Download Motivation of a Murderer: A Close Reading of "The Tell

Motivation of a Murderer: A Close Reading
of "The Tell-Tale Heart"
Resource ID#: 69769
Primary Type: Lesson Plan
This document was generated on CPALMS - www.cpalms.org
In this lesson, students will participate in a close reading of "The Tell-Tale Heart" by Edgar
Allan Poe. In the first reading, students will focus on the plot of the story. The second reading is
a collaborative activity in which students identify the narrator's motivation for killing the old
man and how his motives are illustrated through his actions and word choice. The final reading is
an independent reading, culminating with a summative assessment in which students establish a
claim about the narrator's motivation. Graphic organizers and worksheets, along with a writing
rubric, have been provided.
Subject(s): English Language Arts
Grade Level(s): 8
Intended Audience: Educators
Suggested Technology: Computer for Presenter, Interactive Whiteboard
Instructional Time: 6 Hour(s)
Freely Available: Yes
Keywords: Edgar Allan Poe, The Tell-Tale Heart, characterization, claims, textual evidence,
story elements, short story
Instructional Component Type(s): Lesson Plan, Worksheet, Assessment , Text
Resource, Formative Assessment
Resource Collection: CPALMS Lesson Plan Development Initiative
ATTACHMENTS
The Tell Tale Heart text- Poe Lesson 1.docx
Character Analysis Rubric- Poe lesson 1.docx
FourCornersDirections_Poe_Lesson.docx
CharacterMotivationGraphicOrganizer_Poe_Lesson.docx
Key_GraphicOrganizer_Poe_Lesson.docx
ThinkAloud_Poe_Lesson.docx
LESSON CONTENT

Lesson Plan Template:
General Lesson Plan

Learning Objectives: What should students know and be able to do as a result of this
lesson?
Students will be able to:
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Compose an objective summary of "The Tell-Tale Heart"
Analyze how the main character's word choice and actions lead to his motivation for killing the
old man and then confessing to the murder
Support a claim using evidence from the text about the main character's reasoning for killing the
old man and then confessing to the murder
Produce a written argument where they state their claim, support it with appropriate evidence from
the text, provide a concluding statement, and edit their work to conform to grade-appropriate
conventions and grammar
Come to discussions having carefully read "The Tell-Tale Heart," draw on evidence from the story
to support their discussion, and work during a four corners activity
Prior Knowledge: What prior knowledge should students have for this lesson?
Students will need to have a firm grasp of the following before completing this activity:
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Guiding Questions: What are the guiding questions for this lesson?
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Elements of a work of fiction (character, setting, plot).
How word choice reveals information and attitudes about a character's thoughts and feelings.
How to make a claim and how to cite evidence to support a claim.
Is the narrator's decision to kill based on him being truly mad or a calculated killer?
How do the main character's word choices and actions lead us to understand his motivation for
killing the old man?
Teaching Phase: How will the teacher present the concept or skill to students?
1. This lesson will begin with a quick-write on the following question: Is there any justifiable reason to kill
another person? Why or why not?
2. After writing, the class will engage in an efferent discussion based on their response to the prompt.
3. The teacher will then explain to students they will be reading a short story titled "The Tell Tale Heart" by
Edgar Allen Poe. In this story, the main character commits murder, and the students will focus on how the
narrator's word choice and actions will lead us to make a decision as to whether the narrator is truly mad or
a calculated killer.
4. First Close Reading: The teacher will read the story aloud to the class, stopping periodically to model
think-alouds and to ask clarifying questions to students. The teacher can use the think aloud handout for
this activity. The teacher should provide a hard copy of the story to students to use throughout the lesson.

Guided Practice: What activities or exercises will the students complete with teacher
guidance?
1. After completing the first close reading, the class will work together to complete a plot diagram chart,
illustrating the key events of the story and filling in information about the characters and setting. The
teacher may also want to work with students to determine a theme and add that to the chart, or this could be
left blank.
2. After completing the plot diagram as a class, students will write a summary of "The Tell-Tale Heart."
This can be done either as an exit ticket at the end of class or a bell ringer at the beginning of the next class.
If done as an exit ticket, the teacher will give written feedback on student summaries. If this activity is done
as a bell ringer, this activity can be done as a Think-Pair-Write-Share, with the teacher giving students oral
feedback as students share with their small groups.
3. Students will then break into groups of 2-3 students. Each group will reread the "The Tell-Tale Heart" to
analyze the narrator's motivation for killing the old man. As they read, they will look for details in the story
that show that the main character is either truly mad or a calculated, cold-blooded killer. The students will
chart their details on a graphic organizer. A key for this organizer has been included for teachers to use; this
is only a guide and not all possible answers are included.
4. After the groups complete the graphic organizer, the class will do a four corners activity to report their
findings (see four corners directions). Once each chart of the four corners is complete, the class will engage
in a discussion explaining why the students made the decision to put certain details on each of the charts.

Independent Practice: What activities or exercises will students complete to reinforce
the concepts and skills developed in the lesson?
Students will read "The Tell-Tale Heart" independently. After reading independently, students will use
details from the text, as well as the graphic organizer and any notes taken during the lesson, to answer to
answer the following question:
Based on what you have read, why do you think the protagonist killed the old man and
then confessed? Is he truly mad, or is he a calculated killer? Use evidence from the text to
support your claim.
Student responses should be an approximately 10-14 sentence paragraph in which students give specific
details from the text to support their viewpoint. If you have not covered how to appropriately cite from a
text, this would be an excellent time to do a mini-lesson on citing with text evidence. Student responses
will be graded using a character analysis rubric.

Closure: How will the teacher assist students in organizing the knowledge gained in the
lesson?
To assess students' understanding of using textual evidence to support a claim about the narrator's
motivation for killing the old man, the students will compete a short paragraph as an exit ticket arguing the
counterargument of the claim that they defended in the summative assessment.

Summative Assessment
Students will read conduct a third close reading of "The Tell-Tale Heart" independently. After reading
independently, students will use details from the text, as well as their graphic organizer and any notes taken
during the lesson, to answer the following question:
Based on what you have read, why do you think the narrator killed the old man and then
confessed? Is he truly mad, or is he a calculated killer? Use evidence from the text to
support your claim.
Student responses should be an approximately 10-14 sentence paragraph in which students give specific
details from the text to support their viewpoint. If you have not covered how to appropriately cite from a
text, this would be an excellent time to do a mini-lesson on citing with text evidence. Student responses
will be graded using a character analysis rubric.

Formative Assessment
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After the first close reading, students will write a summary of "The Tell-Tale Heart." This can be
done either as an exit ticket at the end of class or a bell ringer at the beginning of the next class. If
done as an exit ticket, the teacher will give written feedback on student summaries. If this activity
is done as a bell ringer, this activity can be done as a Think-Pair-Write-Share, with teacher giving
students oral feedback as students share with their small groups.
After the second close reading, the teacher can check for student understanding through a teacherfacilitated discussion as part of the four corners activity about why students made the decision to
select specific details to support their claim for the poster in each corner.
After the final reading and independent practice, the teacher will give written feedback on
students' paragraphs and allow the students to make corrections to their responses.
Feedback to Students
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After the first close reading, the teacher can give students written feedback on their summaries or
oral feedback through teacher-led discussion to help increase students' understanding of the plot.
After the second close reading and four corners activity, students will receive oral feedback during
the class discussion. Students can use this feedback to apply their new understanding of the text,
and particularly the narrator's motivations, to the paragraph they will write for the summative
assessment.
After completing the summative assessment, students will have the opportunity to receive written
feedback on their paragraphs to assist them with revising and editing before turning in a final
draft.
ACCOMMODATIONS & RECOMMENDATIONS

Accommodations:
To address the needs of struggling readers, the teacher can show the film version of "The Tell-Tale Heart"
after the first read so that students have a visual representation of how the plot unfolds. The version
directed by Stephanie Sinclaire and produced by Brian Freeston is freely available and highly
recommended.
When completing the independent practice activity, teachers can support struggling writers by giving them
sentence starters or a paragraph frame to write their paragraphs.

Extensions:
Students can write a paragraph speculating what happened to the narrator after confessing to killing the old
man. Because "The Tell-Tale Heart" is written as a flashback, students will address to whom the narrator
may be telling his/her story and why he/she is sharing this information.
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
Suggested Technology: Computer for Presenter, Interactive Whiteboard
Special Materials Needed:
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Student copies of "The Tell-Tale Heart" and instructor copy with think aloud/discussion
suggestions
Markers
Chart Paper
Character Analysis Paragraph Rubric
Character Motivation Graphic Organizer and key
Plot Structure Graphic Organizer
Additional Information/Instructions
By Author/Submitter
Teachers should preview this lesson thoroughly, including reading the story by Poe, before
implementing the lesson. Teachers should thoughtfully consider the content of the short story
and whether it would be appropriate to use with their own students.
SOURCE AND ACCESS INFORMATION
Contributed by: Adrianne Taylor
Name of Author/Source: Adrianne Taylor
District/Organization of Contributor(s): Leon
Is this Resource freely Available? Yes
License: CPALMS License - no distribution - non commercial
Related Standards
Name
LAFS.8.RL.1.1:
LAFS.8.RL.1.2:
LAFS.8.RL.1.3:
LAFS.8.SL.1.1:
Description
Cite the textual evidence that most strongly supports an analysis
of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from
the text.
Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze its
development over the course of the text, including its
relationship to the characters, setting, and plot; provide an
objective summary of the text.
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.
Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions (oneon-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on
grade 8 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and
expressing their own clearly.
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.
b. Follow rules for collegial discussions and decisionmaking, track progress toward specific goals and
deadlines, and define individual roles as needed.
c. Pose questions that connect the ideas of several speakers
and respond to others’ questions and comments with
relevant evidence, observations, and ideas.
d. Acknowledge new information expressed by others, and,
when warranted, qualify or justify their own views in
light of the evidence presented.
Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and
relevant evidence.
LAFS.8.W.1.1:
a. Introduce claim(s), acknowledge and distinguish the
claim(s) from alternate or opposing claims, and organize
the reasons and evidence logically.
b. Support claim(s) with logical reasoning and relevant
evidence, using accurate, credible sources and
demonstrating an understanding of the topic or text.
c. Use words, phrases, and clauses to create cohesion and
clarify the relationships among claim(s), counterclaims,
reasons, and evidence.
d. Establish and maintain a formal style.
e. Provide a concluding statement or section that follows
from and supports the argument presented.
Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support
analysis, reflection, and research.
LAFS.8.W.3.9:
a. Apply grade 8 Reading standards to literature (e.g.,
“Analyze how a modern work of fiction draws on
themes, patterns of events, or character types from
myths, traditional stories, or religious works such as the
Bible, including describing how the material is rendered
new”).
b. Apply grade 8 Reading standards to literary nonfiction
(e.g., “Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific
claims in a text, assessing whether the reasoning is
sound and the evidence is relevant and sufficient;
recognize when irrelevant evidence is introduced”).