Lesson Plan Template: Directed Reading and Thinking Activities (DRTA) Lesson

EDIS 5400: English Education

Lesson ComponentsWhat teacher and student behaviors are planned and expected

Comments/Notes/Reflections

ContextCourse Title: English 7, Advanced LevelLength of Lesson: 60 minutesSetting: English classroom, trapezoid shaped tables seat 4 kids per tableStudents: 15Current Unit: The Genre of Mystery and SuspenseContext: The students have been reading texts from the mystery/suspense genre. They are all advanced students, so the texts they read are sometimes above grade level. This lesson will be placed in the middle of this unit. In past units, we have discussed what “themes” are and the differences between “theme” and “genre”.

I recognize that lesson plans can prove more effective with differentiation, but since I’m planning on using this plan in my placement, I’ve modeled it directly after my 4882 class. I don’t mind changing this to include more student variety if necessary.

Virginia SOL(s):Reading 7.5 The student will read and demonstrate comprehension of a variety of fictional texts, narrative nonfiction, and poetry.c) Identify conventional elements and characteristics of a variety of genres.d) Describe the impact of word choice, imagery, and literary devices including figurative language.e) Make, confirm, and revise predictions.f) Use prior and background knowledge as a context for new learning.g) Make inferences and draw conclusions based on the text.

Common Core State Standard(s):Reading 7.2Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of the text; provide an objective summary of the text.

Speaking and Listening 7.1Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussion (one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 7 topics, texts, and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.Objectives (KUD format):FROM DRTA: Before Teaching: Setting Goals.Know:

1. Students will know conventional elements and characteristics of suspense and horror.

2. Students will know that word choice and imagery develop theme.3. Students will know that short stories have fully developed themes.

Understand:4. Students will understand that the features of different genres help readers

recognize what they are reading and quickly adjust their reading styles.Do:

5. Students will be able to describe the impact of word choice and imagery.6. Students will be able to use prior knowledge as a context of learning.7. Students will be able to engage in a variety of collaborative discussions.

Know:[1.] Students will know conventional elements and characteristics of suspense

and horror.Understand:

[2.] Students will understand that a theme is composed of specific elements.Do:

[3.] Students will be able to describe the impact of word choice and imagery.[4.] Students will be able to make predictions.[5.] Students will be able to use prior knowledge as a context of learning.[6.] Students will be able to engage in a variety of collaborative discussions.

Assessments: Methods for evaluating each of the specific objectives listed above.Diagnostic: Students will demonstrate what they already know by…the personal journal response for the before reading activity. [KUD 6]

Formative: Students will show their progress toward today's objectives by…the personal journal response for the beginning to read activity [KUD 2, 5]

…their notes from the during reading activity [KUD 1, 2, 5]

…their discussion and observations sheet from the after reading activity [KUD 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7]

Summative: Students will ultimately be assessed (today or in a future lesson) on these standards by...the “most important passage” paper. [KUD 2, 3]

…there will also be a test in the future that asks how students identify theme. [1, 2, 5]Diagnostic: Students will demonstrate what they already know by…the personal journal response at the beginning of class.

Formative: Students will show their progress toward today's objectives by…their discussions/notes on the story they read.

Summative: Students will ultimately be assessed (today or in a future lesson) on these standards by...the “most important passage” paper.

I’ve added some detail to the description of the summative assessment in the “Procedures” section of this paper.

Instructional Steps (Procedures): Detail student and teacher behavior. Identify possible student misconceptions. Include:

[write before reading activity questions on the board before class begins]

Welcome/greeting/announcementsWelcome, students! I hope you have had a good week so far. Today, I will be leading class today and we will be jump-starting the suspense/mystery unit! Hope you all are excited to begin switching gears.

Today we are going to examine a Poe short story, which is both suspense and horror. A short story is shorter and usually less elaborate than a novel, but it has fully developed themes. In this text, we will be looking for themes and characteristics that are central to the suspense and/or horror genres.Welcome, students! Please pick up the story, instructions, and vocab sheet at the front of the room as you enter.

[After everyone is seated]

Lately we’ve been focusing on mystery and suspense. Today we are going to examine a Poe short story, which is both suspense and horror. We will be looking for themes and characteristics that are central to the suspense and/or horror genres.

Before Reading: Frontloading Activities (15 minutes)First, write briefly in your journal about these two questions [indicate questions written on the board]. Then I will ask you to share you responses in small groups. We will then share some of the important insights from your group discussion with the whole class.

1. Have you ever felt betrayed by a friend? What was the betrayal, and how did you react?

2. Is revenge wrong? Is it right? Are there certain situations in which it is all right to seek revenge? If so, please describe the situation that makes revenge “right”.

Students write in their journals for a few minutes. If some students seem “stuck”, I will ask if they’ve ever been hurt by a friend. They may see “betrayal” as a strong word, and feel more comfortable with hurt.

When they break in to groups, I will monitor all groups but Hector’s group in particular since he often interrupts other students and gets off-topic. I may need to remind him to respect the thoughts and opinions of his fellow students.

For the “sharing with the class”, I will ask for each groups insights, and write any “conclusions” made (ex: revenge is sometimes okay but can get out of hand) on the board.

Beginning to Read: Set a Purpose (SOL 7.5e,g)I will read the first paragraph of Amontillado to the students, thinking aloud as I read.

“THE thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could, but when he ventured upon insult I vowed revenge. You, who so well know the nature of my soul, will not suppose, however, that gave utterance to a threat. At length I would be avenged; this was a point definitely, settled --but the very definitiveness with which it was resolved precluded the idea of risk. I must not only punish but punish with impunity. A wrong is unredressed when retribution overtakes its redresser. It is equally unredressed when the avenger fails to make himself felt as such to him who has done the wrong.”

I will point out how often “revenge”, “avenge”, and “punishment” are mentioned and how these words may hint at themes of the text. I will look up the word “impunity” on the vocab reference sheet I have provided the class to show them how to use the sheet as a resource, and I will examine what it means to punish with impunity. I will ask the class to respond to the following questions in their journals:

1. Are Fortunato’s actual “injuries” mentioned in this paragraph? What kind of “injuries” do you think he might have committed?

2. What might the narrator risk if he does not punish with “impunity”?3. Looking at this first paragraph, how do you think the story might end?

Do you think there is any chance of the narrator and Fortunado making peace? Why or why not?

After the students write their thoughts down, I will ask the questions to the entire class. I will also ask my students what they thought about the think-aloud activity. Was it helpful? What made it helpful? Is there anything they’d like me to do differently next time?

During Reading: Guide Students’ ReadingAs you read the rest of the story, write down things you are thinking and feeling in the margins of the story. Also write down any “connections” you make with the text.

Make sure to write notes on any bolded sections. Why are these phrases important? How do these sections support the themes of the story?

To model this, I will examine the first bolded section with the class:“A wrong is unredressed when retribution overtakes its redresser. It is equally unredressed when the avenger fails to make himself felt as such to him who has done the wrong.”

What does this passage mean? [I will explicitly explain, if no one has any

ideas, that the passage says that revenge is unsuccessful if the revenger is caught.] I will point out the word “retribution” and talk about what that means.

I will then tell the students that aAs you read, ask yourselves the following questions and write your thoughts down at the end of the story:What makes this text a suspense/mystery? What words and images left a strong impression on you?

After Reading:[1.] Look over the comments you made while reading. What were some

key things you noticed about the bolded passages? Fill out what you’ve noticed in the “my observations” section of your “Observations handout”. Share your most important comments, thoughts, and/or questions with a partner. Also fill out your partner’s observations on the “colleagues’ observations” section of the handout. .

[2.] With your partner, go over thecompare your answers to the “during reading” questions. I will then give you some additional questions that we will be discussing in a large group (see additional questions in step #3). I will give you time to think about these questions with your partner before the large group discussion. Continue to add any new thoughts and observations to your observations list. I would like at least 8 observations in each section. [Before handing the students new questions, I will see how their discussion is going with the old questions. I will hand out the new questions when their discussions seem to be tapering off.]

1.[3.] In a large-group, full class discussion, we will discuss the students’ “during reading” responses and the following questions: [I will ask students to volunteer to read out the questions]

[a.] How do Poe’s word choice, imagery, and setting effectaffect your reading experience? What impressions did they leave? How do these things make you feel? [when this is being discussed, I may need to remind students to point out what part of the story they are referring to]

a.[b.] What are some central themes in this text? [at this point in the discussion, I will write down the themes students come up with on the board. Since this list will be useful in the next activity, I will leave it on the board]

[For this discussion, I plan to let the students “wander” a little away from the discussion questions so long as they are still talked about the text we read. I want them to have a chance to share their opinions. If they wander too far, or for too long, I will remind them of the question they should be addressing.]

Follow-up: Most Important Passage (Adapted from Milner, 132).[1.] Select two short passages that you felt to be a central to a theme in the

Some central themes I’d like to see:RevengeBetrayalFalsehoodPrideTemptationBrotherhoodConspiracyManipulationDeathIllusionGreed

text.1.[2.] Present your passages to your small group. As a group, discuss what

is a central theme of the text and discuss what theme to focus on.2. In your group, sSelect what passage you all agree is most important.

Find evidence in the text to support your decisionDiscuss how the passage relates to a central theme. Write down all your evidence on one paperhow the passage relates to a central theme and highlight the passage in one of in your copy of the short storystories. This assignment will be turned in, so put the name of every group member on the assignment, and put your name on the top of your copy of the Poe short story.

ClosingWe had a great discussion today! Please turn in the “best passage” paper with every group member’s name on it. Turn in your copy of the story (with your name on it!) as you exit the class.

Materials:Vocab sheetPoe short storyCopy of today’s proceduresPaperPens

Attention to Individual Student Needs: Detail specific actions/materials you will use to meet individual needs in this lesson.I will monitor the small group/partner discussions to make sure students stay on task. Certain students tend to get off-topic. I will pay particular attention to Hector, who has ADHD. I may join his group discussion to keep everyone focused. I may put Jazz in his group (she sits close to him so I would just need to group them by the area they sit in) since she tends to keep things on-topic.

Technology Use: Detail specific technology being used in the lesson with explanation for why it is being used.No technology is used in this lesson.

How this lesson incorporates specific insights from course readings and/or class discussion:In my forum post on the Beers reading, I wrote: “To encourage an aesthetic stance to reading as well as an efferent stance, we must ask questions to encourage a personal response to the text and reflection.” I try to encourage students to make personal responses, particularly with the before reading activity where I have them think about friendship and betrayal. I try to make the reading experience student-centered like Wilhelm suggests and encourage students to “make their own meaning” (35). In class, we’ve talked a lot about the importance of modeling activities for students. I really try to do this, particularly in the “before reading” and “during reading” activities. My lessonIt includes prior knowledge which has been mentioned in many of our texts and, it includes an ‘extend’ activity in Milner. My DRTA is modeled very closely after the DRTA in Wilhelm.

(Papers for Students)

Observations SheetMy observations: 1. 2.3.4.

5.6.7.8.…add more!

My colleagues’ observations:1.2.3.4.5.7.8.…add more!

Today’s ProceduresWelcome, students! Please pick up the story, instructions, and vocab sheet at the front of the room as you enter.

Before Reading: Write briefly in your journal about these two questions. Then I will ask you to share you responses in small groups. We will then share some of the important insights from your group discussion with the whole class.

1. Have you ever felt betrayed by a friend? What was the betrayal, and how did you react?

2. Is revenge wrong? Is it right? Are there certain situations in which it is all right to seek revenge? If so, please describe the situation that makes revenge “right”.

Beginning to Read: I will read the first paragraph of Amontillado to the students, thinking aloud as I read.

“THE thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could, but when he ventured upon insult I vowed revenge. You, who so well know the nature of my soul, will not suppose, however, that gave utterance to a threat. At length I would be avenged; this was a point definitely, settled --but the very definitiveness with which it was resolved precluded the idea of risk. I must not only punish but punish with impunity. A wrong is unredressed when retribution overtakes its redresser. It is equally unredressed when the avenger fails to make himself felt as such to him who has done the wrong.”

I will point out how often “revenge”, “avenge”, and “punishment” are mentioned and how these words my hint at themes of the text. I will look up the word “impunity” on the vocab reference sheet I have

provided the class to show them how to use the sheet as a resource, and I will examine what it means to punish with impunity. I will ask the class to respond to the following questions in their journals:

1. Are Fortunato’s actual “injuries” mentioned in this paragraph? What kind of “injuries” do you think he might have committed?

2. What might the narrator risk if he does not punish with “impunity”?3. Looking at this first paragraph, how do you think the story might end? Do you think there is any

chance of the narrator and Fortunado making peace?After the students write their thoughts down, I will ask the questions to the entire class.

During Reading: As you read the rest of the story, write down things you are thinking and feeling in the margins of the story. Also write down any “connections” you make with the text. m

Make sure to write notes on any bolded sections. Why are these phrases important?

As you read, ask yourselves the following questions:What makes this text a suspense/mystery? What words and images left a strong impression on you?

After Reading: 2.[4.] Look over the comments you made why reading. What were some key things you noticed?

Share your most important comments, thoughts, and/or questions with a partner. 3.[5.] With your partner, go over the “during reading” questions. 4.[6.] In a large-group, full class discussion, we will discuss the students’ “during reading” responses

and the following questions:a. How do Poe’s word choice, imagery, and setting effect your reading experience? How do

these things make you feel?b. What are some central themes in this text?

Follow-up: 1. Select two short passages that you felt to be central to a theme in the text. 2. Present your passages to your small group. As a group, discuss what is a central theme of the text

and discuss what theme to focus on. 3. In your group, select what passage you all agree is most important. Discuss how the passage

relates to a central theme. Write down how the passage relates to a central theme and highlight the passage in your copy of the short story. This assignment will be turned in, so put the name of every group member on the assignment, and put your name on the top of your copy of the Poe short story.

Turn in the “best passage” paper with every group member’s name on it. Turn in all copies of the story (with your name on it!) as you exit the class.

The Cask of Amontilladoby Edgar Allan Poe(published 1846)  THE thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could, but when he ventured upon insult I vowed revenge. You, who so well know the nature of my soul, will not suppose, however, that gave utterance to a threat. At length I would be avenged; this was a point definitely, settled --but the very definitiveness with which it was resolved precluded the idea of risk. I must not only punish but punish with impunity. A wrong is unredressed when retribution overtakes its redresser. It is equally unredressed when the avenger fails to make himself felt as such to him who has done the wrong.

It must be understood that neither by word nor deed had I given Fortunato cause to doubt my good will. I continued, as was my wont, to smile in his face, and he did not perceive that my smile now was at the thought of his immolation.

He had a weak point -- this Fortunato -- although in other regards he was a man to be respected and even feared. He prided himself on his connoisseurship in wine. Few Italians have the true virtuoso spirit. For the most part their enthusiasm is adopted to suit the time and opportunity, to practise imposture upon the British and Austrian millionaires. In painting and gemmary, Fortunato, like his countrymen, was a quack, but in the matter of old wines he was sincere. In this respect I did not differ from him materially; --I was skilful in the Italian vintages myself, and bought largely whenever I could.

It was about dusk, one evening during the supreme madness of the carnival season, that I encountered my friend. He accosted me with excessive warmth, for he had been drinking much. The man wore motley. He had on a tight-fitting parti-striped dress, and his head was surmounted by the conical cap and bells. I was so pleased to see him that I thought I should never have done wringing his hand.

I said to him --"My dear Fortunato, you are luckily met. How remarkably well you are looking to-day. But I have received a pipe of what passes for Amontillado, and I have my doubts."

"How?" said he. "Amontillado, A pipe? Impossible! And in the middle of the carnival!"

"I have my doubts," I replied; "and I was silly enough to pay the full Amontillado price without consulting you in the matter. You were not to be found, and I was fearful of losing a bargain."

"Amontillado!"

"I have my doubts."

"Amontillado!"

"And I must satisfy them."

"Amontillado!"

"As you are engaged, I am on my way to Luchresi. If any one has a critical turn it is he. He will tell me --"

"Luchresi cannot tell Amontillado from Sherry."

"And yet some fools will have it that his taste is a match for your own.

"Come, let us go."

"Whither?"

"To your vaults."

"My friend, no; I will not impose upon your good nature. I perceive you have an engagement. Luchresi--"

"I have no engagement; --come."

"My friend, no. It is not the engagement, but the severe cold with which I perceive you are afflicted. The vaults are insufferably damp. They are encrusted with nitre."

"Let us go, nevertheless. The cold is merely nothing. Amontillado! You have been imposed upon. And as for Luchresi, he cannot distinguish Sherry from Amontillado."

Thus speaking, Fortunato possessed himself of my arm; and putting on a mask of black silk and drawing a roquelaire closely about my person, I suffered him to hurry me to my palazzo.

There were no attendants at home; they had absconded to make merry in honour of the time. I had told them that I should not return until the morning, and had given them explicit orders not to stir from the house. These orders were sufficient, I well knew, to insure their immediate disappearance, one and all, as soon as my back was turned.

I took from their sconces two flambeaux, and giving one to Fortunato, bowed him through several suites of rooms to the archway that led into the vaults. I passed down a long and winding staircase, requesting him to be cautious as he followed. We came at length to the foot of the descent, and stood together upon the damp ground of the catacombs of the Montresors.

The gait of my friend was unsteady, and the bells upon his cap jingled as he strode.

"The pipe," he said.

"It is farther on," said I; "but observe the white web-work which gleams from these cavern walls."

He turned towards me, and looked into my eyes with two filmy orbs that distilled the rheum of intoxication.

"Nitre?" he asked, at length.

"Nitre," I replied. "How long have you had that cough?"

"Ugh! ugh! ugh! --ugh! ugh! ugh! --ugh! ugh! ugh! --ugh! ugh! ugh! --ugh! ugh! ugh!"

My poor friend found it impossible to reply for many minutes.

"It is nothing," he said, at last.

"Come," I said, with decision, "we will go back; your health is precious. You are rich, respected, admired, beloved; you are happy, as once I was. You are a man to be missed. For me it is no matter. We will go back; you will be ill, and I cannot be responsible. Besides, there is Luchresi --"

"Enough," he said; "the cough's a mere nothing; it will not kill me. I shall not die of a cough."

"True --true," I replied; "and, indeed, I had no intention of alarming you unnecessarily --but you should use all proper caution. A draught of this Medoc will defend us from the damps.

Here I knocked off the neck of a bottle which I drew from a long row of its fellows that lay upon the mould.

"Drink," I said, presenting him the wine.

He raised it to his lips with a leer. He paused and nodded to me familiarly, while his bells jingled.

"I drink," he said, "to the buried that repose around us."

"And I to your long life."

He again took my arm, and we proceeded.

"These vaults," he said, "are extensive."

"The Montresors," I replied, "were a great and numerous family."

"I forget your arms1."

"A huge human foot d'or, in a field azure; the foot crushes a serpent rampant whose fangs are imbedded in the heel."

"And the motto?"

"Nemo me impune lacessit."

"Good!" he said.

The wine sparkled in his eyes and the bells jingled. My own fancy grew warm with the Medoc. We had passed through long walls of piled skeletons, with casks and puncheons intermingling, into the inmost recesses of the catacombs. I paused again, and this time I made bold to seize Fortunato by an arm above the elbow.

"The nitre!" I said; "see, it increases. It hangs like moss upon the vaults. We are below the river's bed. The drops of moisture trickle among the bones. Come, we will go back ere it is too late. Your cough --"

"It is nothing," he said; "let us go on. But first, another draught of the Medoc."

I broke and reached him a flagon of De Grave. He emptied it at a breath. His eyes flashed with a fierce light. He laughed and threw the bottle upwards with a gesticulation I did not understand.

I looked at him in surprise. He repeated the movement --a grotesque one.

"You do not comprehend?" he said.

"Not I," I replied.

"Then you are not of the brotherhood."

"How?"

1 This refers to a family’s coat of arms: An arrangement of bearings, usually depicted on and around a shield, that indicates ancestry and distinctions.

"You are not of the masons."

"Yes, yes," I said; "yes, yes."

"You? Impossible! A mason?"

"A mason," I replied.

"A sign," he said, "a sign."

"It is this," I answered, producing from beneath the folds of my roquelaire a trowel.

"You jest," he exclaimed, recoiling a few paces. "But let us proceed to the Amontillado."

"Be it so," I said, replacing the tool beneath the cloak and again offering him my arm. He leaned upon it heavily. We continued our route in search of the Amontillado. We passed through a range of low arches, descended, passed on, and descending again, arrived at a deep crypt, in which the foulness of the air caused our flambeaux rather to glow than flame.

At the most remote end of the crypt there appeared another less spacious. Its walls had been lined with human remains, piled to the vault overhead, in the fashion of the great catacombs of Paris. Three sides of this interior crypt were still ornamented in this manner. From the fourth side the bones had been thrown down, and lay promiscuously upon the earth, forming at one point a mound of some size. Within the wall thus exposed by the displacing of the bones, we perceived a still interior crypt or recess, in depth about four feet, in width three, in height six or seven. It seemed to have been constructed for no especial use within itself, but formed merely the interval between two of the colossal supports of the roof of the catacombs, and was backed by one of their circumscribing walls of solid granite.

It was in vain that Fortunato, uplifting his dull torch, endeavoured to pry into the depth of the recess. Its termination the feeble light did not enable us to see.

"Proceed," I said; "herein is the Amontillado. As for Luchresi --"

"He is an ignoramus," interrupted my friend, as he stepped unsteadily forward, while I followed immediately at his heels. In an instant he had reached the extremity of the niche, and finding his progress arrested by the rock, stood stupidly bewildered. A moment more and I had fettered him to the granite. In its surface were two iron staples, distant from each other about two feet, horizontally. From one of these depended a short chain, from the other a padlock. Throwing the links about his waist, it was but the work of a few seconds to secure it. He was too much astounded to resist. Withdrawing the key I stepped back from the recess.

"Pass your hand," I said, "over the wall; you cannot help feeling the nitre. Indeed, it is very damp. Once more let me implore you to return. No? Then I must positively leave you. But I must first render you all the little attentions in my power."

"The Amontillado!" ejaculated my friend, not yet recovered from his astonishment.

"True," I replied; "the Amontillado."

As I said these words I busied myself among the pile of bones of which I have before spoken. Throwing them aside, I soon uncovered a quantity of building stone and mortar. With these materials and with the aid of my trowel, I began vigorously to wall up the entrance of the niche.

I had scarcely laid the first tier of the masonry when I discovered that the intoxication of Fortunato had in a great measure worn off. The earliest indication I had of this was a low moaning cry from the depth of the recess. It was not the cry of a drunken man. There was then a long and obstinate silence. I laid the second tier, and the third, and the fourth; and then I heard the furious vibrations of the chain. The noise lasted for several minutes, during which, that I might hearken to it with the more satisfaction, I ceased my labours and sat down upon the bones. When at last the clanking subsided, I resumed the trowel, and finished without interruption the fifth, the sixth, and the seventh tier. The wall was now nearly upon a level with my breast. I again paused, and holding the flambeaux over the mason-work, threw a few feeble rays upon the figure within.

A succession of loud and shrill screams, bursting suddenly from the throat of the chained form, seemed to thrust me violently back. For a brief moment I hesitated, I trembled. Unsheathing my rapier, I began to grope with it about the recess; but the thought of an instant reassured me. I placed my hand upon the solid fabric of the catacombs, and felt satisfied. I reapproached the wall; I replied to the yells of him who clamoured. I re-echoed, I aided, I surpassed them in volume and in strength. I did this, and the clamourer grew still.

It was now midnight, and my task was drawing to a close. I had completed the eighth, the ninth and the tenth tier. I had finished a portion of the last and the eleventh; there remained but a single stone to be fitted and plastered in. I struggled with its weight; I placed it partially in its destined position. But now there came from out the niche a low laugh that erected the hairs upon my head. It was succeeded by a sad voice, which I had difficulty in recognizing as that of the noble Fortunato. The voice said--

"Ha! ha! ha! --he! he! he! --a very good joke, indeed --an excellent jest. We will have many a rich laugh about it at the palazzo --he! he! he! --over our wine --he! he! he!"

"The Amontillado!" I said.

"He! he! he! --he! he! he! --yes, the Amontillado. But is it not getting late? Will not they be awaiting us at the palazzo, the Lady Fortunato and the rest? Let us be gone."

"Yes," I said, "let us be gone."

"For the love of God, Montresor!"

"Yes," I said, "for the love of God!"

But to these words I hearkened in vain for a reply. I grew impatient. I called aloud --

"Fortunato!"

No answer. I called again --

"Fortunato!"

No answer still. I thrust a torch through the remaining aperture and let it fall within. There came forth in return only a jingling of the bells. My heart grew sick; it was the dampness of the catacombs that made it so. I hastened to make an end of my labour. I forced the last stone into its position; I plastered it up. Against the new masonry I re-erected the old rampart of bones. For the half of a century no mortal has disturbed them. In pace requiescat! 

Vocab Sheet

Amontillado:A dry sherry noted for its delicate bouquet, resembling the wine of Montilla, Spain, from which it derives its name. A blend of pale, dry sherries of the palma type, it assumes in aging a darker color.

aperture:An opening or hole. Today, this word usually refers to the size of the opening in a lens that lets light into a camera.

flambeau:A flaming torch.

gesticulation:A motion of the body or limbs in speaking, or in representing action or passion, and enforcing arguments and sentiments.

immolation:to be killed as a sacrificial victim.

impunity:Freedom from any punishment, loss, or consequences.

In pace requiescat:"Rest in Peace".

Masons (Freemasons):A worldwide fraternal organization where members are joined together by shared ideals of both a moral

and metaphysical nature. Certain aspects of Freemasonry are not generally revealed to the public. Its members have "secret handshakes" and other ways to recognize each other.

Mason-work/Masonry: Stonework or brickwork

Motley:To wear the costume of a "motley fool" or a court jester. This was a multi-colored outfit and funny hat with bells hanging from it. On most decks of playing cards, the Joker is pictured in this outfit.

Nemo me impune lacessit:"No one provokes me with impunity". This motto appears on the royal arms of Scotland.

Nitre:Also spelled "niter". Nitre is a clear or white mineral crystal of potassium nitrate. It usually is found as massive encrustations and effervescent growths on cavern walls and ceilings where solutions containing alkali potassium and nitrate seep into the openings. Niter has been known since ancient times. The name is from Hebrew néter, for salt derived ashes. It is also known as Saltpetre.

Pipe:The Portuguese word for barrel is pipa. A pipe is, in fact, a large, lengthy barrel or cask with tapered ends. It's used for aging and shipping wine.

roquelaire:A knee-length cloak worn especially in the 18th and 19th centuries. Also spelled "roquelaure".

virtuoso:One skilled in the fine arts, in antiquities, and the like; a collector or ardent admirer of curiosities, etc. In music, a virtuoso is a performer on some instrument who excels in the technical part of his art.