The Black Cat SOW

A 7 lesson (148 slides) fully resourced KS3 mini SOW exploring Gothic fiction and Edgar Allan Poe’s short story The Black Cat. Students develop their understanding of Gothic archetypes, psychological horror and the conventions of the genre before studying The Black Cat in detail. They explore how Poe creates an unsettling atmosphere, presents a disturbing and increasingly violent narrator, uses an unreliable narrative voice and employs foreshadowing to prepare readers for later events.

Students Develop Their Ability To:
Understand the key conventions, features and archetypes of Gothic fiction.
Explore the historical and literary context of Gothic literature.
Understand the life and writing of Edgar Allan Poe.
Explore the conventions of psychological horror.
Understand and interpret a short story.
Analyse how writers develop characters and present disturbing behaviour.
Explore how writers use language to create violent imagery and unsettling effects.
Understand the concept of an unreliable narrator and explore its impact on the reader.
Analyse how foreshadowing creates expectations and prepares readers for later events.
Select and analyse quotations to support interpretations.
Develop analytical paragraphs using textual evidence and detailed explanations.
Apply their understanding of Gothic conventions to their own creative writing.

What’s Included?
Seven fully resourced lessons, with a range of activities, worksheets and supporting resources.

Gothic Fiction: Introduction and Context - Key contextual information, extracts from three Gothic novels, an annotated paragraph from The Fall of the House of Usher and a model paragraph.
Gothic Archetypes and Characters - Diamond 9 recap worksheet, Gothic archetypes worksheet, contextual information, character creation activities and a model example using Wednesday Addams.
Edgar Allan Poe: Introduction and Context - Contextual information on Poe, activities exploring psychological horror, an annotated quote from the beginning of The Black Cat and a model paragraph.
The Black Cat: Understanding the Story - Comprehension questions, worksheets, plot sorting, summarising activities and a range of activities exploring the short story.
The Unreliable Narrator - Contextual information, comprehension and analytical questions, worksheets, 5 annotated quotations and a model paragraph.
Violent Imagery and the Narrator’s Violence - Contextual information, analytical questions, supporting worksheets, 4 annotated quotations, two model answers and an activity evaluating which model answer is more successful.
Foreshadowing - Activities on foreshadowing, analytical questions, a differentiated foreshadowing worksheet, an annotated quotation, a model answer and a creative writing task.

This is intended for KS3 English, providing a structured introduction to Gothic fiction and a detailed study of The Black Cat.