The Hound of the Baskervilles

Use this activity to engage all types of learners, while requiring that they refer to and incorporate details from the text over the course of the activity.

“Hound of the Baskervilles Film Pitch Deck”

In this activity, students will demonstrate their understanding of the mood, settings, characterizations, themes, and plot of The Hound of the Baskervilles by creating pitch decks for an imagined film treatment.

There have been many film and television adaptations of the Sherlock Holmes stories--and these adaptations vary widely in the ways they interpret the key elements of the stories. In this activity, you will work with a team to create a pitch deck for an imagined film treatment of The Hound of the Baskervilles, demonstrating your understanding of its plot and sharing your interpretation of its settings, mood, characterizations, and themes.

Meet With Your Production Team

• Discuss The Hound of the Baskervilles and come to a mutual decision about how you would describe its plot, settings, characterization, themes, and mood.
• Make sure that everyone in the team understands what a pitch deck is.
• Decide on the overall look for your presentation so that it will have a uniform appearance, and then divide up the work among your team members.

Create Your Pitch Deck

• Your pitch deck should begin with a cover slide that contains the name of your film, a logline, and an image that generates interest in your film.
• Your next slides should be a description of five key characters, along with images of the actors you would cast in these roles. You will need to decide which five characters are most important to generating interest in your film.
•  After the character slides, you should have a slide that previews the film’s London setting and a slide that previews the film’s Devonshire setting.
• After the setting slides, you should have a slide that briefly summarizes the action of the film.
• The next slide should contain one-to-two-sentence summaries of three themes your film will focus on.
• Your presentation should conclude with a “mood board” slide that contains text and images establishing the mood your film will evoke.
• The fonts, colors, images, and overall design of your pitch deck should all be consistent with the mood of your proposed film.
• Be sure to cite the sources of borrowed images, ideas, and language in a format appropriate to a visual presentation.

Look for Investors

Present your slide deck to the other teams, defending your choices briefly with evidence from the book. Your audience will act as potential investors--your team’s goal is to obtain as much financing for your film as possible. Each of the other teams has $100,000 to invest; they may choose to back one project with their full amount or split their investment between two projects. (No team will be allowed to invest their money in their own project.)

Teaching Suggestion: You can shorten the time required for this activity by creating larger groups to work on each slide deck. If your class is a small one and you wish to use larger group sizes, you might want to change the “investment” rules so that each team can only invest in one film. This activity can be completed on paper, but you will need to provide a source of images for students to use. If students are able to work on computers, they can use a presentation tool such as Slides to create their pitch decks. You will need to decide in advance how the “investment” part of the activity will work. You might, for instance, ask each group to initial two pieces of paper before the pitches begin and then let them write down their investment amounts at the conclusion of all of the presentations, handing the slips of paper in to you.

Differentiation Suggestion: Students with visual limitations may need to work with a partner within their groups, as they may be unable to create slides without assistance. If your students are making physical slide decks rather than electronic ones, students with dyspraxia and other motor control issues may struggle to create visually appealing, neat, and cohesive work. These students might also work with partners within their groups.

Use these essay questions as writing and critical thinking exercises for all levels of writers, and to build their literary analysis skills by requiring textual references throughout the essay.

Differentiation Suggestion: For English learners or struggling writers, strategies that work well include graphic organizers, sentence frames or starters, group work, or oral responses.

Scaffolded Essay Questions

Student Prompt: Write a short (1-3 paragraph) response using one of the bulleted outlines below. Cite details from the text over the course of your response that serve as examples and support.

1. The Hound of the Baskervilles is narrated not by its protagonist but by his assistant, John Watson.

• What purposes does Doyle achieve by making Watson the book’s first-person narrator? (topic sentence)
• Explain at least three pieces of evidence that support your analysis of Doyle’s purposes.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, comment on the relationship between this narrative perspective and the book’s thematic interest in Superstition Vs Logic and Reason and Observing the Obvious.

2. The Hound of the Baskervilles begins and ends in London, but much of the story’s main action takes place on the moors of Dartmoor.

• What message is transmitted through the juxtaposition of these two settings? (topic sentence)
• Explain at least three pieces of evidence that support your interpretation of the meaning of this juxtaposition.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, comment on the relationship between these settings and the book’s thematic interest in Superstition Vs Logic and Reason.

3. The two most significant female characters in this novel are Laura and Beryl.

• What do these women have in common, and what message does this send about women in the Victorian era? (topic sentence)
• Explain at least three pieces of evidence that support your interpretation of what the similarities between these women mean.
• In your concluding sentence or sentences, comment on how these two characters relate to the book’s thematic interest in Capable Women Without Enough Power.

Full Essay Assignments

Student Prompt: Write a structured and well-developed essay. Include a thesis statement, at least three main points supported by text details, and a conclusion.

1. Read Agatha Christie’s “The Lemesurier Inheritance.” (Scroll to page 80 of the pdf). How are Poirot’s and Holmes’s approaches to the idea of a family curse similar, and how are they different? Do the two stories’ narrators adopt similar tones toward the idea of a family curse? Are both Doyle and Christie saying the same thing about Superstition Vs Logic and Reason and Observing the Obvious, or do they treat these themes differently? Write an essay comparing and contrasting the treatment of the idea of a family curse in these two mysteries. Support your analysis with properly cited evidence drawn from throughout both stories.

2. The Hound of the Baskervilles contains many Gothic elements. What is Gothic about the setting of the Baskerville home? Which plot details are Gothic in nature? Which characters would fit well into a typical Gothic narrative? Since the resolution of the narrative undercuts the idea of the supernatural, what is the purpose of these Gothic elements? Write an essay analyzing Doyle’s purposes in incorporating Gothic elements into this novel. Support your analysis with properly cited evidence drawn from throughout the novel.

3. Most classical mysteries include several different types of clues that offer the reader a chance to “play along'' and attempt to solve the mystery with the detective figure. They also typically include false clues called “red herrings” that misdirect the reader’s attention. How does Doyle use red herrings to misdirect the reader? What is the purpose of these misdirections—how do they increase the reader’s pleasure and engagement? Write an essay analyzing Doyle’s use of red herrings in The Hound of the Baskervilles. Support your analysis with properly cited evidence drawn from throughout the novel.

Multiple Choice and Long Answer Questions create ideal opportunities for whole-text review, exams, or summative assessments.

Multiple Choice

1. Which of the following is not one of Sherlock Holmes’s characteristics?

A) Highly empathetic

B) Skilled in martial arts

C) Knowledgeable about science

D) Master of disguise

2. Which is the most accurate characterization of John Watson?

A) Assertive, ambitious, dignified, and commanding

B) Daring, adventurous, unconventional, and athletic

C) Eccentric, brilliant, confident, and observant

D) Intelligent, honorable, reliable, and kind

3. Which does Holmes seem to value most?

A) Creative, outside-the-box thinking

B) Intuitive leaps of understanding

C) Organized, systematic thinking

D) Collaborative problem solving

4. Which most accurately reflects Watson’s attitude toward Holmes?

A) He greatly admires Holmes and wishes to earn Holmes’s approval.

B) He is jealous of Holmes’ notoriety and hopes to outperform him.

C) He wishes Holmes had more ambition to become more famous.

D) He hopes someday to become a close acquaintance with Holmes.

5. Who demonstrates the most concern for and loyalty to Sir Henry?

A) Beryl

B) Dr. Mortimer

C) Laura

D) Barrymore

6. Who controls both Laura and Beryl’s behavior behind the scenes?

A) Selden

B) Barrymore

C) Stapleton

D) Frankland

7. Which of the following does not function as a false clue meant to mislead the reader?

A) The legend of the ghostly hound

B) Mrs. Barrymore’s late-night sobbing

C) Barrymore’s signaling to someone hidden on the moors

D) Beryl’s physical appearance

8. Which is the most reasonable interpretation of the symbolic meaning of Sir Henry’s decision to electrify Baskerville Hall?

A) Sir Henry intends to bring Baskerville Hall out of the superstitious past and into a more enlightened future.

B) Sir Henry believes that the curse on his family has been broken and that sunnier days are ahead.

D) Sir Henry is embarrassed at the disrepair of Baskerville Hall and wants to restore its former glory.

D) Sir Henry is ready to assume the responsibilities of a baronet by providing leadership to the local area.

9. Which is the most accurate description of the small villages in this story?

A) They are filled with petty disagreements, gossip, and intrigue.

B) They are united by a strong community spirit and shared ideals.

C) They are poor, dirty, and filled with desperate people.

D) They are charming, serene, and unexpectedly open-minded.

10. Which is a reasonable interpretation of the symbolic meaning of Stapleton’s butterfly collection?

A) It represents the discrimination and lack of opportunity faced by Victorian women.

B) It represents Stapleton’s attitude toward others, especially Beryl.

C) It represents the isolation and backwardness of the rural environment of Devonshire.

D) It represents Stapleton’s intelligence and scientific curiosity.

11. Which does not clearly add to the story’s Gothic atmosphere?

A) Barrymore’s appearance

B) Baskerville Hall

C) Stapleton’s appearance

D) The legends about the hound

12. What do Watson’s descriptions of the landscape around Baskerville Hall implicitly link the moors to?

A) Criminal activity

B) The past and superstition

C) Religious belief

D) Creative inspiration

13. What is the one piece of the puzzle that Holmes does not understand until near the end of the story?

A) Who composed the cut-out message

B) Why Stapleton would invite Sir Henry to dinner

C) Why Sir Charles went to wait at the gate

D) Why the hound’s appearance is so frightening

14. What makes Holmes so much better at solving puzzles than other people?

A) His charm causes people to share their secrets.

B) He observes things that others overlook.

C) His intelligence intimidates suspects into making mistakes.

D) He believes in scientific explanations.

15. Which decision does Holmes feel the most guilt about?

A) The physical assault on Beryl

B) Lying to Watson about being in London

C) Sir Henry’s part in the plan to catch the killer

D) The shooting death of the hound

Long Answer

Compose a response of 2-3 sentences, incorporating text details to support your response.

1. Despite both being dedicated to science and reason, what differing viewpoints do Dr. Mortimer and Sherlock Holmes have regarding the hound of the Baskervilles?

2. What is ironic about Barrymore’s attempt to help Selden by collecting some clothes for the man?