thursday, November 7, Introduction to Mask of the Red Death

Objective: By the end of class, students will distinguish between essential and non-essential information in informational text and analyze symbolism order to develop reading comprehension skills for both non-fiction and fiction. 

DO NOW
From the information on pages 429-430 or the summaries you wrote monday about the black plague, what do you think are the three most essential (most important) facts? 

Direct instruction

Read Edgar Allan Poe's biography on page 428 and identify the three most essential pieces of information that influenced his dark style of writing.


Guided

Review the "Seven Stages of Man" (metaphorical poem) - Shakespeare - page 444 purple holt text.  Identify the extended metaphor and then write each stage  of life down into notebooks.  (You will need to know these to draw symbolic connections while reading the allegory, Masque of the Red Death by Edgar Allen Poe.)

Independent

Shakespeare uses acts of a play to symbolize the STAGES OF LIFE (birth to death). Edgar Allan Poe uses colored rooms in The Mask of The Red Death to symbolize LIFE to DEATH. The rooms also go EAST to WEST like the rising and setting sun (BIRTH _ DEATH). 

CREATE SYMBOLS OF YOUR OWN TO BE REFLECTIVE OF EACH STAGE OF YOUR LIFE BY DOING THE FOLLOWING:

1. Analyze each stage of life as it relates to you. 
2. Either determine what was your life like or predict what your life will be like in each of the seven stages. 
3. Use a NEO - describe in words what that stage of your life was or will be like. 
4. THEN, choose something symbolic that represents each stage. Preferably they are connected but do not have to be:
Examples: A seed to a tree, sun / moon, days in a week, etc. 
Another way of creating a symbolic connection between stages of your life would be shapes, animals, planets (solar system), foods, etc.

If you do not want to use a NEO, you may draw. You can make it a poem if you'd like...you have creative freedom on this project!!

Closure

Make connections between symbolism and allegory and the role make a prediction regarding the significance of the seven rooms.

Exit Pass

Why is understanding symbolism important to allegorical stories? What is the author's intent when writing an allegory.

















link to red death audio