Poe for Teachers

We've found that teachers use Taletube's Edgar Allan Poe dvds in a variety of ways, but that they overwhelmingly rave that taletubes are a wonderfully effective teaching tool. The beautiful, haunting illustrations appeal to students visually, engaging their attention and aiding understanding of Poe's works. The professional narrator brings Poe's unabridged words to life, while subtitles add to the reading experience.
 

Some teachers have assigned the reading of "The Tell Tale Heart" or "The Cask of Amontillado, or "The Raven" as homework and then watched the taletubes in class together, pausing to discuss important plot points, difficult vocabulary words, etc.

"I very much enjoyed the Poe animated tales. It was easy to use to teach mood and tone - the music and illustrations definately depict the literary devices. These are the ones that are part of the curriculum, but are hard for the kids to read and understand for themselves. The graphic tales help them a ton." - Carrie

Other teachers prefer to play the videos first to ensure a deeper understanding of the stories and inspire

students to embrace classic works such as those by Poe.

" I received the DVD on Saturday and showed it to my 8th graders yesterday - they loved it! The men who narrate have great voices for those types of stories and the illustrations are fantastic! Well done!" - Lisa

Still other teachers prefer to have students read along as the video is being played.

"I am a teacher, and I actually just used the video two days ago in class.

It really did help the kids get through the story. When I used it in class, I told them that it followed the book word for word so they had the choice of reading along or viewing, but they did all have to open their books. Some read and some watched. It was good for the different learning styles." - Jodi Reardon

Sometimes Taletubes are used as a 'reward' at the end of the Edgar Allan Poe unit.

"Yes, I am a teacher (8th grade English) and I showed Tell Tale Heart after we read it. The kids loved it!".

- Chrisanne Dias

Taletubes can also be used as an example of a video story project for students.

"I used both of the Poe stories. Students loved them, were very interested.

With time and the right technology, they could make a story of their own."