Are you looking for Halloween ELA short stories middle school students will love? “The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allan Poe short story unit is filled with spooky short story reading comprehension activities to teach the main idea, summary, theme, the three types of irony, and more. This 8-day close reading unit is the PERFECT resource to help your middle school and high school ELA students think critically and dive deeper into Poe’s classic macabre tale. You will be provided with all the resources you need to assess student understanding and help them develop their creativity and writing skills.
Each close reading lesson is designed with scaffolded activities and differentiated reading strategies to support all learners. Teacher models for each activity set clear expectations for students. There is also a creative writing project that requires students to write a new narrative that details what happens after the nameless narrator confesses to the murder of the old man.
❤️ Why You’ll Love This Resource:
✅ Saves You Time with Quick and Easy Prep
✅ Scaffolded Lessons to Meet the Needs of All Learners
✅ Teacher Models and Answer Keys
✅ Anchor Charts for Main Idea, Theme, Inferences, and Tone & Mood
✅ Clear Student Directions and Criteria
✅ Strategies and Activities for Student Collaboration
✋ What Standards and Skills Are Addressed?
• Citing Text Evidence
• Context Clues
• Making Predictions
• Main Idea and Supporting Details
• Objective Summary
• Theme
• Inferences
• Elements of Plot
• Three Types of Irony (Dramatic, Situational, and Verbal)
• and MORE!
✍ What’s Included:
➀ “The Cask of Amontillado” Probable Passage
➙ ➙ “The original template for Probable Passage is from When Kids Can’t Read/What Teachers Can Do by Kylene Beers. You can read more about this strategy on pages 87 – 95 of that book, which is available in e-format at http://www.heinemann.com/products/EBK03025.aspx.”
➁ “The Cask of Amontillado” Close Reading Activity
– Differentiated Vocabulary Activity
– Anticipation Guide and Four Corners Activity
– First Read: Main Idea, Supporting Details, and Objective Summary
– Second Read: Comprehension Questions with a Double Entry Journal
– Third Read: How Poe Uses Irony to Develop Suspense
-3 Writing Responses
➂ “The Cask of Amontillado” Assessment
– 8 Multiple Choice Questions
– 2 Extended Response Questions (Students select one to answer)
– Extended Response Rubric
➃ “The Cask of Amontillado” Narrative Writing Task
– Task #1- Prewriting: Four Square Organizer
– Task #2- Rough Draft
– Task #3- Self and Peer Assessment
– Task #4- Final Draft
– Narrative Writing Reference Sheet
– Narrative Writing Rubric
– Strong and Weak Writing Samples
➄ BONUS: “The Cask of Amontillado” Choice Board Activity
-Early Finisher Activity
-4 Task
– Task Handouts
➅ “The Cask of Amontillado” Lesson Presentation (+75 Slides)
-Editable slides
➆ Teacher Models and Answer Keys
– Provided for all activities
➇ Teacher Guide
-Lesson Breakdown
-Daily Lesson Structures
-Activity Tips and Suggestions
-Modification and Differentiation Ideas
-Annotated Teacher Text
➈ Anchor Charts
– Main Idea, Supporting Details, and Objective Summary
– Theme
– Tone and Mood
– Three Types of Irony
– Inferences
➉ 36 PRINT and DIGITAL Task Cards
The following skills/tasks are included:
☞ Task #1- Author’s Purpose
☞ Task #2- Central Idea
☞ Task #3- Theme
☞ Task #4- Characterization
☞ Task #5- Point of View
☞ Task #6- Time Period
☞ Task #7- Real Life Influences
☞ Task #8- Figurative Language
☞ Task #9- Conflict/Resolution
☞ Task #10- Setting
☞ Task #11- Theme & Development
☞ Task #12- Painting a Picture
☞ Task #13- Plot
☞ Task #14- Objective Summary
☞ Task #15- Compare and Contrast
☞ Task #16- Context Clues
☞ Task #17- Movie Poster
☞ Task #18- Be A Critic
☞ Task #19- Picture It
☞ Task #20- Interview the Author
☞ Task #21- Interview a Character
☞ Task #22- Comic Book
☞ Task #23- Instagram
☞ Task #24- Facebook
☞ Task #25- Twitter Feed
☞ Task #26- Trading Places
☞ Task #27- Likes/Dislikes
☞ Task #28- Rewrite
☞ Task #29- Prequel
☞ Task #30- Sequel
☞ Task #31- Diary of a Character
☞ Task #32- Cover Artist
☞ Task #33- Dear Abby
☞ Task #34- Music to My Ears
☞ Task #35- Morning Announcements
☞ Task #36- Word Cloud Collage
