Poe Response (Mini-Lesson Week)

In my opinion, everyone should study Poe, especially secondary students.
Poe is an accessible writer to all. What I mean by this is that his writing has its mysterious undertones, but the language is accessible and not something that will confuse younger readers the way that Shakespeare or Beowulf can. Poe is an excellent vehicle for analyzing literary texts. His writings range from short stories to poetry (and sometimes poetry within a short story).  His wide range of material provides context for CCSS such as comparing different types of texts, analyzing themes, and analyzing mood and tone. Also, considering he is a darker, more disturbed writer, Poe's "weirdness" is something that will stick in students minds better. In my experience, I remember more about Poe due to the fact that his writing style and dark themes were very different from many writers of the time.

How I would use Poe in the Classroom w/ CCSS

Cask
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.8.3
Analyze how particular lines of dialogue or incidents in a story or drama propel the action, reveal aspects of a character, or provoke a decision.

This short stories requires a few re-reads to analyze the themes of betrayal and how the narrator goes about confessing. The actions in the story can be analyzed to understand motive, character depth/analysis and what drove the narrators decision. 

Fall
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.8.4
Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including figurative and connotative meanings; analyze the impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone, including analogies or allusions to other texts.

This is an excellent text for analyzing the impact of words. Specifically, Poe uses a lot of words setting the mood for a dark, dank, scary scene. The first couple of paragraphs alone can be dissected for deeper meanings, allusions and the impact of his mood-setting word choice. 

Ligeia
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.8.2
Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text, including its relationship to the characters, setting, and plot; provide an objective summary of the text.

While I don't know this story as well, it has great themes to discuss and explore such as mortality, reality vs versions of reality (ie what is the truth and what is the characters delusions w/evidence) and appearance due to his obsession with her looks. 

Some concerns with Poe, especially for younger secondary students is that some themes could be difficult to use in the classroom. For example, House of Usher has evidence of incest and most of his work references drug and alcohol use. These issues would be important to clear with administration and preface for students ahead of time.