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Edgar Allan Poe

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The Education World Great Sites for Teaching About ... page highlights Web sites to help educators work timely themes into their lessons. Today, Education World honors the anniversary of Edgar Allan Poe with a variety of online resources.


Edgar Allan Poe was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on January 19, 1809. Celebrate the 192nd birthday of the "father of the modern mystery" by introducing your students to some of the sites below.

 

The House of Usher: Edgar Allan Poe
http://www.comnet.ca/~forrest/index.html
"Roderick Usher and his sister Madeline invite you as their visitor to enter their decrepit mansion near that lurid tarn," beckons the eerie text. It's a visit Poe would certainly approve of. You never know, as you tour this virtual mansion dedicated to the master of the macabre, what surprises await you. Here you'll find -- if you look hard enough -- Poe's Graveyard Dictionary (100 words for graveyard!), specific instructions for researching and writing a paper about Poe, links to Poe museums and historical sites, an audio file of the last moments of Madeline's last suitor, and much, much more. Poe's Virtual Library alone, with links to Poe-sian sites in such categories as audio, comics, courses and educational projects, humor, images, and foreign language translations, makes the visit worthwhile.

The Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore
http://www.eapoe.org/index.htm
Are you just looking for the truth about Edgar Allan Poe -- a simple time line of his life or a frank account of his death? At this comprehensive site, you'll find that information and more, including pictures of Poe, his family, friends, and various homes; tidbits of little-known facts about his interests and involvements; and at least one example of every poem and story he authored.

The Old Western Burial Ground and the Ghost of Edgar Allan Poe
http://www.prairieghosts.com/eapoe.html
The circumstances surrounding Poe's death are as mysterious as his writings. In October of 1849, he was found lying barely conscious -- in clothing that was not believed to be his own -- in a Baltimore gutter. Although rushed to a hospital, Poe died -- trembling and raving -- just a few days later. Was he drunk? Was he mugged? Was he poisoned and murdered? Or was it rabies? Visit Poe's grave to learn more about his mysterious death -- and about the equally mysterious visitor who haunts the cemetery each year on the anniversary of Poe's birth.

Edgar Allan Poe Teacher CyberGuide
http://www.sdcoe.k12.ca.us/
score/poe/poetg.html

This high school language arts unit consists of five WebQuests designed to enrich student understanding of the writings of Edgar Allan Poe, Sir Conan Doyle, Ray Bradbury, and Stephen King. Each WebQuest, which can be used separately or combined into a singe unit of study, includes an introduction, an assigned task, a description of the required process, assessment suggestions, and follow-up activities. Your students can create a Poe biographical poster; an illustrated dialogue between a character from a Poe story and one from Great Expectations, by Charles Dickens; a time line linking Poe's life with historical events; an essay showing how the writings of Poe and other writers intersect; or a mask illustrating a personality trait of a character in "The Cask of Amontillado" or "The Masque of the Red Death."

The Edgar Allan Poe Museum
http://www.poemuseum.org
Edgar Allan Poe was born in Boston and spent part of his adult life in Baltimore, but he grew up in Richmond, Virginia. A virtual tour of the Poe Museum provides a glimpse both of the city during Poe's lifetime and of a variety of mementoes from the author's life. The site includes biographical information, a selection of Poe's most famous works, and links to other online Poe resources. In addition, you can use the online lesson plan to help students learn more about Poe's life and life during the early- to mid-1800s and create an oral presentation about the subject.

The Edgar Allan Poe Cryptographic Challenge
http://www.bokler.com/eapoe.html
In 1839 and 1840, while writing for Alexander's Weekly Messenger, Edgar Allan Poe solved more than 100 cryptograms sent in by his readers. Poe ended that column with two cryptograms supposedly sent in by one of those readers, W. B. Tyler. One of the two cryptograms (which many believe were actually composed by Poe himself) was solved in 1992. The second was solved in 2000 as part of a contest sponsored in part by Bokler Software Corporation (BSC). At this contest site, students can try their hand at solving that cryptogram -- or discover the winning solution!

Edgar Allan Poe Theater
http://www.drcasey.com/radio/poe/index.shtml
Sit back and listen to oral readings of some of Edgar Allan Poe's most famous poems and stories. Narrated by Casey L. Hopkins and presented in RealAudio, the narrated works include "Annabel Lee," "The Conqueror Worm," "A Dream Within a Dream," "The Masque of the Red Death," "The Angel of the Odd: An Extravaganza," "The Tell-Tale Heart," and "The Raven."

Poe Trivia Game
http://www.scsc.k12.ar.us/2000backeast/
Trip/Members/SchullerL/TriviaGame.htm

When you've finished your study of Poe, print out this game board and the Poe trivia questions and invite your students to play!

"A Poe Webliography: Edgar Allan Poe on the Internet"
http://andromeda.rutgers.edu/~ehrlich/
poesites.html

This critical guide to online and CD-ROM resources on Edgar Allan Poe is an online version of a 1997 article by Rutgers University professor Heyward Ehrlich. The nine chapters and five appendices include organized links to sites providing biographical information, critical literary commentary, research guides, historical sites and museums, and more. The sites included in this impressive collection are geared toward research rather than interactive exploration.

Linda Starr
Education World®
Copyright © 2000 Education World

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01/17/2001