Annenberg Foundation
Gothic Undercurrents
Terror, mystery, excitement. American writers of the 19th century, including Nathaniel Hawthorne, Herman Melville, and Emily Dickinson, used these elements to create morally ambiguous tales that challenged the prevailing belief in...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Tales of the Supernatural
Scary stuff! Whether approached as the first horror story or a "serious imaginative exploration of the human condition," Frankenstein continues to engage readers. Here's a packet of activities that uses Mary Shelley's gothic novel to...
Simon & Schuster
Curriculum Guide to: Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
The activities in a curriculum guide to Mary Shelley's Frankenstein provide readers with an opportunity to explore various concepts in depth. First, groups research controversial scientists, examine their work, and decide whether or not,...
Curated OER
Crayon Etching- Medieval Bestiary
Sixth graders make connections between art and literature studying about Medieval imagery and beliefs.
Curated OER
African-American Art and the Political Dissent during the Harlem Renaissance
Pupils are introduced to the culture of African American art. Using the internet, they research the events surrounding the Harlem Renaissance and discover how it produced a wide variety of art and literature. To end the lesson, by...
Curated OER
The Purloined Letter
These questions about Poe's The Purloined Letter focus on publication and outside sources along with details of the story. Hopefully this story is not a mystery to you!
PBS
Exploring the Drive to Create in Frankenstein
Is it hubris that drives the creative process? Is it the desire to be remembered long past death? An interactive asks readers of Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein and Percy Shelley's poem "Ozymandias" to consider what this wife and...
Curated OER
Journey Through a Midnight Dreary: Fun Trivia Quiz on "The Raven"
This Fun Trivia Quiz tests readers' understanding of Poe's "The Raven", including allusions. Because these online quizzes can be made by anyone, you will want to scrutinize the questions and answers prior to assigning this to your class.
Penguin Books
A Teacher’s Guide to the Signet Classics Edition of Mary Shelley ’s Frankenstein
Contrary to popular belief, the monster's name in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is not Frankenstein. A teacher's guide for the novel helps readers make sense of key details in the text, define vocabulary words, and discuss prominent...
K20 LEARN
Ichabod and Brom - Two Wild And Crazy Guys: Characters' Differing Perspectives
After reading Washington Irving's "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow," class members compare the characteristics of Ichabod Crane and Brom Van Brunt. Next, they read an article about ghosts that supposedly haunt the campus of Oklahoma...
Curated OER
???The Hell of Mirrors??? by Edogawa Rampo
Students read and analyze the story "The Hell of Mirrors," by Edogawa Rampo. They watch a video excerpt, answer discussion questions, construct a periscope, complete handouts, define key vocabulary terms, take a quiz, and write a book...
Curated OER
The Last of the Mohicans by James Fenimore Cooper
For this literature worksheet, students respond to 25 short answer and essay questions about James Fenimore Cooper's The Last of the Mohicans. Students may also link to an online interactive quiz on the novel at the bottom of the page.
Curated OER
Edgar Allen Poe And The Art Of Composition
High schoolers evaluate several works by Edgar Allen Poe based on the criteria in his essay, "The Philosophy of Composotion" Their analysis is documented using a graphic organizer. Learners begin the pre-writing process for their own...
Curated OER
Numbers in Art
Students choose a number from one to twelve and tell a number story about it. They listen to the teacher read "Numbers in Art" by Lucy Micklethwait. Students choose three numbers from one to twelve and view works of art while looking for...
Lumen Learning
Lumen: American Romanticism: The Use of Nature in American Gothic
This article "The Use of Nature in American Gothic" focuses on how nature is used in American Gothic literature.
Annenberg Foundation
Annenberg Learner: American Passages: Gothic Undercurrents [Pdf]
This document is a guide to an Annenberg video, but it contains a wealth of information that is also useful independently. These thirty-four pages offer background information and activity suggestions relating to Gothic undercurrents in...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Neh: Edsit Ement:tales of the Supernatural
Lesson explores the genre of Gothic literature. Includes discussion of Frankenstein, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Edgar Allen Poe among others.
Annenberg Foundation
Annenberg Learner: American Passages: Gothic Undercurrents: Nathaniel Hawthorne
Nathaniel Hawthorne is featured in this brief biography highlighting his Puritan family background which inspired his thought provoking writings of the nineteenth century. Click on "Nathaniel Hawthorne Activities" for related resources.
Annenberg Foundation
Annenberg Learner: American Passages: Gothic Undercurrents: Edgar Allan Poe
This biography features Edgar Allan Poe who introduced the genre of horror and mystery to literature in the nineteenth century with stories such as "The Raven."
Lumen Learning
Lumen: American Literature: Introduction to Romantic Literature
This introduction to Romantic literature focuses on the learning outcomes of the study of various pieces of American Romantic literature. These include describe the major historical and cultural developments of the Romantic period,...
Annenberg Foundation
Annenberg Learner: American Passages: Gothic Undercurrents: Herman Melville
Prompted to write so as to raise his family out of debt, Herman Melville, acclaimed American author of the nineteenth century is portrayed in this brief biography. See "Herman Melville Activities" for related materials.
Annenberg Foundation
Annenberg Learner: American Passages a Literary Survey
A series of 16 Instructional Units on American Literature with texts, videos, instructor guides, and more. Topics include: Native Voices, Exploring Borderlands, Utopian Promise, Spirit of Nationalism, Masculine Heroes, Gothic...
Washington State University
Washington State University: Literary Movements: Gothic, Novel, and Romance
This site distinguishes between novels and Romances and examines the characteristics of the novel, the Romance, and the Gothic novel.
Georgia Department of Education
Ga Virtual Learning: American Literature and Composition: American Romanticism
This lesson is an introduction to a unit on American Romanticism, from about 1800 to 1850. It defines the types of writing of the period and the power of poetry including the Fireside Poets: Longfellow, Bryant, Whittier, Lowell, and...