Description
Have your students dive into Edgar Allan Poe’s The Black Cat with Character Collabs, a fun, engaging, and collaborative character analysis project that brings this unsettling short story to life.
In this activity, students analyze Pluto, the Narrator, and the Wife using multiple methods of characterization to examine personality traits, motivations, relationships, and psychological complexity. Through close reading, inference, and textual evidence, students demonstrate a deeper understanding of Poe’s exploration of guilt, obsession, and moral decay.
Students present their analysis on a collaborative poster, blending literary thinking with creativity. This hands-on approach strengthens comprehension and retention while encouraging critical thinking, communication, and teamwork. The finished posters also make compelling classroom displays that reinforce key ideas and characters from the text.
This project is ideal for teaching short story analysis, characterization, theme, and Edgar Allan Poe, making complex and dark subject matter more accessible and engaging for students.
Everything you need for smooth implementation is included, with a complete teacher guide, clear student directions, a holistic rubric, and a brainstorm character analysis worksheet to support thoughtful planning. You’ll also receive blank coloring pages for each character, answer keys, an example of a completed project, and digitally colored sample posters for every character. Editable versions of the directions, rubric, and brainstorm worksheet are provided for easy customization.
Each poster is made up of six pieces of paper that can be printed on standard copy paper or cardstock and assembled into a final display measuring 28” x 15” once completed.
Perfect for middle school and high school ELA, this Poe character analysis project turns The Black Cat into a memorable, collaborative learning experience.