Mock Trial - The Tale Tale Heart

In this 45 minute activity, students pretend to take part in the narrator's murder trial, in which the defendant is pleading "not guilty by reason of insanity." To make their case, students will comb through the facts and events laid out in "The Tell-Tale Heart" and look for evidence the could prove either that the murderer IS insane (to help the defense lawyers) or that he is NOT legally insane and therefore guilty (to help the prosecution.) All the while, students will practice the following skills: * Arguing persuasively using logical evidence * Discriminating between evidence that helps them prove their point and evidence that either doesn't help or actually hurts their case * Organizing evidence in a logical sequence * Understanding and explaining what a particular piece of evidence proves.