph Tell Tale Heart Insanity Picture.pptx
2. Read “Tell Tale Heart” by Edgar Allan Poe
3. News article entitled “Secret Service Director Julia Pierson resigns from
troubled agency”
 Analysis: Respond to questions and pull out quotes. (See worksheets below.)
 Supporting Stimuli: Vocabulary Chart
3
Name: ___________________________
Mrs. Stork – LA: _____
Date: _____________
Interpreting Non-Print
What do we see?
(List what you can see
in the picture.)
What can we infer?
(What can you figure
out from what you’re
seeing?)
Why does it matter?
(What is the meaning
behind the picture?)
TITLE:
4
Describe five things that you usually find in a scary/horror story:
1. ______________________________________________________________
2. ______________________________________________________________
3. _______________________________________________________________
4. _______________________________________________________________
5. ________________________________________________________________
Read the following statements. If you agree with them, put a check in
the YOU column. Then, AFTER we read the story, we’ll go back and
put a check in the AUTHOR column if you think the author agrees with
that statement.
YOU
AUTHOR Statement
1. People who are insane know that they are
insane.
2. Sane people sometimes imagine that they hear
things.
3. If you commit a crime, the worst punishment is
the guilt afterwards.
4. Often, it’s the small annoying things about
people that can be the most irritating and
infuriating.
5. All people are basically afraid of the same
things.
6. When you’ve done something wrong,
wondering if you’ll be caught can cause great
stress and anxiety.
5
Name: ___________________________
“Tell Tale Heart”
Mrs. Stork – LA: _____
Date: _____________
Edgar Allan Poe, 1843
TRUE! --nervous --very, very dreadfully nervous I had been and am; but why will you say that
I am mad? The disease had sharpened my senses --not destroyed --not dulled them. Above all
was the sense of hearing acute1. I heard all things in the heaven and in the earth. I heard many
things in hell. How, then, am I mad? Hearken! and observe how healthily --how calmly I can
tell you the whole story.
It is impossible to say how first the idea entered my brain; but once conceived, it haunted me
day and night. Object there was none. Passion there was none. I loved the old man. He had
never wronged me. He had never given me insult. For his gold I had no desire. I think it was
his eye! yes, it was this! He had the eye of a vulture --a pale blue eye, with a film over it.
Whenever it fell upon me, my blood ran cold; and so by degrees --very gradually --I made up
my mind to take the life of the old man, and thus rid myself of the eye forever.
Now this is the point. You fancy me mad. Madmen know nothing. But you should have seen
me. You should have seen how wisely I proceeded --with what caution --with what foresight -with what dissimulation2 I went to work! I was never kinder to the old man than during the
whole week before I killed him. And every night, about midnight, I turned the latch of his door
and opened it --oh so gently! And then, when I had made an opening sufficient for my head, I
put in a dark lantern, all closed, closed, that no light shone out, and then I thrust in my head.
Oh, you would have laughed to see how cunningly I thrust it in! I moved it slowly --very, very
slowly, so that I might not disturb the old man's sleep. It took me an hour to place my whole
head within the opening so far that I could see him as he lay upon his bed. Ha! would a
madman have been so wise as this, And then, when my head was well in the room, I undid the
lantern cautiously-oh, so cautiously --cautiously (for the hinges creaked) --I undid it just so
much that a single thin ray fell upon the vulture eye. And this I did for seven long nights -every night just at midnight --but I found the eye always closed; and so it was impossible to do
the work; for it was not the old man who vexed3 me, but his Evil Eye. And every morning,
when the day broke, I went boldly into the chamber, and spoke courageously to him, calling
him by name in a hearty tone, and inquiring how he has passed the night. So you see he would
have been a very profound4 old man, indeed, to suspect that every night, just at twelve, I
looked in upon him while he slept.
Upon the eighth night I was more than usually cautious in opening the door. A watch's minute
hand moves more quickly than did mine. Never before that night had I felt the extent of my
1
acute [uh-kyoot] adj. sharp and strong or intense
dissimulation means “the hiding or disguising of one’s true feelings and intentions.”
3
vex [veks] v. to disturb, annoy, or anger, especially by some small, repeated action
4
Here, profound means “very thoughtful and wise.”
2
6
own powers --of my sagacity5. I could scarcely contain my feelings of triumph. To think that
there I was, opening the door, little by little, and he not even to dream of my secret deeds or
thoughts. I fairly chuckled at the idea; and perhaps he heard me; for he moved on the bed
suddenly, as if startled. Now you may think that I drew back --but no. His room was as black
as pitch with the thick darkness, (for the shutters were close fastened, through fear of robbers,)
and so I knew that he could not see the opening of the door, and I kept pushing it on steadily,
steadily.
I had my head in, and was about to open the lantern, when my thumb slipped upon the tin
fastening, and the old man sprang up in bed, crying out --"Who's there?"
I kept quite still and said nothing. For a whole hour I did not move a muscle, and in the
meantime I did not hear him lie down. He was still sitting up in the bed listening; --just as I
have done, night after night, hearkening to the death watches 6in the wall.
Presently I heard a slight groan, and I knew it was the groan of mortal terror. It was not a groan
of pain or of grief --oh, no! --it was the low stifled7 sound that arises from the bottom of the
soul when overcharged with awe. I knew the sound well. Many a night, just at midnight, when
all the world slept, it has welled up from my own bosom, deepening, with its dreadful echo, the
terrors that distracted me. I say I knew it well. I knew what the old man felt, and pitied him,
although I chuckled at heart. I knew that he had been lying awake ever since the first slight
noise, when he had turned in the bed. His fears had been ever since growing upon him. He had
been trying to fancy them causeless, but could not. He had been saying to himself --"It is
nothing but the wind in the chimney --it is only a mouse crossing the floor," or "It is merely a
cricket which has made a single chirp." Yes, he had been trying to comfort himself with these
suppositions8: but he had found all in vain. All in vain; because Death, in approaching him
had stalked with his black shadow before him, and enveloped the victim. And it was the
mournful influence of the unperceived shadow that caused him to feel --although he neither
saw nor heard --to feel the presence of my head within the room.
When I had waited a long time, very patiently, without hearing him lie down, I resolved to
open a little --a very, very little crevice9 in the lantern. So I opened it --you cannot imagine
how stealthily, stealthily --until, at length a simple dim ray, like the thread of the spider, shot
from out the crevice and fell full upon the vulture eye.
It was open --wide, wide open --and I grew furious as I gazed upon it. I saw it with perfect
distinctness --all a dull blue, with a hideous veil over it that chilled the very marrow in my
bones; but I could see nothing else of the old man's face or person: for I had directed the ray as
if by instinct, precisely upon the damned spot.
5
Sagacity [suh-gas-i-tee] is wisdom and good judgment.
Death watches are beetles that bore into wood, especially of old houses and furniture. Some superstitious people
believe that these insects’ ticking sounds foretell death.
7
stifled [stahy-fuh l] adj. held back; smothered
8
Suppositions are things one assumes, or supposes, to be true.
9
A crevice [krev-is] is a crack in or through something.
6
7
And have I not told you that what you mistake for madness is but over-acuteness of the sense?
--now, I say, there came to my ears a low, dull, quick sound, such as a watch makes when
enveloped in cotton. I knew that sound well, too. It was the beating of the old man's heart. It
increased my fury, as the beating of a drum stimulates the soldier into courage.
But even yet I refrained and kept still. I scarcely breathed. I held the lantern motionless. I tried
how steadily I could maintain the ray upon the eve. Meantime the hellish tattoo10 of the heart
increased. It grew quicker and quicker, and louder and louder every instant. The old man's
terror must have been extreme! It grew louder, I say, louder every moment! --do you mark me
well I have told you that I am nervous: so I am. And now at the dead hour of the night, amid
the dreadful silence of that old house, so strange a noise as this excited me to uncontrollable
terror. Yet, for some minutes longer I refrained and stood still. But the beating grew louder,
louder! I thought the heart must burst. And now a new anxiety seized me --the sound would be
heard by a neighbour! The old man's hour had come! With a loud yell, I threw open the lantern
and leaped into the room. He shrieked once --once only. In an instant I dragged him to the
floor, and pulled the heavy bed over him. I then smiled gaily, to find the deed so far done. But,
for many minutes, the heart beat on with a muffled sound. This, however, did not vex me; it
would not be heard through the wall. At length it ceased. The old man was dead. I removed the
bed and examined the corpse. Yes, he was stone, stone dead. I placed my hand upon the heart
and held it there many minutes. There was no pulsation. He was stone dead. His eve would
trouble me no more.
If still you think me mad, you will think so no longer when I describe the wise precautions I
took for the concealment of the body. The night waned11, and I worked hastily, but in silence.
First of all I dismembered the corpse. I cut off the head and the arms and the legs.
I then took up three planks from the flooring of the chamber, and deposited all between the
scantlings12. I then replaced the boards so cleverly, so cunningly, that no human eye --not even
his --could have detected any thing wrong. There was nothing to wash out --no stain of any
kind --no blood-spot whatever. I had been too wary for that. A tub had caught all --ha! ha!
When I had made an end of these labors, it was four o'clock --still dark as midnight. As the
bell sounded the hour, there came a knocking at the street door. I went down to open it with a
light heart, --for what had I now to fear? There entered three men, who introduced themselves,
with perfect suavity13, as officers of the police. A shriek had been heard by a neighbour during
the night; suspicion of foul play had been aroused; information had been lodged at the police
office, and they (the officers) had been deputed to search the premises.
10
The heart was making a drumming or rapping sound. (This tattoo comes from a Dutch word; the other tattoo, a
design on the skin, comes from the language of Tahiti, a Pacific Island.)
11
wane [weyn] v. to draw to a close; approach an end
12
The scantlings (more commonly called joists) are the boards that hold up the floor planks.
13
Suavity [swah-vi-tee] is a smooth, polite, gracious manner. The officers were appointed, or deputed [duh-pyooted], by a superior officer. 9This makes them deputies, in effect, although they probably have other official titles.)
8
I smiled, --for what had I to fear? I bade the gentlemen welcome. The shriek, I said, was my
own in a dream. The old man, I mentioned, was absent in the country. I took my visitors all
over the house. I bade them search --search well. I led them, at length, to his chamber. I
showed them his treasures, secure, undisturbed. In the enthusiasm of my confidence, I brought
chairs into the room, and desired them here to rest from their fatigues, while I myself, in the
wild audacity14 of my perfect triumph, placed my own seat upon the very spot beneath which
reposed15 the corpse of the victim.
The officers were satisfied. My manner had convinced them. I was singularly16 at ease. They
sat, and while I answered cheerily, they chatted of familiar things. But, ere long, I felt myself
getting pale and wished them gone. My head ached, and I fancied a ringing in my ears: but still
they sat and still chatted. The ringing became more distinct: --It continued and became more
distinct: I talked more freely to get rid of the feeling: but it continued and gained definiteness -until, at length, I found that the noise was not within my ears.
No doubt I now grew very pale; --but I talked more fluently17, and with a heightened voice.
Yet the sound increased --and what could I do? It was a low, dull, quick sound --much such a
sound as a watch makes when enveloped in cotton. I gasped for breath --and yet the officers
heard it not. I talked more quickly --more vehemently18; but the noise steadily increased. I
arose and argued about trifles19, in a high key and with violent gesticulations20; but the noise
steadily increased. Why would they not be gone? I paced the floor to and fro with heavy
strides, as if excited to fury by the observations of the men --but the noise steadily increased.
Oh God! what could I do? I foamed --I raved --I swore! I swung the chair upon which I had
been sitting, and grated it upon the boards, but the noise arose over all and continually
increased. It grew louder --louder --louder! And still the men chatted pleasantly, and smiled.
Was it possible they heard not? Almighty God! --no, no! They heard! --they suspected! --they
knew! --they were making a mockery of my horror!-this I thought, and this I think. But
anything was better than this agony! Anything was more tolerable than this derision21! I could
bear those hypocritical 22smiles no longer! I felt that I must scream or die! and now --again! -hark! louder! louder! louder! louder!
"Villains!" I shrieked, "dissemble23 no more! I admit the deed! --tear up the planks! here, here!
--It is the beating of his hideous heart!"
14
audacity [aw-das-i-tee] n. reckless boldness; daring
Here, reposed means “lay dead.”
16
singularly [sing-gyuh-ler] adv. Unusually or remarkably; extraordinarily
17
To speak fluently is to do so smoothly and effortlessly.
18
vehemently [vee-uh-muh -nt-ly ] adv. strongly; intensely; passionately
19
Trifles are unimportant things.
20
Bold, expressive gestures are gesticulations.
21
Derision is scornful mockery or ridicule.
22
hypocritical [hip-uh-krit-i-kuh l] adj. pretending to be what one is not; fake; insincere
23
Here, dissemble means “to disguise one’s true thoughts or feelings; act in an insincere way.”
15
9
Secret Service Director Julia Pierson
resigns from troubled agency
By Tribune Washington Bureau, adapted by Newsela staff
10.02.14
Word Count 861
(From left) United States Secret Service Director Julia Pierson; W. Ralph Basham, former director of the Secret
Service and a partner at Command Consulting Group, and Todd Keil, former DHS Assistant Secretary for
Infrastructure Protection and senior adviser at TorchStone Page, testify at a hearing about the White House perimeter
breach at the Rayburn Building in Washington, D.C. Photo: Olivier Douliery/Abaca Press/MCTWASHINGTON —
Julia A. Pierson, the director of the Secret Service, resigned on Wednesday following a string of high-profile
security lapses. President Barack Obama had lost confidence in her ability to lead the troubled agency.
Pierson stepped down following a Sept. 19 incident in which Omar Gonzalez, a U.S. Army veteran, ran
into the White House with a knife in his pocket.
Pierson, a 30-year Secret Service veteran, was named director only 18 months ago. She was the first
woman to head the elite force responsible for protecting the president, his family and visiting foreign
leaders.
Fresh security breaches, and Pierson’s repeated stumbles during a combative House of
Representatives hearing Tuesday, led to growing calls in Congress for her resignation. Obama quickly
agreed.
10
“Over the last several days, we’ve seen recent and accumulating reports raising questions about the
performance of the agency," said White House spokesman Josh Earnest. "The president concluded
that new leadership of that agency was required.”
Security Improvements Are Called For
In another recent potential threat, officials said, a private security guard armed with a pistol rode in an
elevator with the president during a Sept. 16 visit to Atlanta. The incident violated agency rules over
who can carry a weapon near the president.
The gun was discovered only after agents complained the guard was acting oddly. Officials said they
subsequently discovered the guard was a felon, with multiple convictions for assault and battery.
Jeh Johnson, secretary of Homeland Security, said he had appointed Joseph Clancy as acting director
of the Secret Service. Clancy headed the Secret Service presidential protective unit before retiring in
2011.
Johnson also said he had ordered his top deputy, Alejandro Mayorkas, to take charge of the internal
Secret Service investigation of the Gonzalez incident.
Johnson said he would put together a panel of outside experts to recommend improvements to White
House security and Secret Service operations.
The House Judiciary Committee will also hold hearings into the Secret Service next month.
The Agency Will Be Investigated
Pierson said it was painful to quit while the Secret Service was “reeling from a significant security
breach.”
Leaving, Pierson said, was “the noble thing to do.” She had decided to resign after meeting with
Johnson. The two agreed “we were at the point where it was going to be hard for the department and
president to have confidence in the Secret Service leadership if I didn’t step down.”
Several senior Democrats joined Republicans in saying the next director should come from outside the
agency.
To bring about needed reforms, Democratic Congressman Bernie Thompson said, “the Secret Service
needs a seasoned law enforcement professional." It should be someone "who is not a product of the
Secret Service."
Pierson’s departure won’t end congressional scrutiny of the agency, several lawmakers said.
The Latest In A Series Of Lapses
11
The Secret Service had serious problems even before Pierson became director, said Republican
Congressman Darrell Issa. "Her resignation certainly does not resolve them.”
Pierson had been appointed in the wake of a 2012 scandal in which a dozen agents allegedly hired
prostitutes in Colombia while preparing for a presidential trip. Two other lapses also led to her
appointment. The first was a 2011 shooting attack on the White House to which agents failed to
respond. The second was a 2009 incident in which an uninvited couple attended a state dinner at the
White House.
The latest uninvited visitor was Gonzalez.
According to court papers, Gonzalez, 42, climbed over the north fence of the White House at 7:19 p.m.
on Sept. 19. He sprinted across the lawn without anyone attempting to stop him. He then opened a
glass door and a wooden door in the North Portico.
He allegedly knocked over an agent inside the door and wrestled with guards who chased him into the
East Room. He was finally subdued outside the Green Room. Obama had taken off in Marine One, the
presidential helicopter, moments earlier.
Slow Release Of Information
During her grilling on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, Pierson struggled to explain what had happened. She
could give no good reason why agents failed to stop Gonzalez before he entered the executive
mansion, and why an alarm was muted. She also had trouble explaining why the agency did not
acknowledge for more than a week that Gonzalez had forced his way deep inside the building before
he was tackled.
Lawmakers from both parties criticized her and her aides for giving misleading or inaccurate
information about the incident. Some accused her of being evasive in her answers, and her support
quickly evaporated.
Secret Service officials initially said Gonzalez was unarmed. In fact, he carried a black folding knife in
his pocket, the agency later acknowledged.
Investigators also found hundreds of rounds of ammunition for shotguns, pistols and rifles in his car,
which was parked nearby.
After his arrest, Gonzalez told agents that “he was concerned the atmosphere was collapsed” and that
he needed to get the information to Obama.
Gonzalez faces a federal charge of entering a restricted building while carrying a deadly weapon,
along with other charges connected to the ammunition in his car. If convicted, he could face 16 years
in prison.
12
Name: ___________________________
Mrs. Stork – LA: _____
Critical Thinking Chart
Date: _____________
 I can _________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Quotation from Text
(Copy the quote from the poem.)
Level 1 – Literal
(Tell what the quote means.)
Level 2 – Interpretive
(Interpret the quote in relation
to the text.)
Level 3 – Explorative and
Reflective
(Connect this quote to life,
personal experience, etc.)
Given your discoveries and your understanding of the text, write down a possible theme statement for this short story.
Remember, theme is an author’s message for life. (e.g. Untamed darkness within the heart of man can lead to evil deeds.)
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
13
Name: ___________________________
Mrs. Stork – LA: _____
VOCABULARY CHART
Word
Know it
well
Heard it/
seen it
No clue
Date: _____________
Definition
14
Name: ___________________________
Mrs. Stork – LA: _____
Analysis of
“ Tell Tale Heart”
Date: _____________
1. Who is telling this story (narrating)? Is it first, second, or third person and
how do you know?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
2. What is your first impression of the narrator? What does he try
convincing the reader of?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
3. How does the narrator feel about the old man in general? What, then,
specifically, is it about the old man that troubles/bothers the narrator?
Why? How often does the narrator mention this “thing” in the story?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
4. What does the narrator tell us he does every night? Why?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
15
5. How does the narrator feel immediately after he commits the murder?
Do his feelings change? If so, how and why?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
6. What sound drives the narrator to confess to the crime? What do you
think causes his paranoia?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
7. Give two direct and specific examples from the story that the author
uses to create an atmosphere of horror or suspense. These are
sentences that set or enhance the MOOD of the story. Give the page
number.
Pg. ___ Quote: __________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
Pg. ___ Quote: __________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
8. Give one example where the author uses punctuation or repeated
words or phrases in a sentence to show the mood of horror or
suspense.
Pg. ___ Quote: __________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________
16
Name: ___________________________
Mrs. Stork – LA: _____
One-Pager:
Date: _____________
“Tell Tale Heart”
Create one-pager that includes:



Title and Heading
Objective response: How does guilt affect us?
o Write a paragraph about how guilt affected the main character of Tell Tale Heart. Use
at least two pieces of evidence from the text to support your claim.
o Write a paragraph about how guilt affects you personally.
o Vocabulary: Use at least two vocabulary words from the text in your objective
response and put them in bold.
Be creative with your design and layout.
RUBRIC
4 = Exemplary, 3 = Sufficient,
2 = Attempted, 1 = Insufficient
1.
My Score
Peer
Score
Teacher
Score
Does the objective response clearly and thoroughly respond to
the objective as it relates to the text? (1st paragraph)
2. Does the objective response appropriately include at least two
pieces of evidence from the text as support (highlighted)? (1st
paragraph)
3. Does the objective response clearly and thoroughly respond to
the objective from a personal stance (2nd paragraph)?
4. Does the objective response correctly use two vocabulary
words from the story (bold)?
Total Score (Total points for the column.)
Median Score (Total points divided by 4.)
Total Points (Multiply Median Score by 25.)
Letter Grade:
Comments: _____________________________________________________________
_______________________________________________________________________
17
REFLECTION
Writer’s Reflection
Comment: I’m proud of the fact that ______________________________
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Suggestion: On my next writing piece, I plan to______________________
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Peer’s Suggestion and Comment – Name of peer: ___________________
Comment: I really liked that _____________________________________
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Suggestion: You can improve your writing by _______________________
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Teacher’s Suggestion and Comment
Comment: I really liked that _____________________________________
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Suggestion: You can improve your writing by _______________________
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EXEMPLAR
One-Pager:
The Tell Tale Heart
A guilty conscience always seems to leak the truth. In Edgar Allan
Poe’s “Tell Tale Heart”, the main character, after committing murder, is
driven to his own confession of the crime because of his overwhelming
guilt. Even though at first the murderer feels no guilt and even “smiled”
as the police came into his home to search the premises, the reality of
the main character’s killing “the old man” because of his vexing “Evil
Eye” begins to fill his mind in the form of the old man’s beating heart.
The beating heart, which only the main character hears in his mind, and is
perhaps the beating of his own heart because of guilt and anxiety,
continues to get “louder—louder—louder” until the main character
finally confesses the crime. “Villains!” he shouts, “…I admit the deed!”
His guilty conscience led him to confess that the old man lay
dismembered beneath the floorboards.
Guilt is a heavy burden that often ways on my shoulders if I have
done something that I am trying to hide. Oftentimes, I will end up
confessing what I’ve done wrong because the guilt weighs so heavily on
my heart. One time, I took $20 from my older brother’s top drawer
where he keeps all of his money. I used it to buy a brand new T-shirt at
the mall. When he saw me wearing the shirt the next day, he said, “Hey, I
like that shirt on you!” The guilt began to sink in so deeply that I broke
down crying, and I told him that I had taken the money from his drawer
to buy the shirt. With suavity, he forgave me, but said that next time, I
could just ask for the money. I think in the future, I’ll refrain from acts
that might get me into trouble, so that I don’t even have to worry about
feeling guilty!
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Transition Words
Sequence
Time
Comparison (similar)
Contrast
(different)
Example
Cause and Effect
Place
Summary or
Conclusion
again, also, and, and then, besides,
finally, first…second…third,
furthermore, last, next
after, before, currently, during,
eventually, finally, formerly, immediately,
initially, lastly, next, previously,
simultaneously, until
likewise, similarly, in the same way, also,
once more, again
however, in contrast, on the other hand,
at the same time, in spite of this,
for example, for instance, specifically,
such as, to illustrate, more specifically
as a result, therefore, consequently, for
this reason, because of this, with this in
mind, due to
here, there, nearby, beyond, above,
adjacent to, further on, closer to,
opposite to, to the left or right
as a result, as I have said, in summary,
therefore, to summarize, in conclusion,
on the whole, overall, to put it briefly,
given these facts
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