A Post About Poe

This semester, I have been observing and teaching tenth graders at a local public school. I am excited that this week we will be covering the works of Edgar Allan Poe. Today, the teacher I am observing did an activity I found really interesting, and I thought I would share. Before coming to class this morning, she asked me to find a good video of Poe's background. Before she showed the video to the class, she told them to draw their hand on a piece of paper. At the bottom of the paper they wrote Edgar Allan Poe. In the palm of the drawn hand, they had to list some facts they previously knew about Edgar Allan Poe or his works. The teacher called on students to see what they already knew. She gave them instructions that during the video, they were to write five new facts or details they found out from the film and to write the facts on each finger in their drawings. This activity led into a classroom discussion of Edgar Allan Poe and his background.  I found it to be an easy but different way to take notes on an in-class video. It was also a good way for the teacher to determine the students' previous knowledge. I just thought this was a cool idea and thought I would share!

Here is the video I found for my class: