Learning Target:

HOW: By highlighting examples

from the text where the narrator
says or does things that prove his is
sane or insane.

➢ LEARNING TARGET: RL 8.3

➢ I can identify how what a character WHY: To increase my reasoning
says or does moves the plot of the
story forward and reveals more about skills for argumentative essays.
the character.

➢ LANGUAGE TARGET: I can identify

evidence to support whether narrator
is sane or insane.
 Have you ever
felt paranoid
before?
(a feeling that you’re being
threatened, watched or people
are acting against you in some
way, even though there’s no
proof that it’s true?)
The Tell Tale Heart

By Edgar Allan Poe

Vocabulary
● Acute-sharp
● Concealment-hiding place
● Cunningly- sly, crafty,
deceiving
● Stealthily- cautious, quiet, in
secrecy
● Indistinctly-not clear
● Dissimulation- to disguise, to
hide your true motives
● Vex- to irritate, annoy
● Profound- Having deep
thoughts or knowledge
● Sagacity- sound judgment
● Supposition- assumption,
hypothesis
● Suavity-smoothly
● Vehemently- With passion,
rage
● Terror-extremely frightened
● Instinct-to act as if natural,
knew
● Mockery-to make fun of
● Chamber- bedroom
● Dreadfully-horrible
● Reposed-the very spot
Scantlings (floorboards) Watch’s minute hand
Shutters Lantern
Death watch Vulture’s eye
Key vocabulary

Sane: of sound mind, not Insane/Mad: in the state

crazy of mind which prevents
normal perceptions,
behavior, or social
interaction
For Example

heard all things in the heaven and in the earth. I heard many things in hell. Do sane people
It might be good if you had 2 different colors.
hear things in hell?
Blue=both
Highlight one color of sane (knew what he Green=insane
was doing) and one for insane (mad)
observe how healthily – how calmly I can tell you the whole story. TellsYellow-sane
you he is sane.
Read along with the story.

Highlight evidence proving

the narrator is sane or
insane. Actions and words
STEP 1- As you listen to “The Tell Tale Heart”
highlight examples that the Narrator suggest
he is sane, knows what he is doing, and
insane (mad or crazy). This can be in
dialogue (what he says)
or his actions (what
he does.)
I want to know what YOU think...

Who believes the

narrator is sane?

Who believes the What

evidence lead
narrator is insane?
you to that
decision?
To Do Sound check of 2

Step 1: Compare your highlighted

“The Tell-Tale Heart” with someone
at your table.

Step 2: Discuss what you highlighted. Look for places

where the evidence could be arguments for sane and
insane.
Get Ready To Go:
1. Put away all your
supplies.

2. Clean up around
your desk area.

3. Stand or sit by your

chair until
dismissed.
 HOW: By using a racer response, I
will use evidence from the text to
support my claim that the narrator
is either sane or insane.
➢ LEARNING TARGET: W 8.3
➢ I can identify how what a
character says or does moves
the plot of the story forward WHY: To increase my reasoning
and reveals more about the skills for argumentative essays.
character.
➢ LANGUAGE TARGET:
➢ I can write a claim and support
that claim with textual evidence.
 Anyone remember
what we did
yesterday?

● Read “The Tell-Tale Heart”

● Highlighted evidence that the
narrator was “sane” and “insane”.
Let’s review… 🔑 Vocabulary

Sane: of sound mind, not Insane/Mad: in the state

crazy. of mind which prevents
normal perceptions,
behavior, or social
interaction
M'naughten Rule
The M’Naghten rule was the first legal test for criminal insanity. The test originated in 1843 in England during the case
against Daniel M’Naghten. M’Naghten shot and killed the secretary to the Prime Minister, Edward Drummond, believing he
was the Prime Minister. During his arrest, M’Naghten claimed he needed to murder the Prime Minister because “the
tories” were conspiring against him and wished to murder him. At trial, M’Naghten’s counsel put forth a defense of insanity,
offering expert testimony and other evidence in support of this. Following instructions from the judge, the jury’s verdict
Poe wrote
was not guilty “by reason of insanity” and M’Naghten spent the rest of his life in a mental institution.

M’Naghten test, all defendants are“The

presumed toTell-Tale
be sane unless they Heart”
After public outrage following M’Naghten’s verdict, a stricter test for criminal insanity was articulated. Under this
can prove that–at the time of committing the criminal

in 1843.
act–the defendant’s state of mind caused them to (1) not know what they were doing when they committed said act, or (2)
that they knew what they were doing, but did not know that it was wrong. A common example for the second prong is if a
person is acting on orders from “God.”
The M’Naghten rule was the standard test for insanity in both the United States and the United Kingdom. While it remains
the test in about half of the states, other states have instead implemented different tests, such as the irresistible impulse
test, the Durham Test, or the Model Penal Code test.
When completing the worksheet, think about being an attorney/lawyer.

A prosecutor is a lawyer who works for a state and is responsible for

proving in court that the suspect committed the crime he's accused of.
Look for evidence that the Narrator was not insane when he committed
the crime.

A defense attorney is a lawyer who represent persons facing criminal

charges. Look for evidence that proves the Narrator was insane or crazy.
Let’s look at a recent example. Jeremy
On May 26, 2017, two teenage girls reported being harassed
Christian
by a man on a MAX train in northeast Portland as it headed
toward Gresham along I-84. He was yelling at them using
racial slurs. (negative words about their race.)

One of the girls reported, “I wasn’t going to stop looking at him

because I don’t know what he’s going to do. He just didn’t look
right.”

Micha Fletcher decided

to defend the young
ladies.

Micha yelled at
Jeremy and then
shoved him.
Jeremy Christian is accused of stabbing them all in the throat,
killing Taliesin and Ricky as the train stopped at the Hollywood
Transit Center.

Micah is the
only one to
survive.

Jeremy Christian has never denied stabbing three men aboard a

MAX train in May 2017, killing two of them.
Jeremy Christian guilty
of all
In fact, police say there's counts,
video including
of Christian admitting to the
two counts of
stabbings shortly after he was arrested.
first-degree murder and
a count
Christian's trial began in of first-degree
2018 and he has pleaded "not guilty by
attempted murder. The
reason of mental disease or defect" to the first-degree murder
jury deliberated for 12
charges he's facing.
hours over three days.
Today, you will be the
prosecutor or the
defense attorney and
make a claim of whether
the narrator from “The
Tell Tale Heart” is sane
or insane.

You will state your claim, and then

support your claim with the evidence
you highlighted from yesterday.
Blue=both
Use evidence from
Green=insane
Yellow-sane Racer Response
the story to prove
whether the narrator
is sane or insane.

Make sure to highlight each

component of your RACER.
Let’s review…

R Restate the question.

A Answer the question.

C Cite textual evidence.

E Explain your evidence.

R Restate the question.

To Do Sound check of 2

Step 1: Read over your evidence. Choose a side.

Step 2: Complete a RACER response stating your opinion on

whether or not the narrator is “sane or insane”.

Step 3: Reread your response. Highlighting the “RACER”.

Step 4: Turn in when completed.

Get Ready To Go:
1. Put away all your
supplies.

2. Clean up around
your desk area.

3. Stand or sit by your

chair until
dismissed.