THE Tell- Tale Heart
Introduction	Task	Process	Evaluation	Conclusion	Teacher Notes
Introduction		You are a psychopathic killer with delusional tendencies...You are an unsuspecting elderly man…You are a concerned neighbor…You are a policeman on midnight shift… Recreate this story in a movie based on the descriptions and characterizations of the events and people in the story.
Task		You will work in pre-constructed groups of eight. There will be one Killer, one Old Man, one Neighbor, three Policemen, one sound effects person, and one stage design person . Each individual in your group will be personally responsible for involvement in one group of tasks: Writing a script and acting out the story, or designing the setting and coordinating the sound effects. Back to Task
Process		1. In your groups, read through the story again and then discuss with your group members the impression you get of the others in the story from the perspective of the killer. You may want to explore this website to help you come to a broader understanding of your character. http://www.poedecoder.com/essays/ttheart/ Assignment #1: In Microsoft Word, write a three-paragraph diary entry of your character using the following writing prompts (based on the character you are assigned in the parenthesis). In your entry, describe what you’ve experienced, how you feel, fears you have, regrets you have and why. You will be graded on how well you get into the mind of your character: 1. The Old Man has just heard a noise and has risen out of bed, terrified. (Old Man) 2. The Neighbor has just heard the shriek and has called the police. (Neighbor) 3. The Policeman has just begun to notice bizarre behavior in the narrator. (All three Policemen) 4. The narrator has just revealed his crime to the police. (Killer) 5. An outside person, to which the narrator calmly relates his story about murdering the Old Man gives his impression of the killer in a diary entry (before the police are alerted). (Setting and Sound people) Assignment #2 Begin working with your group in converting the story into a short screenplay. Those responsible for sound and stage setup should also help the actors with blocking. Type your screenplay in Microsoft Word. The length of the production isn’t as important as including all the elements of the story believably and in the correct order. When you have completed your screenplay, turn it in to me for review before you begin memorizing your lines. Each of you will be responsible for knowing your lines and where and when to come in on cue. Assignment #3 Actors should begin rehearsing their lines and sound and stage setup people should search the Internet for background music and/or sound effects to go with the production (ex. shrieks, scary music, etc.) Here are some websites to get you started. Search around if you don’t find what you need here. http://www.sounddogs.com/catsearch.asp?Type=1 http://www.a1freesoundeffects.com/ Sound and setting people will also be responsible for creating a posterboard listing the credits of the movie. (the character…the actor’s name) Back to Process
Evaluation		Assignment #1 is worth 25 points and will be graded on an individual basis. Assignment #2 is worth 50 points and will be given as a group grade. I will be monitoring your groups as Assignment #2 will not only be graded on content, but on how much work you personally put in. Assignment #3 is worth 120 pts and must follow the criteria of the rubrics listed below. Group 1 Rubric http://rubistar.4teachers.org/view_rubric.php3?id=284072 Group 2 Rubric http://rubistar.4teachers.org/view_rubric.php3?id=285322
Conclusion
Teacher Notes		26.B.4b Drama: Create and perform an ensemble drama or theatre scene using research, collaboration, characterization and staging in combination with aural and visual technologies (e.g. video, lights, sets, costumes, make-up, sound, props.) 1.C.4b Explain and justify an interpretation of the text