The Sandman Lesson Plan

What were some of the most interesting or outstanding features of "The Sandman" for you? How does the story differ in tone, style, or content from other stories you've read?

This is a pretty open question, but it's unlikely that many students will have read a lot of 19th-century horror stories beyond Edgar Allan Poe. Comparisons to Poe are inevitable—but the teacher should also encourage students to compare stories like "The Sandman" and "The Fall of the House of Usher" both with other stories from this time period (such as The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn) and modern stories that they've read. Students should immediately be able to pick out differences in tone and...