Short Stories by Edgar Allan Poe Quiz and Close Reading Bundle (Volume 1)

Evaluate reading comprehension, support critical thinking, and embrace the Halloween spirit no matter the time of year with this bundle of plot-based quizzes, close reading analysis worksheets, vocabulary development exercises, and craft analysis activities for five classic short stories by Edgar Allan Poe. The featured texts are "The Black Cat," "The Oval Portrait," "The Cask of Amontillado," "The Masque of the Red Death," and "Hop Frog." Copies of the narratives and answer keys are provided. Materials are delivered in Word Document and PDF formats. (Alternatively, a Google Drive option is available.) By engaging with these activities, students will:

• Identify what the texts state explicitly and implicitly

• Define words and phrases as they are used in texts

• Verify interpretations of language using reference materials as needed

• Discern the intended effects of the author’s diction and narrative techniques

• Examine how complex characters think, behave, interact, and develop

• Apply knowledge of literary devices such as allusion, simile, metaphor, paradox, situational irony, and more

• Conduct brief research on Roman mythology to articulate why a character’s name carries symbolic value

• Conduct brief research into Poe's personal life to explain autobiographical parallels

• Support claims and inferences with sound reasoning and relevant evidence

• Write about high-quality fiction with clarity, accuracy, and precision

Additional resources for teaching the literature of Edgar Allan Poe are available. Check out the second volume of Poe resources featuring the following works: "The Tell-Tale Heart," "The Fall of the House of Usher," "The Premature Burial," "The Pit and the Pendulum," and "The Murders in the Rue Morgue."

Consider pairing H.P. Lovecraft's fiction with Poe's. Check out the first volume of Lovecraft resources featuring "The Outsider," "The Beast in the Cave," "The Hound," "The Cats of Ulthar," "The Tomb," and "The Moon Bog. A second volume features "The Terrible Old Man," "The Lurking Fear," "In the Vault," "Cool Air," "What the Moon Brings," and "Beyond the Wall of Sleep." A third volume features "The Call of Cthulhu," "Dagon," "The Tree," "Polaris," "From Beyond," and "The Doom that Came to Sarnath."