Lindsey Arnold

ENG3820
11-2-2021
Reader and Task Assignment
Text: “The Conqueror Worm” by Edgar Allan Poe
1.) Prompt: How does the imagery and/or symbolism in the poem provide a meaning for the
message of the poem itself?
2.) Breakdown:
 Purpose: imagery and/or possible symbols
 Discuss the concepts of imagery and symbolism briefly 
 Read the poem together first out loud
 Ask students to reread the poem themselves and mark with a blue marker any possible
symbols they see in the poem
 Ask students to read next and mark any other imagery that stands out to them with a pink
marker 
 Ask next: What might these symbols you marked stand for? Have them go through and
note what each might stand for.
 Next question: How can that possible symbolism or imagery provide meaning for what
message the poem is trying to portray? 
 Finish with a class discussion of what overall meanings students were able to pull from
their understandings of imagery and symbolism 
 Possible follow-up: comparison with clip from Coraline 
I will be prompting the students to the next step as they are working individually or with
peers on each step in order to scaffold the reading of the text.
3.) Assessment: write a brief response (a paragraph of at least 5 sentences) describing what
meaning you came to for the poem and how the symbolism or imagery you found led you
to that conclusion.