Students will read Poe’s famous short story closely, carefully, and multiple times, savoring the story and analyzing how Poe invites readers both to believe and not believe the narrator’s account of the key events. The reading process engages students with a sequence of questions that can only be answered by relying directly on the text, organized to allow all students to be actively involved in the pursuit of answers. The teaching task, similarly, relies heavily on text-evidence and how that evidence builds to a vivid picture of the central character, while also requiring students to build a sustained explanation of how Poe makes that happen. The product is a full multi-paragraph essay developed by outlining, revising, rechecking evidence, giving and responding to feedback, and paying particular attention to selected surface features that will matter to the clarity and credibility of the student’s work.
