Trial 1: Edgar Allan Poe's Trial of the Narrator

One of my favorite trials is the Trial of the Narrator for Poe's "Tell Tale Heart": this not a novel idea - But I must say it is still one of the students' favorites: I am copy and pasting the Intro to this Project. If you want the entire assignemtn with the rubrics, message me and let me know:

Murder After Midnight!!!

The Old Man has been murdered!  His caretaker, name and age unavailable, has confessed to the deed. 

Read the article “An important distinction: ‘Not guilty by reason of insanity’ and ‘diminished capacity’.”  Use the information to find out more about legal insanity.

Instructions

The class will be divided into teams of lawyers, and each team will either be assigned to the prosecution (who will try to prove the caretaker guilty of murder) or the defense (who want to prove his innocence by reason of insanity).

                       

Your job is to come up with three or four evidence-based arguments that will help your case.  Each group will receive a graphic organizer to record pieces of evidence. You must use citations (quotes) from the short story “The Tell-Tale Heart” to justify your responses.

Presentation:

Each group will present its findings to the class at the “trial.” When you present, take turns so that someone reads off the pieces of evidence and someone else explains what point this evidence proves. Make sure everyone in your group presents something out loud in front of the class. Keep taking turns until you’ve presented all of your evidence and arguments. At the end of your presentation, someone in your group should present a closing statement that summarizes the main points of your arguments. http://serc.carleton.edu/woburn/resources/video.html

After all groups have presented their ideas, the judge (a.k.a. your teacher) will decide which team made a better case and used the evidence most effectively.

Visual Aid:

Each group should construct a visual aid presentation using slides or a Prezi to reinforce its presentation of evidence.

Assessment:

Assessment will be rubric-based.  Using the rubric as a guide will help you to do your best work.