“The Tell-Tale Heart”

Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Tell-Tale Heart” is short (great for middle schoolers) and rewards close reading—there is always a lot to notice, figure out, and talk about. Many themes will emerge in a good classroom discussion of this story: What is madness? What is conscience? What are guilt and innocence? At the end, students will understand the idea of the narrator’s and reader’s perspectives.

Highlights from this unit include:

Storyboard app: Use a digital storyboard to visualize different perspectives in “The Tell-Tale Heart.”

Debate: Apply a legal definition and argue a narrator’s sanity.

Integrate media formats: Write a movie review that compares and contrasts an animated adaptation with the original text.

Skills learned include:

Reading: Evaluate the reliability of a fictional narrator.

Writing: Compare and contrast characters’ perspectives on a narrative.