…That is the question. In English 3 CT the students are going to be reading “The Devil and Tom Walker” by Washington Irving. In the story, Tom Walker sells his soul to the devil in order to be rich while on earth. Is this deal worth it? In order to begin to think about some of the themes in this short story, the students got to play a trading game. They had to rank some items/ideas that they would like to have. This included a vacation, new car, new house, high school diploma, talent, time with family, and popularity. They were then given cards with each item written on them. They had to try and trade with classmates to get as many of their number one choice cards as possible. In order to get what they wanted from others, they had to give up their other cards. One student ended up with ten vacation cards, but nothing else. We then talked about whether they felt bad about giving up their time with family or high school diploma card just to get more vacations. The students did well with the game and were engaged with each other. After reading “The Devil and Tom Walker” we will see whether the students agree with his decision or not.