UNIT PLAN- EDGAR ALLAN POE 4 WEEKS (5 DAYS- 45 MINUTES PLAN)

WEEK ONETEXTS: Poetry Introduction, The Bells, The Black Cat LITERARY CONCEPTS: Plot, Plot Structure a. Read aloud The Bells (5 minutes) b. Hand out copies of The Bells and assist in textual breakdown (15 minutes) c. Discuss alternative messages and meanings (10 minutes) d. ACTIVITY 1A(15 minutes) and collect product. a. Poe Introduction: History and Significance (10 minutes) b. ACTIVITY 1B (35 minutes) a. Discuss conventions of horror genre, use Lovecraft story (Rats in the Walls) to emphasize elements (10 minutes) b. Introduce Black Cat, ask class for initial reaction to the story (10 minutes) c. ACTIVITY 1C (10 minutes) d. Discuss activity findings (10 minutes) e. Assign PAPER 1 and explain the assignment, discuss plagiarism (5 minutes) a. Work on papers- teacher goes from person to person (45 minutes) a. Rough draft of PAPER 1 is required for class b. Have students discuss paper with a person who chose the same topic (15 minutes) c. Have a second student who chose the same topic revise the paper (15 minutes) d. Have a third student read and critique the paper so far (15 minutes) TEXTS: The Masque of the Red Death, Annabel Lee, The Fall of the House of Usher LITERARY CONCEPTS: Imagery, Setting, Theme a. Discuss death as a grand reality, an undeniable fact of life (5 minutes) b. Encourage students to describe their ideas/ perceptions of death (15 minutes) c. Play YouTube movie, The Masque of Red Death (15 minutes) d. When finished, write as much as you can about the story (5+minutes) e. With 5 minutes to go in the period, play "Hotel California" by the Eagles f. Collect PAPER 1 a. Have students read Annabel Lee by themselves (5 minutes) b. Read it out loud to them while they take notes (5 minutes) c. Open the conversation, encouraging students to talk about love (15 minutes) d. Hand out lyrics and play the song, "Hotel California" by the Eagles (5 minutes) e. ACTIVITY 2A (15 minutes) and collect product a. Assign PAPER 2 and explain the assignment (5 minutes) b. Play audio-book for House of Usher (30 minutes) c. Recap, review and discuss the story so far (10 minutes) a. Recap and review the story so far (5 minutes) b. Play remainder of Audio-book for House of Usher (25 minutes) c. Class wide discussion that connects the five texts (15 minutes) a. ACTIVITY 2B (15 minutes) b. Rough draft of PAPER 2 is required for class, individually discuss papers (30 minutes) c. During paper discussion, other students reflect on activity in groups, write about the results of the activity (30 minutes)

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d. Assign A Tell Tale Heart for weekend reading WEEK THREE- TEXTS: The Tell-Tale Heart, The Raven, The Pit and the Pendulum LITERARY CONCEPTS: Narration, Point-of-View W3D1a. Discuss feelings about main character, unreliable narration (15 minutes) b. Free write about a cool experience you had (10 minutes) c. ACTIVITY 3A (10 minutes) d. Discuss unreliable narration within activity (10 minutes) e. Collect PAPER 2 a. Discuss nature of death as not the end, resonating effect of death (10 minutes) b. ACTIVITY 3B (20 minutes) c. Link together Tell-Tale Heart and Black Cat, discuss similarity (15 minutes) a. Listen to YouTube recording of The Raven (10 minutes) b. Dissect poem with class (meaning of word usage, narrative design (25 minutes) c. Go over first few pages of The Pit and the Pendulum (10 minutes) d. Assign PAPER 3 and explain the assignment (5 minutes) a. Discuss general reaction to the story (5 minutes) b. Discuss how first person POV contributes to the story (10 minutes) c. Discuss how horror is constructed through narration (10 minutes) d. ACTIVITY 3C (20 minutes) a. Spend day working on papers (45 minutes) TEXTS: The Cask of Amontillado LITERARY CONCEPTS: Narration, Plagiarism? a. Discuss general reactions to the story (5 minutes) b. Talk about similarity between other Poe stories with respect to conscience and narrative, asking what effect one has on the other (20 minutes) c. Discuss how character personality affects narrative (20 minutes) d. Collect PAPER 3 a. Recap The Cask of Amontillado and its narrative style (5 minutes) b. ACTIVITY 4A (40 minutes) a. Give students group project, discuss instructions (15 minutes) b. Give students time to work on project (30 minutes) a. Call groups up to discuss topic with teacher (during first half of class) b. Give students time to work on project (45 minutes) a. Call groups up to discuss rough draft of project with teacher (during first half of class) b. Give students time to work on project (45 minutes)

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WEEK ONE ACTIVITIES: 1A) Respond to this text using one of the following options: Critique Poe's work in a paragraph or two- What did you like/ not like? Recreate the imagery of the four stanzas by drawing a picture of each Write a short story version of the poem from the perspective of a narrator who is troubled/ annoyed by the constant ringing bells 1B) Further exploration of Bells: With a partner (or solo), read the poem aloud. Try to come up with a cool rhythm for the text, perhaps even switching the speaker line by line to challenge yourself. With a partner (or solo), examine the words/ sounds that are repeated. Consider how the repetition makes you feel as a reader. Decide which repetitive sounds or words were most appealing or least appealing. With ten minutes remaining, open up class discussion in regards to what the students could gather from their reading. Ask if the people who were reading aloud had any impact on those who were trying to search for words and sounds. Have students discuss the manner in which this poem is most enjoyable: Read silently or presented aloud. Why? 1C) Genre and plot in Black Cat: Have students get in groups of 3 find horror elements and genre conventions in a specified section of the story. How do these conventions advance the plot and/or incite emotion in the reader? WEEK TWO ACTIVITIES: 2A) Missing our Annabelle Lee In groups of three, have students take turns reading-stanza by stanza. Make a Venn-diagram/ organizational chart that shows the relationship between the images in "Red Death," Hotel California," and "Annabelle Lee." Consider how is death personified or represented? What colors are used in describing the setting? When considering these three texts, what similarities can you connect together? 2B) Imagery in short stories and poetry The teacher will read a passage from both The Masque of the Red Death and The Fall of the House of Usher. The students will individually write down various images or ideas that come into their head while the story unfolds. Have students get in groups of three and compare lists. What items were the same? What items were different? WEEK THREE ACTIVITIES: 3A) Unreliable narration activity Have students write about something cool they did. This is a free writing activity, one that should be very impersonal. Have the students share that story with a partner. Afterwards, discuss what elements of the stories are exaggerated and why. 3B) Video response to Tell-Tale Heart

Play 10-minute YouTube animation to Tell-Tale Heart Have students write about differences in narrative style as a result of text to film translation Discuss differences after video is done playing 3C) Modern horror Have students pick a modern horror movie or story that they love. Have them go through The Pit and the Pendulum and pick out similarities between their chosen movie or story and Poes work. Share findings with the class after activity is completed WEEK FOUR ACTIVITIES: 4A) Debate Was the main character crazy? Split the class into two sides. Have them prepare points and information supporting their respective claim. Also include a panel of jurors (no more than 5 students) Have a debate with opening statements, examining witnesses, cross-examining witnesses, closing statements. PAPERS/ WRITTEN ASSIGNMENTS: PAPER 1: Write two pages about one of the following options Write about the narrator in "The Black Cat." Is he reliable? Is he crazy? Why does he get caught in the end? What does that say about his character? Write about the cat in this story. Do you think there is some sort of "dark magic" or "evil force" that comes from the cat? Is it a witch? Do you think that the cat is a hero? Write about the narrator's relationship with the cat and compare it to something more profound. For example, write about how the cat could represent something in his deeper subconscious, like an alcohol addiction or an unhappiness with life. Could their relationship expose something about mankind's true nature? PAPER 2: Write two pages discussing one (or more) of the following options Write about Poe's feelings toward death, based on "The Masque of the Red Death," "The Fall of the House of Usher," and "Annabel Lee." Is he excited or frightened? Respectful or disrespectful? Optimistic or pessimistic? Listen to the lyrics of "Hotel California." How does your interpretation of the Eagle's song change when you consider it with Poe's perspective on death and dying? Is the "she" an angel? Is she death? How does the line from the Eagles' song, "You can check out any time you like, but you can never leave" relate to "Red Death?" Why didn't the prince get to leave? How does it relate to "The House of Usher?" Why didn't Usher Leave? What if you listened to "Hotel California" and looked at the "she" as if she were Poe's Annabel Lee? How is Poe's unconditional love keeping him trapped like a "Hotel California?" PAPER 3: Write two pages discussing one of the following options: Compare the two short stories with respect to narration and genre. How does one accentuate and compliment the other?

Compare The Raven to the other poems weve discussed so far. How does The Ravens protagonist differ from the other poems protagonists? How does that affect the narration? Exclusively look at one of the poems or short stories that weve discussed this week. Compare it to H.P. Lovecrafts The Rats in the Walls and discuss what narrative techniques work the same way in both and which ones work differently.

FINAL PROJECT In groups of 5, create your own short story, incorporating elements of horror, short story, and poetry to craft your final product. The short story can be created on any approved medium (text, storyboard, film, play / skit, etc.) The presentation must last approximately 15 minutes and must incorporate all members of the group. These final products will be presented on Monday and Tuesday of the following week. STUDENT READING LIST/ DATES ASSIGNED The Bells- Read on W1D1 The Black Cat- Read by W1D3 The Masque of the Red Death- Read by W2D1 Annabel Lee- Read on W2D2 The Fall of the House of Usher- Read on W2D3 / W2D4 The Tell-Tale Heart- Read by W3D1 The Raven- Read on W3D3 The Pit and the Pendulum- Read by W3D4 The Cask of Amontillado- Read by W4D1

Methods Edgar Allan Poe can be somewhat difficult to teach in a high school setting, partially because of the incredibly drawn out narrative and the intricacy of the language. As a result of this, certain things need to be taken into consideration when devising a lesson plan for the study of Poes work. For example, the length of a story needs to be examined when deciding how to approach it. In the case of The Pit and the Pendulum, students need to be prepared to engage with the lengthy opening. The first four pages of the story offer little plot, instead setting up the story with interesting metaphysical commentary and character thought. However, the lack of fast pace may alienate some students. So, in our lesson plan, we choose to directly address this

issue with the students, going over those pages with them in the day before the story is due to be read. As not to insult the students intelligence, because some students are capable of handing the dry parts of Poes work and others dont want to be insulted for being incapable of pushing through those parts, care needs to be taken in order to simply make those pages easier to understand for the students without directly saying how difficult they are. In doing that, the students can be prepared for the dry nature and flowery language of some of Poes work. Also, many horror stories today combine the genre with elements of romance, such as the Twilight series. Romance heavily appeals to the demographic of the teenage girl, while horror often escapes their interests. While some of Poes work does deal with love (The Raven, Annabel Lee), much of his well-known work is strictly horror and suspense (The Tell-Tale Heart, The Pit and the Pendulum). So, it is necessary to adapt his work to suit the interests of the modern teenager, all while preserving the original work. In our lesson plan, we take works like Annabel Lee and open up discussion with the theme of love, then later connecting to the other texts on Friday of that week. In doing that, love is not only connected to Annabel Lee, but to all other texts, drawing the students interest further into Poes work. And sometimes, some of Poes work reflects modern interpretations of themes like love. Poems like The Raven use psychological horror elements combined with an injection of romance. Pointing that out to the student would help in further connecting these literary works to their modern tastes. It is necessary, when teaching any old text, to identify popular themes or take its themes and contort them in a manner that appeals to modern students. In addition, Poes work is very old, almost 200 years old. As a result of that, there are many differences in how his stories are crafted in comparison to modern stories. Since methods of entertainment were very limited in the 1800s, stories like Poes were far more detailed than

current works like Twilight or Harry Potter. In our lesson plan, we put an interesting twist on the drawn-out narrative style, discussing unreliable narration at great detail to make picking apart the detail more entertaining for kids. This can be especially noted in Activity 4A, the debate, where students have to analyze the narration of The Cask of Amontillado in order to win the debate. Looking at challenging aspects of the narration gives the student a specific question to answer (Is the narration reliable or not?) instead of a broad range of questions, making it easier for students to focus on certain details. In using activities and discussion to draw attention to interesting aspects of the narration, the detailed segments of the narration can be made more interesting to students. Also, there is a big difference between poetry and short stories, those differences playing a huge role in how the content should be taught to the students. With regards to poetry, the content is often far more abstract, requiring a great deal of time to simply decipher single lines. Some students enjoy poetry, but the ones that dont can be very frustrated with merely being faced with a poem. So, when teaching poetry, it is fruitful to read over the various poems in class instead of assigning them to read it overnight. That way, they dont enter the class frustrated by not being able to come up with intricate interpretations of the text. The importance of specifically having the students hear those poems in class comes from being able to hear the rhythm and rhyme of Poes poetry. If students were to read those poems on their own before coming to class, chances are they wouldnt be reading them aloud, even if they were instructed to do so. Reading those poems aloud makes it easier for students to feel the flow of the poetry. Short stories are somewhat different in that they are intrinsically compared to novels, seeing that both are stories written in prose, one longer than the other. The benefit of teaching short stories is that they feel short when compared to novels, making it a less daunting task for students to read through them.

So, assigning them to be read before class, as we did with the short stories on our lesson plan, gives them the chance to come up with insightful ideas on their own before we elaborate on them in class. Since short stories are often less abstract than poetry, they will be easier for a student to dig into and analyze without outside help. Other ways that we try to engage students without lesson plan include changing up styles of learning in order to appeal to all students and break the monotony of the school schedule. The three main styles of learning (visual, auditory, kinesthetic) are addressed in order to appeal to all of the students. To help students that have auditory learning styles, all of the poems are read aloud, and in one of the activities it is encouraged for students to exchange lines as they read poems together. That way, not only can students actively participate by listening to the poems, they also engage with other classmates and challenge themselves with a foreign task like switching lines. To help students with kinesthetic learning styles, we have activities like debates that require the classroom to be rearranged, changing both the flow of the class and the layout of the room. The students also have to move around in a classroom like that, sitting in different configurations and settings in order to complete the activity. Changing up learning styles is a way to make the material more interesting, and as a result, make the students more invested in the material. Advantages and Disadvantages When considering Poe's works, there are many different reasons that we might choose to teach them. Obviously, his poetry and short stories are considered an important part of our country's literary history. He is credited with the creation of the detective-fiction genre. His historical impact and influence on writing has carried on through today, suggesting that a knowledge of his work is nothing short of essential for the modern literary scholar. Developing

even a slight recognition of his legacy and import serves an academic advantage to studying Edgar Allan Poe. Another advantage of using Poe is that his stories are timelessly entertaining. Even though his stories consist of early 1800's settings, his intense dramatics and unexpected plot twists contend with that of any contemporary artist. Their length is brief, which assists in keeping intact the attention of modern day adolescents. "Because of their length, many short stories can be read in one sitting, often while waiting for class or for a friend" (Bucher 308). Stories like A Tell-Tale Heart, and The Cask of Amontillado are perfect for a short read, while also offering a intense themes of revenge and insanity, as well as a plethora of dramatics. Besides the dramatics, Poe also offers insight into love and the feeling of losing love. For a young adult reader, this is certainly an engaging topic that will be something that they can relate to. Nearly everybody has experienced love at some point, so this theme (while undebatably common in the poetic field) is tremendously relatable. This is a very important reason for choosing Poe's short stories for a classroom read. His style of writing is can be used for study of the basic literary devices (plot, narrative, theme). His stories are filled with incredible imagery and outstanding narrative that makes teaching these literary concepts much easier. In many of his short stories, Poe metaphorically paints intricate environments and fills his stories with images, rich with early American life. His narrative opens up discussion on point of view and narrator reliability, both very important aspects of English study. With his poetry, Poe offers a mix of styles that opens readers up to his wide range of talents. Poe could write with rhythm and rhyme, meter and method. His range of poetic structures provides a multitude of examples that could be used in poetic study. Some poems are much more

difficult than others, but they all offer different potential styles of reading. His shorter, more rhythmic rhyming poems are great for reading aloud and can be enjoyed by simply listening to their lyrical format. For example, we decided to read Poe's The Bells out loud. The rationale behind this decision to read the text out loud can be found on page 299 of Youth Adult Literature. In that source, they state that "Much but not all poetry is meant to be read aloud... adolescents who listened to poems that were read aloud favored short poems with rhythm and rhyme." Since The Bells is a shorter poem that has rhythm and rhyme embedded within, we can assume that this technique of reading aloud to the students will result in the greatest impact on them. Other poems, such as To Helen (II) are more dense and do not offer a consistent meter or rhyme, thereby being more appropriate for silent assessment and analyzation. This poetic variety that Poe offers readers is a definite advantage in a classroom environment. One of the greatest appeals to Poe is the myriad of themes and motifs that can be found in his works. While obviously dark in nature, his stories are enlightening in their perspective toward death. They shed light upon his perspectives of life. Life, death and time are many of the abstract concepts that Poe uses in his poems and short stories that can be considered something worth contemplating in the classroom. While they may be too advanced for elementary and some middle school age groups, these themes are absolutely age appropriate for high school settings, considering that this is an age where students will begin intellectually contemplating them. For this reason, young adult readers will find interest in them and will likely be inspired to continue reading and exploring the works of Poe. In contrast, a disadvantage of teaching Poe might be the difficulty of understanding the language. While his linguistic style is much more comprehensible than that of Shakespeare, he

still uses some wordage that may be confusing for modern-day young adults. With some scaffolding assistance, however, the teacher can help the students to work through these misunderstandings in order to attain a greater level of literary knowledge. Another disadvantage is that some might become upset with the darker themes and plots. If books like Harry Potter or The Hunger Games are rejected because of their content (witchcraft, death, etc.) then Poe could easily be considered unreadable because of similar content. While most would deem his content scholastically appropriate, teachers must be aware of potential issues that some of Poe's works might raise. With death, the inevitability of dying, murder, violence and while-living burial being common themes occurring in his texts, some parents or students might feel uncomfortable with these texts being used in the classroom curriculum. We need to be prepared to cater to the particular objections and perhaps have back-up plans for students who fall into this dissenting category. Despite these minor disadvantages that can be found in teaching an Edgar Allan Poe unit, it seems that the advantages outweigh their opposition. The connections to post-Poe literature are nearly endless and can thus open up our students to a wider understanding of the literacies that they are interacting with on their own. Sherlock Holmes, Law Abiding Citizen, Seven, or any of the many Saw movies could be related to Poe's works. The relatability of Poe to these modern movies is definitely enough to stimulate some further intellectual thought on the part of our students which, in turn, will only improve their abilities in the academic study of English literature. The more connections they can make, the better they will be as students and scholars. Without a doubt, expanding one's literary repertoire with a study of Poe will lead to an unveiling of more connections and a grander understanding of literature.

The Issue of Plagiarism Because of the increased availability of scholarly resources on the internet, the issue of plagiarism is growing at a simultaneously consistent pace. Students of modern-day education do most, if not all, of their class work online, research included. With the ease of accessing information becoming easier, plagiarism, in turn, becomes much easier as well. In some cases, it is blatant and on-purpose. However, some students plagiarize without malicious intent and would most likely admit to their folly if confronted about it. For this reason, we believe that there are two types of plagiarism and two separate ways to handle it. Since information can be discovered, copied and pasted into a word document within seconds, it makes sense that students would grow apathetic in regards to this act of cheating. We need to understand, as teachers, that some students have yet to truly grasp the seriousness of using another person's words without giving them proper credit. For this, it seems that it is tough to fault them. If, however, we feel that the offending students have been properly informed on the issue, but still attempt to pass the work of others off as their own, then we must take more serious action. Obviously, plagiarism must be openly discussed in order to inform our students of our expectations. A class discussion or activity is essential to the prevention this act of academic fraud. This intervention should take place early in the semester, but beyond the initial informative discussion, action must be taken if our students are plagiarizing. We must keep in mind that our response must be fitting in order for the point to be properly appreciated. Initially, an activity might be helpful in the students' understanding of the malice of plagiarism. For example, have them write a short paragraph about anything that they want. Tell them that they will be entering a contest for "the most creative paragraph in the class room," for

which there will be a $20 prize. Even hold up a twenty dollar bill for effect. The only rule is that they need to be original in thought. After ten minutes, collect the papers and tell them that you will be reading them over and will announce the winner tomorrow. Then, in the next class period, announce that you have a winner and read a short, recognizable quote by a famous author (Shakespeare, Twain, whoever). When you finish reading, announce that you (the teacher) have won. Hopefully, there will be some dissent, considering that you plagiarized. This example will set you up for a discussion about the issue of plagiarism and how it isn't fair to other writers, or to the writer you stole the work from. Make sure you teach your students how to avoid plagiarizing the work of others, by showing them how to cite their sources. When you feel that you have properly established plagiarism as a problem that will not be tolerated, and explained how to avoid plagiarizing the work of others, your response to future offences is up to you. If a student is blatantly plagiarizing or trying to pass unoriginal work off as their own, it is completely justifiable to fail the student on that project. While it may seem harsh, it is undoubtedly essential in the prevention of future, potentially more serious, acts of plagiarism. We must consider the circumstances thoroughly, though, before making a decision to fail a student on a certain project. Confronting the student personally is a great way to straighten out any discrepancy. If they admit to plagiarism in an honest manner, perhaps they haven't quite grasped the seriousness of the act. If they are apologetic, or it appears that they don't know how to cite their work, we shouldn't be so aggressive with our responding action. One possible response is to give them another few days to cite their sources thoroughly and return their paper with proper citation. Another response would be to make them write a second paper on the issue of plagiarism, in which they must cite multiple sources. Again though, the punishment must fit

the crime, therefore, we should be certain not to overreact. In the same breath, however, we cannot under-react because we risk becoming vulnerable to future offenses. This issue is becoming more of a problem as the internet expands and information becomes exponentially accessible. Plagiarism must be discussed thoroughly at any level of academia and our expectations must be firmly expressed. The manner with which we handle offenses my vary, but, for the sake of the students' scholastic integrity, we need to instill an understanding of the seriousness of plagiarism.

Bibliography Bucher, Katherine Toth, and KaaVonia Hinton. Young Adult Literature: Exploration, Evaluation, and Appreciation. 2nd ed. Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon, 2010. Print. This text would be incredibly useful for any secondary English teacher. It goes over the styles, methods, advantages and disadvantages of teacher different types of literature. It assists in basic evaluation of textbooks and explains how to choose which literature to use in a classroom. As it explores the benefits and downfalls of each genre in young adult literature, it provides important insight into how these genres can be taught. It is definitely worth consideration. King, Stephen. The Shining. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1977. Print. Having students read The Shining opens them up to new ways that horror is used in prose to incite emotion from the reader. Stephen King grew up reading stories by H.P. Lovecraft, who was heavily influenced by Poe. Therefore, reading parts of The Shining helps to discuss the evolution of horror over time and how it inevitably points back at Poe being a key writer in the horror genre. Not only does it do that, but it connects Poes work to something that most people can identify with. Many students have at least heard of The Shining, and even if they havent heard of it, theyve likely heard of the movie. So, if a teacher prints off an excerpt from The Shining and connects its themes and narrative style to Poes work, then students will have a modern reference point to link older, more distant literature to. Looking over parts of a book like The Shining will make it easier for students to read Poe. Lovecraft, H. P., and Stephen Jones. Necronomicon: The Best Weird Tales of H.P. Lovecraft. London: Gollancz, 2008. Print. H.P. Lovecrafts short stories are very similar to Poes short stories, largely in that they are both writers that deal in detailed psychological horror fiction. The very strong connection

between the two artists can be easily utilized to teach Poe using Lovecraft. Lovecrafts stories can also be very visceral and intense, which can be used to entice students. Kids are always intrigued by sensational and outrageous stories, evidence of that being ridiculous shows like Jersey Shore being pointed at the MTV teenage demographic. In using Lovecrafts bloody stories to introduce Poe, students can have fun with sensational topics while still learning conventions of old horror short stories. However, one has to be careful when using certain Lovecraft stories. There cant be a teaching focus on the gory and violent, merely utilization of those facets in order to entice students. Therefore, using Lovecraft has its merits and cautions, but its merits stem from the utilization of its sensational nature and the very strong connection between it and Poe. Meyer, Stephenie. Twilight. New York: Little, Brown and, 2005. Print. Even though people debate whether Twilight has any real literary value, its value is irrelevant when the book is used in a certain fashion. Since both of them are horror books, they are similar in that they both focus on death and the intrigue of the morbid. Despite Poe being highly acclaimed and Meyer being questioned as a serious writer, both share similarities. So, Twilight can be used to briefly illustrate how elements of Poes short stories inspire certain facets of the Twilight series. In doing that, students can see how important Poes work is today, considering that its effects still resonate after 200 years. And, since the focus is only on the existence of Poes effect on modern literature, students dont need to respect Twilight or even enjoy it. Shakespeare, William, and Colin Burrow. The Complete Sonnets and Poems. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2002. Print. Shakespeares sonnets can be compared to some of Poes poetry, firstly in terms of content. Many of Shakespeares sonnets are about love; many others are about death. These sonnets can

be used in class alongside some of Poes poetry, like Annabel Lee and The Raven, in order to illustrate how timeless the themes of love and death can be. In addition, the fact that Poe is being compared to Shakespeare also stresses his importance as a writer. Even if students dont like Shakespeare, theyve heard their entire lives that his work is very important. Also, comparing well-known sonnets that students have likely (at least) heard to poems like The Bells helps to illustrate conventions of poetry that are used all throughout history. So, Shakespeares work, when compared to Poes, emphasizes the timeless importance of certain concepts like love and death and also helps to illustrate basic conventions of poetry that can be used to analyze Poes poetry. Silverman, Kenneth. Edgar A. Poe: Mournful and Never-ending Remembrance. New York, NY: HarperPerennial, 1992. Print. Using a biography of Poes life is a good way to put his stories in a historical context. Students may not understand what it means for a story to be written in the early 1800s, so reading sections of a biography on Poe would give them insight into how it means to live in that time period. It would give them insight into how society operated at that point in history and the societal constraints on different types of people in that time period. Plus, it adds another facet of analysis to Poes stories. How do the stories that the students are studying fit in the timeline of Poes life? Adding sections of a biography to any lesson plan about a certain writers work helps in putting that work in both historical context and the context of the writers life. Stoker, Bram, and Tudor Humphries. Dracula. New York: DK Pub., 1997. Print. Even if students havent read Dracula, the story should be familiar enough to them to draw them into the old text. Dracula, being one of the key examples of old Gothic horror, is a good way to take the new and exciting vampire genre and link it to an older text. Since Poes work

and Dracula share quite a bit by way of horror elements, comparing excerpts from the two is a way to show how influential Poe has been on more modern writers. Also, the first four chapters of Dracula are classic suspense and horror, and could serve as a short story by itself. Analyzing it and comparing it to Poe with respect to only the first four chapters could be a way to use Dracula in the context of the short story, further linking it to Poes work. So, there are many approaches that could be used to take Dracula and use it to foster an appreciation for horror, making it easier for them to focus on stories like The Pit and the Pendulum and The Tell-Tale Heart.