Secondary ELA Seasonal Blog Hop: Literary Sherri Shares "The Tell Tale Heart"

Students love Edgar Allan Poe's spooky settings and terrifying tales, and October is the perfect month to grab their attention with his Gothic masterpiece "The Tell-Tale Heart." Nothing piques students' interest quite like this creepy classic!  

Hit up The Dollar Store or Target's Dollar Spot for a few seasonal decorations for your classroom, dim your classroom lights, play some seasonal music in the background (here's one option), and use Poe's spellbinding short story to analyze mood, tone, theme, symbolism, characterization, figurative language, and author's craft. This resource contains everything you need to teach this riveting narrative tomorrow, including the full text of "The Tell-Tale Heart" with especially difficult vocabulary words defined, literary analysis activities, 9 unique and engaging writing prompts, vocabulary worksheets, grading rubrics, and answer keys. Best of all, it's available in traditional format, as well as interactive-notebook format!

Teachers who have used this resource say:

"This is very thorough and covers a lot of skills!" (Karen M.)

"My students loved working on this . . . it's not the typical read and answer questions." (Melissa R.)

"This was a great activity for breaking down the story and making it more understandable for my 8th graders." (Michelle W.) 

"I loved this . . . it inspired me to read more Poe works, and created interest in my students for  his works." (Tania P.)

"Excellent resource . . . my students really had to think, which I loved!" (Kathleen Y.)


Click here to add this resource to your repertoire today for 20% off, then cozy up under your favorite blanket with a steaming mug of hot coffee or (my favorite!) salted caramel hot cocoa and hop through the blogs below to treat yourself (and your students) to more perfect-for-October resources! Thank you to Stephanie of The Creative Classroom for organizing this Secondary ELA Seasonal Blog Hop!

An InLinkz Link-up

Happy Halloween! I love days like today when the students bring a lot of extra energy and enthusiasm to class that can be channeled into fun, exciting activities! I hope you're loving your day, too!

 

Sadly, it's been exactly 14 days since my last post . . . I've been off-line due to a computer crash. My previous computer was only 3 years old (yes, I know that's ancient to computer aficionados -- but still nearly new to me!) so I intended to have it repaired, not replaced. However, the cost of repairing the crashed computer was nearly the same as the cost of purchasing an entirely new system. So, what I thought would be a 3-hour gig at Geek Squad turned into days of shopping and endless waiting, waiting, and more waiting.

 

The good news: I finally have a (hopefully!) trusty and reliable new computer that should last until . . . well, until it crashes, which will be much sooner than I think it should and much later than the Geek Squad technicians think it should be!  

 

The reason I'm sharing this: I spend so much time on the computer that I have developed tendinitis. I spend countless hours icing my wrists and forearms, wearing braces, and doing physical therapy exercises to alleviate the pain. The physical therapist said it's important to keep the forearms parallel to the floor when keyboarding. She encouraged me to elevate my keyboard by placing it on a book and then rolling up a towel in front of the keyboard to use as a wrist rest. This was my old set-up -- it was ugly, but it made a significant difference! (Please excuse the visible scratches on the desk from my one-year-old cat, Frodo, who loves to visit me while I work at the computer! I threw in a bonus photo of him!)

When I upgraded my computer, I decided to splurge on an ergonomic keyboard and mouse. I purchased a split keyboard with a wrist rest and a separate number keypad . . .

 . . . and a mouse that has a thumb rest and a quick-key for Windows.

I use both with beaded wrist rests from IMAK. It's a pretty sweet set-up:

 

The sweetest thing about it is I've been pain-free since I started working with this keyboard and mouse! If you can relate to excessive pain in your hands, wrists, and/or forearms from excessive keyboarding, this might be worth a try! For me, being pain-free is SO worth the investment! I wish I'd purchased these a long  time ago! 

 

Bonus: Because the keyboard is elevated, I'm forced to sit up straighter to work on it comfortably, resulting in less back pain, as well! A win-win!

 

Oh, and I've finally been able to upload this year's spooky resource, which was put on hold due to being technology-free for a week. I realize it's too late to use it as a Halloween resource this year (my original intention) -- but any time is a good time for some Edgar Allen Poe! If you haven't included his creepy classic in your curriculum repertoire this year, give it a go! You -- and your students! -- will be glad you did! This interactive flip book contains everything you need to spend a day or two with this spooky story! 

Also, don't forget to check the 'Extras' page, which will be uploaded with lots of new treats now that I'm back on-line!

Happy Halloween!