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CONTENT ORGANIZER: 12.3C

Content Organizer
Curriculum Framework Essential Understandings

“Virginia Standard of Learning-English 11.7a:

The student will:

a) Generate, gather, plan, and organize ideas for writing.”
(Virginia Board of Education, 2003).

FOCUS:
At the eleventh-grade level, students will write in a variety of forms with an emphasis on
persuasive essays and professional correspondence. Students will use their knowledge of genres,
formats, purposes, audiences, and situations to produce clear and effective products that reflect
use of all stages of a writing process.” (Virginia Board of Education, 2004).

“ESSENTIAL UNDERSTANDINGS:

All students should

• understand a writing process
• locate and select appropriate information that clearly supports a definite purpose and position

“ESSENTIAL KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND PROCESSES:

To be successful with this standard, students are expected to:

• plan and organize ideas for writing
• develop a clear focus for writing
• understand a variety of organizational patterns
• elaborate ideas clearly and accurately
• use specific revision strategies and adapt content, vocabulary, voice, and tone to audience, purpose, and
situation
• revise writing for accuracy and depth of information
use MLA (Modern Language Association) or APA (American Psychological Association) style for
documentation.”
(Virginia Board of Education, 2004).

Materials and Lesson Preparation

Copies of Poe’s biography, “Poe’s Life” by J.S. Wilson from the Poe Museum website for each
student: http://www.poemuseum.org/poes_life/index.html
Print out and copy for number of students in the class and add a few extra copies just in case.
• I am going to re-read Poe’s “The Cask of Amantillado” in preparation for the first 90
minute block period covering Poe’s short stories.
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CONTENT ORGANIZER: 12.3C
Content Information and Vocabulary

Vocabulary words:
Go over the unique sentences students create using these vocabulary words in the correct context
(once they have looked up their definitions in an online dictionary) at the beginning of the
following class.
1. Cask
2. Unredressed
3. Impunity
4. Catacombs
5. Gesticulation
6. Immolation
7. Preclude
8. Motley
9. Virtuoso
10. Trowel

• Introductory Set: I will introduce Edgar Allan Poe to the students by passing out the
biographical hand-out printed form the Edgar Allan Poe Museum website (Wilson, 2010).
I will have the students take turns reading paragraphs from the biographical hand-out.
We will then talk about Poe’s life in a short class discussion. Each student will also hand
in their permission slips signed by their parents for the upcoming field-trip the following
day.
• Lesson Development: I will ask for students to read aloud from Poe’s “The Cask of
Amantillado” from their texts, reminding students before we begin to pay attention to the
setting of the short story and how Poe uses the setting and vocabulary to create a specific
mood for the short story. We will then have an in-class discussion that will count
towards a grade of participation for students to answer questions on the setting of the
short story, what makes Poe’s “The Cask of Amantillado” effective as a short story, and
the setting and vocabulary used in this short story.
• Closure: Finally, I will give students 30 minutes to write a formal short story in which
students will be asked to use the techniques that Poe used with setting and vocabulary to
create a specific mood for their short story. Students must pay attention to their “hook”
or opening paragraph, the vocabulary they use in the short story, the setting of their short
story, and what kind of mood these elements create for their short story. At the end of 30
minutes, I will have each student read their short stories from their desks, and I will then
collect the compositions to be graded.
• Homework: Students will read the white board which has tonight’s assignment listed and
copy the assignment down at the end of the class period. Also, vocabulary will be listed
on the white board for students to use in original sentences they write after looking up the
definitions of the words in an online dictionary. The words need to be used in their
correct contexts to gain full credit for this assignment. These vocabulary words are
words found in Poe’s works and words that apply to the development of the short story in
American literature. Students will also need to read Poe’s short story “The Tell-Tale
Heart” and type a short, one-page typed essay response to how Poe creates an atmosphere
of fear and horror for the reader.
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CONTENT ORGANIZER: 12.3C

• Formative Assessment: At the beginning of the class, I will be calling on students to read
paragraphs from Poe’s “The Cask of Amantillado,” followed by an in-class discussion
that will count towards participation about the meaning of the short story and how Poe
uses setting and his vocabulary to create a specific mood. I will then be asking students to
respond with a formal short story at the end of class making great use of setting and
vocabulary to create a specific mood. Students will be asked to read their short stories to
the class and class commentary and response to other students’ short stories will be
allowed.
• Summative Assessment: Students will be graded fairly and equally based on if they fully
created an original short story with good use of setting and vocabulary to create a specific
mood as Poe does in “The Cask of Amantillado.” Correct grammar, and introductory
hook paragraph, good use of setting and vocabulary, and a good concluding paragraph are
all requirements for the student-written short story. Finally, the homework given has the
students creating original sentences for the vocabulary words on the whiteboard, and for
students to read Poe’s short story “The Tell-Tale Heart” and to write a one-page typed
essay in response to this short story about how Poe creates an atmosphere and mood of
fear and horror in “The Tell-Tale Heart.”
• Grading Rubric: This is the grading rubric for the formal short story to be written in-
class after the class reading of “The Cask of Amantillado,” as well as for the one-page
typed essay response to “The Tell-Tale Heart” that is part of the homework.
A=93-100
B=92-89
C=88-79
D=78-70
F=69-0
Students will receive an A is their grammar is excellent, their thoughts are well-captured
in compound-complex sentences, they use a short story or five-paragraph essay format
with an introduction, body, and conclusion, and if they make great use of setting and
vocabulary to create a mood in their short story.

Students will receive a B if the grammar exhibited is good, their thoughts are organized,
they use a short story or five-paragraph essay format, and they make some use of setting
and vocabulary to create a mood in their short story.

Students will receive a C if they exhibit average grammar skills with some mistakes in
usage and mechanics, if some but not all of their thoughts are organized into paragraphs
that flow well, if they use a short story or five-paragraph essay format, and they capture
at least two uses of good vocabulary and description of setting to create a mood in their
short story.

Students will receive a D if they exhibit below-average grammar skills with many
problems in usage and mechanics, if their sentences and paragraphs are somewhat
disorganized, if they use a shortened short story format or a three-paragraph essay format,
and they use only one good vocabulary word and one description of setting to create a
mood in their short story.
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CONTENT ORGANIZER: 12.3C

Students will receive a grade of F if their grammar is very poor with numerous mistakes
in usage and mechanics, if they use fragments instead of complete sentences, if their
paragraphs are not organized, if they do not use as short story format or at least a three-
paragraph essay format, and if do not use any vocabulary words and descriptions of
setting to create a mood in their short story.

Connections – Cross-Curricular and Real-World

High school students need to know Edgar Allan Poe’s background as he is one of the most
famous American writers of short stories and poetry and he lived in Richmond, VA at one point,
where these students live. It is important that students can be creative in their writing and can
understand the components of a short story well enough that they can create their own short
story. It is also very important that students understand how to write a five-paragraph essay well
in response to a piece of literature, with a good introductory paragraph, three-paragraph body,
and great concluding paragraph.