Introduction Task Process Evaluation Student Resources Teacher Resources
Edgar Allan Poe wrote many short stories and poems as well as some essays and articles for magazines and newspapers of his day. He is most well known for his stories and poems, especially his horror stories such as the "The Fall of the House of Usher," "The Premature Burial," and many others. Often our attention has not been focused on his humor, mysteries, or stories of adventure. In this webquest you will learn a little about the life of Edgar Allan Poe as well as read selections from various genres in his works.
Your task for this webquest is first to get to know Edgar Allan Poe. In the resources section of this page you will find some links to biographical information about who this author was and the life he lead. You should read several of these. As many of you know, the death of Edgar Allan Poe has often been compared to the subjects and themes in is works. You should read more than one or two biographies in order to form your own opinion about the life and works of this man. Once you have gotten to know Edgar Allan Poe a bit more, then you should read some of his works. You will work with a team of your classmates on this project and present you findings to the rest of your class.
Your teacher will divide your class into groups of four. Each of you should use the biographical resource links below to gain more knowledge about the life of Edgar Allan Poe. Once you have all read several different biographies or summaries of a biography, discuss with your team what you have learned. Do you believe that Poe was a "mad genius," or a "tormented" like some of the characters in his stories? Next you should read the article in the resources section of this webquest that Poe wrote about furniture for Burton's Gentleman's Magazine. You and your team members should create a poster or diorama of Poe's perfect room. You may draw, use magazine clippings, or anything you wish to do this. There are links to some resources for this part of the project in the resources section. Pay attention to details as you read his article and then proceed with your recreation of the room. In the resources section of this webquest you will also find links to a selection of stories and poems by Poe. There are selections representing his humor, adventure stories, mysteries, and horror. Each member of your team should read a story from one of the four genres. Each of you should read a story from a different genre. Once you have finished the story, your team should discuss each of the stories that you read. Then your team should prepare a PowerPoint presentation that will be presented the rest of your class. Each of the members of your team should create 2 slides to represent the story that was read. One slide should summarize and analyze the story and the other slide should be an illustration that represents a major theme of the story. Fianally, add one more slide to your presentation that is a summary of the kind of man you and your team members believe Poe was and how his life influenced his works. Your team should then present the slide show to your class and explain the content of the slides.
| 0 Points | 1 Points | 2 Points | 3 Points | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Poe's Perfect Room |
No representation of Poe's perfect room has been created. | A poster or representation has been created, but most elements of the room are absent. | Poe's perfect room has been created and contains all elements mentioned in the essay. | Poe's perfect room has been created with all elements mentioned in the essay and is an exceptional representation. | |
PowerPoint Slides |
No slides have been created. | Some slides have been created. | Most slides have been created. | All slides have been created and are exemplary. | |
Grammar |
Grammar in the story is poor. | Some grammar in the story is correct. | Most grammar in the story is correct. | All grammar in the story is correct. | |
Sentence Structure |
Sentence structure is poor in all sentences. | Some sentences have proper sentence structure. | Most sentences have proper sentence structure. | All sentences have proper sentence structure. | |
Spelling & Punctuation |
Spelling and punctuation in the story is poor. | Some spelling and punctuation is correct. | Most spelling and punctuation is correct. | All spelling and punctuation is correct. |
Poe Biographies
http://www.poestories.com/biography.php
http://www.eapoe.org/geninfo/poegrisw.htm
http://www.eapoe.org/geninfo/poebiog.htm
http://kirjasto.sci.fi/eapoe.htm
http://www.pambytes.com/poe/bio.html
http://www.poemuseum.org/poes_life/index.html
http://www.buzzle.com/articles/edgar-allan-poe-biography.html
http://www.poedecoder.com/Qrisse/bio/allans.php (This is an extensive, multipage biography)
Poe's Essay, "Philosophy of Furniture"
Links to Resources for recreating Poe's "Perfect Room"
http://www.floorbiz.com/carpet/carpet-buying-guide/carpet-construction/saxony-carpet.htm
http://www.onsaleonline.com/categories/carpet/html/sax.html
http://www.campbellsinteriors.com/homebuyer/saxony.asp
http://www.vahistorical.org/landscape/swamp.htm
http://www.metmuseum.org/special/se_event.asp?OccurrenceId={C110868C-2D57-4597-A3CB-37EB0FF36D62}
http://www.royalcollection.org.uk/egallery/maker.asp?maker=SEVRES
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piano
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Argand_lamp
http://www.buildingconservation.com/articles/lighting/lighting.htm
http://hal.ucr.edu/~cathy/artists/sully.html
http://10thhousepress.com/sully.html
Settee Sofa Victorian lamp Victorian table Fairy Grotto Stanfield landscape
Humorous Short Stories by Poe
"Never Bet The Devil Your Head"
Mystery Stories by Poe
Horror stories by Poe
Adventure Stories by Poe
Teachers, you may wish to assign specific stories to each group from the selections on this page or add selections of your choosing to each group. You may also want to make sure all groups read different selections in order to prevent groups from reading the same selection of stories. I have also included in this section a number of links to readings of some of Poe's work that you and your students may want to listen to together.
Links to readings of some of Poe's works
The Cask of Amontillado, Track 1, read by Sidney Greenstreet
The Cask of Amontillado, Track 2, read by Sidney Greenstreet
The Cask of Amontillado, Track 3, read by Sidney Greenstreet
The Cask of Amontillado, Track 4, read by Sidney Greenstreet
The Raven, read by Christopher Walken
Illinois learning Standards Addressed by this Webquest
STATE GOAL 1: Read with understanding and fluency.
1.B.5b Analyze the defining characteristics and structures of a variety of complex literary genres and describe how genre affects the meaning and function of the texts.
1.C.5c Critically evaluate information from multiple sources.
STATE GOAL 2: Read and understand literature representative of various societies, eras and ideas.
2.A.4c Describe relationships between the author’s style, literary form (e.g., short stories, novels, drama, fables, biographies, documentaries, poetry, essays) and intended effect on the reader.
2.A.5c Analyze the development of form (e.g., short stories, essays, speeches, poetry, plays, novels) and purpose in American literature and literature of other countries.
STATE GOAL 3: Write to communicate for a variety of purposes.
3.A.5 Produce grammatically correct documents using standard manuscript specifications for a variety of purposes and audiences.