Lesson: The use of Setting, Foreshadowing, and

Symbols in The Cask of Amontillado by Edgar

Allan Poe
Topic/Unit: Short Story Analysis

Date: February 1st 2011

Grade: 20-1

Evaluation:

Materials and Media:

The formative structure of evaluation with this

class will be based upon classroom discussion,
and how effectively the various groups work
together to accomplish their tasks. This goes
along with the fifth general outcome of the
program of studies.

- Projector
- Powerpoint presentation with images and
specific passages for discussion in class.
- The Cask of Amontillado printed copies for the
class
-Interactive notes
-

The summative evaluation will take place by

requiring the students to hand in the worksheet
that they will fill individually while working in a
group setting. This worksheet will require them to
provide examples of foreshadowing in the short
story, as well as the use of setting and symbolism.
This incorporates the third strand of the general
outcomes, which focuses on managing ideas and
information.

The Cask of Amontillado Video Part 1 (optional)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDdxpxb3lY&feature=related
The Cask of Amontillado Video Part 2 (optional)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODWyEJMcr2
Y&feature=related

Anticipatory Set
It is expected that the students will have read the story as part of the previous lesson, and
words that are unclear or a bit more obscure will be clarified and defined. Some of these
words include impunity, immolation, Amontillado, and rapier.
-For students who may be at a lower learning level, a handout of the words that we
discussed will be given to them with the definitions on them for easy access during the
readings.
Students will also have, as part of the previous lesson, become familiar with the two main
characters and how they are described, along with their specific characteristics.
Students should have a grasp already of what foreshadowing and setting is from previous
grades, though a refresher of what it is will be provided in class through discussion.

Rationale:
The purpose of this lesson is to help students to be able to identify how foreshadowing is used in
a short story to give a reader insight as to what is going to happen later in the story. This skill can
later be adapted to analyzing other short stories as well as novels, and is important because it helps the
student to be able to look for deeper meaning in images and symbols that might not have been
considered upon a first reading.
This lesson will be followed by another lesson on The Cask of Amontillado that will focus
exclusively on mood, theme, and will serve to be a wrap-up for anything that may have been missed

in class. If the students take more time than expected to fully grasp the ideas in the first lesson, time
will be allotted during this lesson to finish up anything that was not covered from previous lectures.
Outcomes:
Students by the end of the unit will be able to identify the various aspects of the short story
within The Cask of Amontillado and give sufficient examples, showing that they
comprehend the meaning of the text, following general outcome number 2.
Students will manage their ideas and information, following general outcome number 3.
Students will follow general outcome number 5 by working in groups to answer a worksheet.
Specific Outcomes:
Students will understand and interpret content.
Students will relate elements, devices and techniques to created effects.
Students will select, record and organize information via a worksheet.
Students will cooperate with others, and contribute to group processes.
Students will also respect others and strengthen community.

Opening (15-20 minutes):

Teacher Activities:

Student Activities:

---I will stand at the door to the

class before the bell rings,
welcoming kids to class. On the
board will be written The Cask
of Amontillado, and underneath
that will be a note to have it and
their notes out. A few minutes
will be directed to taking the
attendance. (approx. 2-4
minutes)

Students will be expected to

come in and get settled,
following any instructions that
are written on the board.

---Class will then commence

with a re-cap as to what
happened in the short story.
Things that will be covered will
be the basic plot of the story, as
well as a quick overview of the
description of the two main
characters (who they were, what
kind of characteristics they had,
etc.) This recap will take place in
the form of class discussion.
(approx. 10 minutes)
---The class will then move onto
the elements of the short story,
such as theme, setting, point-of-

.
Students will be expected to
participate in the class discussion
by contributing information
about the story, showing a
knowledge of previously learned
material. They are expected to
listen when other students are
speaking, but depending on how
the class usually governs itself
will dictate whether or not they
are permitted to shout out
answers or if they are required to
raise their hands.

view, mood, and symbols. I will

then explain to the class how we
will be looking at setting,
foreshadowing, and symbols.
Students will be expected to
Foreshadow: a warning or
provide answers and examples of
indication of a future event.
setting, foreshadowing and
Setting: the place where the story
symbols of what they may
occurs; can involve time and location.
encounter or see in media in their
Symbol: a thing that represents
own lives.
or stands for something else.
For each one, I will have the
students try and come up with
Students will write down the
some examples to illustrate the vocabulary terms in their
meaning of each one. (8-10
notebook.
minutes)
Class discussion will help me to
see where the students are in
their understanding of the story
(summative assessment), and
how much they remember from
last class. Having discussion
like this will also allow me to
give other students a chance to
answer when they are more
reserved or shy about the
situation.

Body (25-30 minutes):

The body of the lesson will
comprise primarily of having
students working together in
groups to fill out a worksheet.
These groups will be made up
prior to class, and given to the
students.
--The worksheet will be
explained to the students, and the
instructions will be on the
overhead projector. Students
will form groups, with each
individual having their own
worksheet. They will be
required to read through the
poem again as a group, and write
down elements of setting,
foreshadowing, and symbols that
they see.

--Students will be expected to

move quickly into their groups.
Some noise and chatting is to be
expected, but they are also
expected to get to work quickly
as well.
--The room may get a bit noisy;
that is ok as long as the students
are focused on fairly on task.

Note: Make sure students

understand that in the case of
symbols, they should be looking
at details that were discussed as
part of characterization from the
previous days class.
--the groups will consist of 3-4
students, so that students are
more comfortable with those
around them, and have a better
chance of being heard. This will
also work better for students who
may have an IPP or an aide
because then it is not quite so big
of group, and therefore
intimidating.
--highlighting is something that
will have been covered in class,
so students will have the
opportunity to highlight different
examples so that it stands out
better to them.
--Constant supervision will
ensure that the students are
staying on track, and that I am
available for any questions that
may crop up concerning subject
matter.
--The students will be given the
majority of this time to work on
the worksheet. It should be
possible for it to be completed in
class, and will be the summative
assessment for this lesson.
(15 minutes)
--After 15 minutes, or earlier,
depending on how on track the
groups are managing to stay,
students will be asked to turn
their focus back up to the front
of the room, but to remain in
their groups.
--There will now commence a
discussion about what they were

--Students will be expected to

complete the majority of the
worksheet.

--Students will be expected to

write down on their worksheets
any other examples that are
discussed in class that they may
have missed in group discussion.

able to identify within their

groups, going through each term.
Different groups will be called
upon, giving everyone a chance
to answer. People who are shyer
and not forthcoming about
talking in class may be called
upon for an example, and their
Students will contribute ideas
work will be assessed with the
that they came up with as a
handing in of the worksheet.
group.
Interactive notes will come
into play here.
--It is also important to make
sure that we take a look at what
they considered important before
delving in to ones own
interpretation. Wait before
bringing up some topics that
students may have missed.
--Write examples that people
come up with on the board, as
well as any that may not have
been touched on.
(10-15 minutes)
Closing (10 minutes) :

--A final wrap up summarizing

what was talked about in class
will take place here. Drawing
upon examples that are provided
by the students to go over the
terms will help students to
finalize the connections of
foreshadowing, setting and
symbols with The Cask of
Amontillado.
--An explanation will also be
given to the class that we will be
talking about themes, mood, and
writer style as it is seen in The
Cask of Amontillado, and have
them for homework read the
story again in relation to that
idea.
Write that on the homework
board.
--exit strategy will be for the
students to hand in their

--Students will be expected to

hand in a completed worksheet
before they are allowed to leave.
-Students who may have
problems with writing down
information in class will be
allowed as part of their IPP to
take the worksheet home and
complete it for homework.

worksheet before they can leave.

--with any extra time left, the
students will be given the chance
to finish writing down any of the
examples that they did not have
on their own sheet.
--The extra time provided them
to write down those extra
examples will be accompanied
by a video of The Cask of
Amontillado playing on the
overhead. This will help give a
bit more visual to the students of
what exactly was going on. This
video can be continued in the
next session as a sponge activity
if it does not get finished in this
particular class.
Assessment:
The assessments, as stated throughout the lesson plan, include both formative and summative. The
more formative assessments are carried out throughout the lesson by having the class participate in
group discussions, assessing where the class is with their understanding of the story. Students who are
less willing to participate can be called upon when they have the backing and support of their peers to
answer questions concerning what their group talked about.
The summative assessment comes in the form of the worksheet that the students do in class, and are
required to hand in at the end. This worksheet will allow me to see where exactly the students are
drawing examples from, and to see if there are any consistent errors in material that need to be
addressed in the next days class. Please see attached for the worksheet.
The rubric for this will focus more on a completion mark than a material mark, due to the fact that it
will be gone over in class. I will be looking for an inclusion of material that was covered in class, as
well for the correctness of any examples that were not submitted or offered during class time. It will
be out of 10 marks: 3 for each category, plus one for any new insight that may have been thought of
by the group.

Name: __________________
Date: __________________

Foreshadowing, Setting, & Symbols inThe Cask of Amontillado

worksheet
For each of the following sections, please fill in with examples from Edgar Allan Poes The Cask of
Amontillado. Be sure to include page numbers when providing evidence.
Foreshadow

Setting

Symbol