Teaching Secondary Students to Write Effectively

Recommendation 2 

(continued)

E X A M P L E   2.2.

Story impressions for English language arts

66 

Instructions

1. 

Select “story impression” words and phrases from “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allen Poe 

that suggest a murder scenario. Story impressions are key words and phrases that drive a  

narrative. They may include names, places, strong verbs, events, or other words that give 

clues to what the poem is about. 

2. 

Present the words to students in the exact order in which they appear in the text.

3. 

Direct students to write a narrative of the story using the story impressions. 

4. 

Have students read the story and compare their writing to the actual content of the story.