Tell-Tale Heart
Authored by Pamela Ramsey
English
8th Grade
CCSS covered
Used 317+ times
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About
This quiz focuses on Edgar Allan Poe's classic short story "The Tell-Tale Heart" and assesses 8th grade students' ability to analyze literary elements, character development, and thematic content. Students need a solid understanding of literary devices including symbolism, point of view, mood, and characterization to successfully answer these questions. The quiz requires students to interpret the narrator's unreliable perspective, analyze how Poe builds suspense through pacing and repetition, and recognize the psychological complexity of guilt and madness as central themes. Students must also demonstrate vocabulary skills by determining word meanings in context and identify figurative language such as similes and their purposes. The questions demand higher-order thinking skills as students evaluate character motivations, compare contrasting emotions during the climax, and synthesize story elements to understand the author's central message about how guilt can drive someone to insanity. Created by Pamela Ramsey, an English teacher in the US who teaches grade 8. This comprehensive assessment serves multiple instructional purposes throughout a unit on American Gothic literature or short story analysis. Teachers can use this quiz as a summative assessment after students have read and discussed the story in class, or assign it as homework to reinforce close reading skills and literary analysis. The varied question types make it excellent for formative assessment, allowing teachers to gauge student comprehension of plot details, character analysis, and thematic understanding before moving to more complex texts. The quiz aligns with Common Core standards CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.8.1 for citing textual evidence, CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.8.3 for analyzing character development and plot advancement, CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.8.4 for determining word meanings and analyzing word choice impact, and CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.8.6 for analyzing different points of view and their effects on readers.
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20 questions
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1.
MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTION
1 min • 1 pt
What is it about the old man that bothers the narrator?
Tags
CCSS.RL.7.6
CCSS.RL.7.1
2.
MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTION
1 min • 1 pt
The author builds suspense by--
not revealing what the crime will be
having the narrator watch the sleeping victim for seven nights in a row.
having the narrator explain how clever he is
describing what is done with the victim's body
Tags
CCSS.RL.7.4
CCSS.RL.8.4
CCSS.RL.9-10.4
CCSS.RL.5.4
CCSS.RL.6.4
3.
MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTION
1 min • 1 pt
It is difficult to believe the narrator when he says that he
opened the creaky lantern carefully
heard the old man groan in the dark
treated the old man well before killing him
moved slowly to keep from waking the old man
Tags
CCSS.RL.7.6
CCSS.RL.5.6
CCSS.RL.6.6
CCSS.RL.8.6
4.
MULTIPLE SELECT QUESTION
1 min • 1 pt
How is the narrator's sense of hearing important to the story?
He hears the police coming
The sound of the heartbeat pushes the narrator to kill and confess
The sound of the heartbeat allows him to plan carefully, very carefully.
He believes the heartbeat calms him.
Tags
CCSS.RL.7.4
CCSS.RL.8.4
CCSS.RL.9-10.4
CCSS.RL.5.4
CCSS.RL.6.4
5.
MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTION
1 min • 1 pt
Which detail should be included in a summary of the story?
The narrator murders the old man.
The old man was sleeping when the narrator crept in to his room.
The officers chatted about familiar things.
The narrator is kind to the man
Tags
CCSS.RL.8.2
CCSS.RL.9-10.2
CCSS.RI. 9-10.2
CCSS.RI.7.2
CCSS.RI.8.2
6.
MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTION
30 sec • 1 pt
Why is it important that the officers stay so long in the house?
to show the reader how friendly they are.
to allow the reader to characterize them as lazy.
to provide enough time for the old man's body to decompose.
to provide enough time for the narrator to become upset and confess.
Tags
CCSS.RL.7.6
CCSS.RL.5.6
CCSS.RL.6.6
CCSS.RL.8.6
7.
MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTION
1 min • 1 pt
What event causes the narrator to confess at the end of the story?
The constant sound of watch ticking waiting for the police to leave
The sound of his heartbeat that he believes is the dead man's
The policemen laugh and mock the narrator in his home
The neighbors heard a shriek late at night
Tags
CCSS.RL.7.6
CCSS.RL.5.6
CCSS.RL.6.6
CCSS.RL.8.6
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