Middle School Preview - Teacher, Parent and Other Educational

Middle School Preview

English Language LearnerAdapted Interactive ReaderTeacher’s Guide

Sample Selections

THIS PREVIEW INCLUDES:Academic Vocabulary Workshop

High Frequency Word List

INSIDE FRONT COVER

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English Language Learner Adapted Interactive Reader Teacher’s Guide

PreviewGrades 6–8

TABLE OF CONTENTS

English Language Learner Program Components . . . . . . . . . . . . . II

English Language Learner Adapted Interactive Reader

Table of Contents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .VI

Academic Vocabulary Workshop . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .XIII

Grade 6 Sample Selection: from The Story of My Life . . . . . . . . . 1

Grade 7 Sample Selection: Seventh Grade . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Grade 8 Sample Selection: The Tell-Tale Heart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

High-Frequency Word List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

English Language Learner Program Components

Holt McDougal Literature combines on–page instruction with unique technology tools and resources to provide the most comprehensive English Language Learner support available for students.

Point of Use Instruction with Every Selection

Language Coach supports English Language Learners with additional instruction in vocabulary, word parts, and idioms.

Grammar in Context teaches grammar and mechanics skills in context with the literature.

Academic Vocabulary is defined and practiced in writing or speaking about the literature.

WordSharp: An Interactive Vocabulary Tutor DVD is an independent, interactive vocabulary tutorial.

GrammarNotes DVD includes PowerPoint® presentations to teach grammar and mechanics.

PowerNotes®: Lessons and Motivational Videos DVD include PowerPoint presentations to provide background knowledge for selections with vocabulary instruction.

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Guide to English for Newcomers offers curriculum and instruction for a four-week introductory course in survival vocabulary and language structures for students new to the country. An introduction to academic vocabulary necessary for the school environment is included.

English Language Learner Adapted Interactive Reader provides linguistically accommodated and adapted text for selections from the Essential Course of Study with specifically designed instruction to build English language skills, including visual and academic vocabulary, grammar in context, and graphic organizers to support concept building.

The provides an audio version of the text for each selection in the reader. In addition, in another voice, the annotations and questions in each selection are read in English or Spanish.

The English Language Learner Adapted Interactive Reader Teacher’s Guide includes comprehensive instruction designed to support comprehension, develop vocabulary and enhance language skills.

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English Language Learner Adapted Interactive Reader

Language Coach instructional annotations support vocabulary and word building.

Graphic Organizers visually depict skills and concepts.

Academic Vocabulary words are used in academic speaking and writing tasks to maximize understanding. Students learn the words personally—then in the context of writing and speaking about the selection.

selections have been linguistically accommodated by altering sentence structure, vocabulary, and complexity to support transition into English.

are on-page identifications of passages to use for fluency practice.

scaffolds words used in each selection with a visual representation.

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provides instruction in grammar and mechanics issues that appear in the context of each selection.

on every page of the is aligned to

Academic Vocabulary in Action expands students’ use of these critically important words.

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English Language Learner Adapted Interactive Reader Table of Contents

The selections included in this preview are highlighted.

Plot Elements, Monitor Short Story, The School Play Gary Soto

Plot and Setting, Make InferencesShort Story, All Summer in a Day

Ray Bradbury

Synthesize Ideas, Across TextsOnline Article, Space Settlements

Al Globus

Conflict in Drama, Reading a PlayDrama, The Prince and the Pauper

Mark Twain, dramatized by Joellen Bland

Compare and Contrast, Versions of a Story

Film Review, Twain’s Tale Transplanted to Today

First-Person Point of View, Connect Short Story, Eleven Sandra Cisneros

Dialect and Conversational Voice, Monitor

Short Story, Jeremiah’s Song Walter Dean Myers

Narrative Nonfiction, Identify Language and Tone

Paired Selections Personal Essay, Role-Playing and Discovery

Autobiography, The Life and Adventures of Nat Love

Jerry Pinkney

Nat Love

Theme Versus Topic, Reading Historical Fiction

Short Story, The Dog of Pompeii Louis Untermeyer

Author’s Purpose and Main IdeaNonfiction Book Excerpt, from In Search of Pompeii

Ellen Hale

Character and Theme, Predict Short Story, Scout’s Honor Avi

Follow InstructionsInstructional Manual, How to Build a Bat House

Sensory Language and Imagery, Connect

Short Story, Tuesday of the Other June

Norma Fox Mazer

Take Notes Feature Article, The Problem with Bullies

Sean Price

Similes and Metaphors, Summarize Personal Narrative, The Jacket Gary Soto

Rhyme, Recognize Meter

Paired Selections

Poem, Sea-Fever

Poem, The Village Blacksmith

John Masefield

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Imagery and Metaphor, Paraphrase

Paired Selections

Poem, Message from a Caterpillar

Poem, Fog

Poem, Two Haiku

Lilian Moore

Carl Sandburg

Basho

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Grade 6. Continued

Figurative Language, Make Inferences

Paired Selections

Poem, I’m Nobody! Who are You?

Poem, Is the Moon Tired?

Poem, Mooses

Emily Dickinson

Christina Rossetti

Ted Hughes

Cultural Values in Myths, Predict

Paired Selections

Greek Myth, Apollo’s Tree: The Story of Daphne and Apollo

Greek Myth, Arachne

Mary Pope Osborne

Olivia E. Coolidge

Organizational Patterns, Classification

Online Science Article, Spider Webs

Characteristics of Legends, Make Inferences

Paired Selections

Native American Legend, The Chenoo

Article, Lands of the Passamaquoddy

Joseph and James Bruchac

Biography, Compare and ContrastBiography, Matthew Henson at the Top of the World

Jim Haskins

Author’s Purpose

Paired Selections

Journal, from Over the Top of the World

Personal Narrative, Up and Over the Top

Will Steger

Bill Cosby

Autobiography, MonitorAutobiography, from The Story of My Life

Helen Keller

Interpret Information in Procedural Text

Procedural Text, American Sign Language

Text Features, Summarize Magazine Article, SuperCroc Peter Winkler

Synthesizing Information, Set a Purpose for Reading

Paired SelectionsBook Excerpt, “The First Emperor” from The Tomb Robbers

Magazine Article, Digging Up the Past: Discovery and Excavation of Shi Huangdi’s Tomb

Daniel Cohen

Helen Wieman Bledsoe

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Plot, Connect Short Story, Seventh Grade Gary Soto

Setting, Identify Sequence in Plot Short Story, The Last Dog Katherine Paterson

Suspense and Foreshadowing, Predict

Short Story, Rikki-tikki-tavi Rudyard Kipling

Character and Plot, Monitor Short Story, ZebraChaim Potok

Identify Main Ideas, Evaluate a Summary

Paired Selections

Book Excerpt, from A Wall of Remembrance

Letter, A Mother’s WordsTimeline, U.S. Involvement in Vietnam

Brent Ashabranner

Eleanor Wimbish

First-Person Point of View, Make Inferences

Short Story, The Scholarship Jacket Marta Salinas

Third-Person Point of View, Predict Short Story, A Retrieved Reformation O. Henry

Theme and Setting, Compare and Contrast

Short Story, Amigo Brothers Piri Thomas

Multiple Themes, Monitor Short Story, The War of the Wall Toni Cade Bambara

Identify Author’s Purpose, Compare Ideas

Problem-Solution Essay, Homeless Anna Quindlen

Mood, Reading Science FictionShort Story, Dark They Were, and Golden-Eyed

Ray Bradbury

Style in Poetry, Monitor

Paired Selections

Poem, maggie and milly and molly and may

Poem, who are you, little i

Poem, old age sticks

e. e. cummings

Free Verse, Imagery, Understand Historical Context

Poem, The Names Billy Collins

Rhythm and Meter, Strategies for Reading a Narrative Poem

Paired Selections

Poem, The Charge of the Light Brigade

Poem, The Highwayman

Alfred, Lord Tennyson

Alfred Noyes

Haiku, Symbol, and Theme, Ask Questions

Paired Selections

Poem, Two Haiku

Poem, Fireflies

Poem, Fireflies in the Garden

Basho

Paul Fleischman

Robert Frost

Connect Ideas in Text, Connect Nonfiction and Poetry

Science Article, Stars with Wings Therese Ciesinski

Mood and Figurative Language, Set a Purpose for Reading

Paired Selections

Poem, The Delight Song of Tsoai-Talee

Poem, Four Skinny Trees

N. Scott Mamaday

Sandra Cisneros


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Grade 7, Continued

Characteristics of Myths, Ask Questions

Paired Selections

Greek Myth, Prometheus

Greek Myth, Orpheus and Eurydice

Bernard Evslin

Olivia Coolidge

Characteristics of the Epic, Paraphrase

Epic Poem, from Beowulf The Beowulf Poet

Characteristics of Legends, Identify Chronological Order

Medieval Legend, from Young Arthur Robert D. San Souci

Biography, Identify Chronological Order

Biography, Eleanor Roosevelt William Jay Jacobs

Synthesize, Draw Conclusions

Paired Selections

Letter, Letter to the President General of the Daughters of the American Revolution

Autobiography, The Autobiography of Eleanor Roosevelt

Eleanor Roosevelt

Author’s Purpose and Theme, Make Inferences

Paired Selections

Autobiography, from It’s Not About the Bike

Nonfiction Account, from 23 Days in July

Lance Armstrong

John Wilcockson

History-Related Writings, Compare and Contrast

Paired SelectionsDrama, Clara Barton: Battlefield Nurse

Diary Entry, from The War Diary of Clara Barton

Jeannette Covert Nolan

Clara Barton

Evidence in Informational Text, Recognize Author’s Bias

Magazine Article, Great White Sharks Peter Benchley

Cause-and-Effect Pattern of Organization, Set a Purpose for Reading

Paired Selections

Magazine Article, Like Black Smoke: The Black Death’s Journey

Magazine Article, A World Turned Upside Down: How the Black Death Affected Europe

Diana Childress

Mary Morton Cowan

Newsworthiness, Strategies for Viewing

Paired Selections

Brochure, Disaster Strikes: Are You Ready?

Posters, Emergency Procedures

Supply List, Emergency Supply Kit

Argument, Evaluate Reasoning

Paired Selections

Editorial, Pro Athletes’ Salaries Aren’t Overly Exorbitant

Editorial, Do Professional Athletes Get Paid Too Much

Mark Singletary

Justin Hjelm

Counterargument, ParaphraseMagazine Article, Why We Shouldn’t Go to Mars

Gregg Easterbrook

Argument in Speech, Identify Persuasive Techniques

Speech, Remarks at the Dedication of the Aerospace Medical Health Center

John F. Kennedy

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Plot, Make Inferences Short Story, Raymond’s Run Toni Cade Bambara

Conflict and Resolution, Predict Short Story, The Ransom of Red Chief O. Henry

Conflicts and Subplots, Sequence

Short Story, Clean Sweep Joan Bauer

Suspense, Evaluate Narrator Short Story, The Tell-Tale Heart Edgar Allan Poe

Third-Person Point of View, Infer Characters’ Motivation

Short Story, The Treasure of Lemon Brown Walter Dean Myers

First-Person Point of View, Draw Conclusions

Short Story, Rules of the Game Amy Tan

Central Character, Set a Purpose for Reading

Paired Selections

Short Story, The Medicine Bag

Vignette, Who Are You Today, Maria?

Virginia Driving and Hawk Sneve

Judith Ortiz Cofer

First-Person Point of View, Make Inferences

Short Story, The Scholarship Jacket Marta Salinas

Setting, Reading Science Fiction

Paired Selections

Short Story, Hallucination

Short Story, from Ellis Island and I

Magazine Cover, Science Wonder Stories

Isaac Asimov

Mood, Identify Type of Narrator Short Story, The Monkey’s Paw W. W. Jacobs

Author’s Purpose, Set a Purpose for Reading

Paired Selections

Magazine Article, The Story of an Eyewitness

Magazine Article, Letter from New Orleans: Leaving Desire

Jack London

John Lee Anderson

Imagery, Understand Speaker

Paired Selections

Poem, Mi Madre

Poem, Canyon de Chelly

Pat Mora

Simon J. Ortiz

Theme, Reading a Myth

Paired Selections

Greek Myth, Pandora’s Box

Native American Myth, Loo-Wit, the Fire-Eater

Louis Untermeyer

Joseph Bruchac

Universal Theme, Set a Purpose for Reading

Paired Selections

Russian Folk Tale, The Old Grandfather and His Little Grandson

Japanese Fold Tale, The Wise Old Woman

Leo Tolstoy

Yoshiko Uchida

Theme, Reading a Drama Drama, The Diary of Anne FrankFrances Goodrich and Albert Hackett

Stanza, Metaphor, Simile, Visualize

Paired Selections

Poem, Simile: Willow and Ginkgo

Poem, Introduction to Poetry

Eve Merriam

Billy Collins


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Grade 8, Continued

Lyric Poetry, Sound Devices, Make Inferences

Paired Selections

Poem, Speech to the Young: Speech to the Progress-Toward

Poem, Mother to Son

Gwendolyn Brooks

Langston Hughes

Traditional Forms, Rhyme Scheme, Paraphrase

Paired Selections

Poem, On the Grasshopper and Cricket

Poem, Ode to Solitude

John Keats

Alexander Pope

Narrative Poetry, Rhythm, Meter Summarize

Paired Selections

Poem, Boots of Spanish Leather

Poem, from The Song of Hiawatha

Bob Dylan

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

Tone, Paraphrase Short Story, The Lady or the Tiger? Frank R. Stockton

Use a Graphic Aid, Synthesize

Paired Selections

Newspaper Article, The Monty Hall Debate

Cartoon, Cartoon

John TierneyPeter Steiner

Voice, Style, Monitor Memoir, from Roughing It Mark Twain

Style in Poetry, Understand Histori-cal Context

Paired Selections

Poem, O Captain! My Captain!

Poem, I Saw Old General at Bay

Walt Whitman

Cultural Context, Compare and Contrast

Short Story, The Snapping Turtle Joseph Bruchac

Cultural Conflict, Make Inferences

Short Story, Out of Bounds Beverly Naidoo

Text Features, SummarizeFeature Article, The Spider Man Behind Spider-Man

Bijal P. Trivedi

Organization of Ideas, Monitor

Paired Selections

Magazine Article, Robo-Legs

Online Article, Eureka: Scientific Twists of Fate

Michel Marriott

Technical Directions, Evaluate Graphics

Technical Directions, Guide to Computers

Argument, Set a Purpose for Read-ing

Paired Selections

Online Article, Zoos: Myth and Reality

Opinion Piece, Zoos Connect Us to the Natural World

Rob Laidlaw

Michael Hutchins

Persuasion, Analyze Rhetoric and Reasoning

Paired Selections

Position Statement, Position on Dodgeball in Physical Education

Opinion Piece, The Weak Shall Inherit the Gym

National Assoc. for Sport and Physical EducationRick Reilly

Speech, Evaluate EvidenceSpeech, What to the Slave is the Fourth of July?

Frederick Douglass

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Best Practices ToolkitMiddle SchoolXVI Teacher’s Guide Preview

Analyze the causes of the war. Identify at least three causes and explain how they contributed to the war.

totalitarian toh TAL uh TAIR ee uhn n.: a characteristic of government in which the person or party in charge has absolute control

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XVIII Teacher’s Guide Preview

GRADE 6

from

by Helen Keller

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.

My LifeThe Story of

The most important day I remember in all my life is the one on which my teacher, Anne Mansfield Sullivan, came to me. I am filled with wonder when I consider the great difference she made in my life.

On the afternoon of that eventful day, I stood on the porch, unable to speak but hopeful. I guessed from the hurrying in the house that something unusual was about to happen. So I went to the door and waited. The warm afternoon sun fell on my upturned face. My fingers touched familiar leaves and blossoms. I did not know what the future held for me. Anger and bitterness had preyed upon me for weeks. Then, a lack of energy had followed my struggle.

Have you ever been at sea in a dense fog? The tangible white darkness of the fog shut you in, and the great ship slowly moved toward the shore. Meanwhile, you waited with beating heart for something to happen. I was that ship before my teacher came. Only I was completely without guidance,


.

and I had no way of knowing how near the shore was. “Light! Give me light!” was the wordless cry of my soul, and the light of love shone on me in that very hour.

I felt footsteps coming toward me. I stretched out my hand to a person I thought was my mother. I was caught up and held close in the arms of my teacher who had come to reveal all things to me and to love me.

The morning after my teacher came she gave me a doll. When I had played with it a little while, Miss Sullivan slowly spelled into my hand the word “d-o-l-l.” I was at once interested in this finger play and tried to imitate it. When I finally succeeded, I was full of happiness and pride. Running to my mother, I made the letters for doll. I did not know that I was spelling a word or even that words existed. I was simply repeating what I had learned. I learned to spell in this uncomprehending way a great many words. But it was several weeks before I understood that everything has a name.

One day, while I was playing with my new doll, Miss Sullivan put my big rag doll into my lap. She spelled “d-o-l-l.” She tried to make me understand that “d-o-l-l” applied to both. Earlier that day we had fought over the words “m-u-g” and “w-a-t-e-r.” Miss Sullivan had tried to make me understand the difference between the two. In despair she had dropped the subject until later. I became impatient with her. Grabbing the new doll, I threw it on the floor. I was delighted when I felt the pieces of the broken doll at my feet. Neither sorrow nor regret followed my outburst. I had not loved the doll. In the still, dark world in which I lived there were no strong feelings and no tenderness. I felt my teacher


.

sweep up the fragments. She brought me my hat, and I knew I was going outside. This thought made me hop and skip with happiness.

We walked down the path to the well. Someone was pumping water and my teacher placed my hand under it. As the water gushed over one hand she spelled into the other the word water. I stood still, my attention fixed on the motions of her fingers. Suddenly I felt a misty consciousness. Somehow the mystery of language was revealed to me. I knew then that “w-a-t-e-r” meant the wonderful cool something that was flowing over my hand. That living word awakened my soul, gave it light, hope, joy, set it free!

I left the well eager to learn. Everything had a name, and each name gave birth to a new thought. Every object I touched seemed to be alive because I saw everything with a strange, new sight. On entering the door I remembered the doll I had broken. I picked up the pieces. I tried in vain to put them together. Then my eyes filled with tears. I realized what I had done, and for the first time I felt sadness and sorrow.

I learned a great many new words that day—words that made the world come alive for me. It would have been difficult to find a happier child than I was that night. I relived the day, and for the first time longed for a new day to come.



_________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________




GRADE 7

by Gary Soto






On the first day of school, Victor signed up for French. He already spoke Spanish and English, but he thought some day he might travel to France, where it was cooler than Fresno.

Besides, Teresa, a girl he had liked for a long time, was taking French, too. With any luck they would be in the same class. Teresa is going to be my girl this year, he promised himself. She was cute. And good in math, too. On his way to his homeroom, he ran into his friend, Michael Torres. “How come you’re making a face?” asked Victor.

Grade Seventh


“I’m not making a face, man. This is my face.” In magazines, Michael pointed out, handsome male models all had the same look on their faces. No matter what they did or where they were, they scowled.

“I think it works,” Michael said. He scowled with ferocity, putting a lot of effort into it. “Belinda Reyes walked by a while ago and looked at me.”

Victor didn’t say anything. He thought his friend looked very strange.

He thought, man, that’s weird. Michael thinks making a face makes him handsome. The two boys went to their homerooms.

On the way there, Victor tried a scowl. He felt foolish, until he saw a girl looking at him. He thought, maybe it does work. He scowled even harder.

In homeroom, the principal spoke over the intercom, welcoming the students to a new year. Victor sat thinking of Teresa. She sat two rows away. This would be his lucky year. She and Victor were in some classes together, including French.

The bell rang for first period, and the students moved noisily through the door. Only Teresa lingered, hanging around to talk with the homeroom teacher about a dance class she wanted to take.


Victor also lingered, keeping his head down and staring at his desk. He wanted to leave when Teresa did so he could say something clever to her.

He secretly watched her. As she turned to leave, he managed to catch her eye. Noticing him, she smiled and said, “Hi, Victor.”

He smiled back and said, “Yeah, that’s me.” He blushed, his face turning red. Why hadn’t he said, “Hi, Teresa,” or something nice?

So much for being in the same class, he thought. In English they reviewed the parts of speech. Their

teacher, Mr. Lucas, asked, “What is a noun?”“A person, place, or thing,” the class said in unison.“Yes, now somebody give me an example of a person—

you, Victor Rodriguez.”“Teresa,” Victor said right away. Some of the girls

giggled. They knew he liked Teresa. He blushed again.“Correct,” Mr. Lucas said. “Now name a place.”Another kid answered, “Teresa’s house with a kitchen

full of big brothers.”

At lunch, Victor sat with Michael, who practiced scowling again, frowning between bites.

Girls walked by and looked at him.“See what I mean, Vic?” Michael scowled. “They love it.”“Yeah, I guess so.”


Victor looked for Teresa. He didn’t see her. She must be eating outside.

Victor hurried outside. He sat down and opened his math book. He raised his eyes slowly and looked around. No Teresa.

He lowered his eyes, pretending to study, and then looked slowly to the left. No Teresa.

Then he saw her. She was sitting with a girlfriend. Victor moved to a table near her. He daydreamed about taking her to a movie. When the bell sounded, Teresa looked up, and their eyes met. She smiled sweetly and gathered her books. Her next class was French, the same as Victor’s.


In French, Victor sat near the front of the class, a few desks away from Teresa. Mr. Bueller wrote French words on the chalkboard. The bell rang, and Mr. Bueller turned to the class and said, “Bonjour.” 1

“Bonjour,” said a few brave students.“Bonjour,” Victor whispered. He wondered if Teresa

heard him.Mr. Bueller asked if anyone knew French. Victor didn’t

speak French, but he raised his hand, wanting to impress Teresa. The teacher smiled and said, “Très bien. Parlez-vous français?” 2

Victor didn’t know what to say. The teacher asked something else in French. The room grew silent. Victor tried to pretend he knew the language by making noises that sounded French. At least he thought they sounded French.

“La me vave me con le grandma,” Victor said slowly and uncertainly.

Mr. Bueller, confused by Victor’s words, asked him to speak up.

Victor’s face grew red. As he blushed, great rosebushes of red bloomed on his cheeks. He felt awful. Teresa sat a few desks away, probably thinking he was a fool. Without looking at Mr. Bueller, Victor mumbled, “Frenchie oh wewe gee in September.” Mr. Bueller asked Victor to repeat what he said.

“Frenchie oh wewe gee in September,” Victor repeated. Mr. Bueller understood that the boy didn’t know French

and turned away. He went on with the lesson. He asked the class to read aloud some French words from the board.


Victor was too weak from failure to join the class. He stared at the board and wished he had taken Spanish, not French. Better yet, he wished he could start his life over. He had never been so embarrassed.

The bell sounded for fifth period. Victor rushed out of the room, forgetting his book. He went back to get it and looked sheepishly at the teacher, who was erasing the board. He felt shy and awkward about looking so foolish in class. Then, when Teresa suddenly walked in, Victor looked frightened. “I didn’t know you knew French,” Teresa said. “That was good.”

Mr. Bueller looked at Victor, and Victor looked back. Without saying a word, Victor begged with his eyes, Oh please, don’t say anything. I’ll wash your car, mow your lawn, walk your dog—anything! I’ll be your best student, and I’ll clean your erasers after school.

Mr. Bueller smiled. He remembered his college years when he had borrowed cars from different friends to take out a girl. The girl thought Mr. Bueller was rich because he had picked her up in a different car each time they went out. It was fun until he had spent all of his money on her. Finally he had to write home to his parents because he had no money left.


Victor couldn’t stand to look at Teresa. He was sweaty with shame. “Yeah, well, I picked up a few things from movies and books.” They left the class together. Teresa asked him if he would help her study French.

“Sure, anytime,” Victor said.“I won’t be bothering you, will I?”“Oh no, I like being bothered.”“Bonjour,” Teresa said, leaving him outside her next class.

She smiled.“Yeah, right, bonjour,” Victor said. The rosebushes of

shame on his face became bouquets of love, beautiful flowers. Teresa is a great girl, he thought. And Mr. Bueller is a good guy.

He ran happily to his next class. Then, after school, he ran to the public library. He checked out three French textbooks.

He was going to like seventh grade.






GRADE 8

by Edgar Allan Poe






True! I had been very, very nervous, and I still am. But why do you call me insane? The disease has improved my senses. My sense of hearing became especially acute. I heard everything in heaven and in earth—and even in hell. Notice how calmly I can tell you the whole story.

I can’t say how I came up with the idea, but once I’d thought of it, I could think of nothing else. I loved the old man. He had never hurt me. I didn’t want his gold.


It was his eye! One of his eyes looked like a vulture’s. It was a pale blue eye with a film1 over it. His glance made my blood run cold. So I decided to kill him and get rid of the eye forever.

Now this is the point. You think I am crazy. You should have seen how carefully I made plans! I hid my feelings well. Shortly before I killed the old man, I was kinder to him than I’d ever been.

About midnight every night for a week, I turned the doorknooh, so gently! Then, I made an opening for my head. In the opening, I put a lantern with the light covered. Next, I stuck my head through the opening. I moved very, very slowly because I didn’t want to wake up the old man.

It took me an hour to get my head where I could see him. Ha! Would a madman have been as wise as this? Then, I carefully opened the lantern cover so I could see the vulture eye. But every night, the eye was closed. I could not kill him until I saw his Evil Eye.

Every morning, I asked how he had slept. So you see, he would have had to be a smart man to suspect me.


On the eighth night, I was so still that a watch’s minute hand moved faster than my hand. Before this moment, I had never felt how powerful and wise I was. The old man moved on the bed suddenly, as if he had been surprised.

Now, you may think that I drew back, but I knew that he could not see the door opening in the dark. Finally, I had my head in. My thumb slipped on the lantern’s cover. The old man cried out, “Who’s there?”

I kept still for a whole hour. During that time the old man sat up in bed, listening. Then, I heard a stifled groan of terror. I pitied the old man, but my heart chuckled.

I knew that he had been lying awake since the first noise. He had been growing more and more afraid. But there was no escape. The presence of Death made him feel my head in the room.

I waited for a long time, very patiently. I aimed the light only on the old man’s vulture eye. It was wide open.

Now, I have told you that I am not mad. Rather, my senses are too sharp. So I began to hear a low, dull, quick sound, like a watch wrapped in cotton. I knew that sound too well. It was the beating of the old man’s heart. It made me even angrier, like a drumbeat makes a soldier braver.

I held the light on the eye, but the sound of the heart grew quicker and louder. He must have been terrified! The noise terrified me, too. I thought the heart would burst. And now I became afraid that a neighbor might hear the sound.


With a loud yell, I leaped into the bedroom. The old man shrieked only once. In an instant, I dragged him to the floor and pulled the heavy bed over him. Then, I smiled because I had done it.

But, for a while, the heart beat on. Finally, it stopped. The old man was dead. I held my hand over his heart for many minutes but felt no heartbeat. He was stone dead. His eye would trouble me no more.

Do you still think I’m mad? Consider how I hid the body. First, I cut up the corpse. Next, I took up three boards from the bedroom floor and hid the body parts there. There were no bloodstains. I had caught all the blood in a tub. When I finished it was four o’clock. I answered a knock at the door with nothing to fear.

Three police officers entered. The officers had come because a neighbor had reported a shriek in the night.

I smiled. What did I have to fear? I said I had shrieked from a dream. Saying the old man was away, I let them search the house. Then, I led them to his bedroom and brought chairs. I wanted them to rest here. I put my own chair over the place where I’d buried the old man.


I had convinced the officers. We all chatted happily, but soon, I felt myself get pale. My head ached, and my ears seemed to ring. I kept talking, but the feelings got worse. Soon, I realized the noise was not within my ears.

I am sure that I now grew very pale. I talked faster and louder, but the sound grew. It sounded like a watch wrapped in cotton. I gasped for breath. The officers didn’t hear the noise. I talked faster; the noise grew.

I stood up and paced the floor, waving my arms as I argued about nothing. But the noise steadily grew. I dragged my chair over the floorboards, but the noise arose over all and grew louder and louder and louder!

Still the officers chatted and smiled. Was it possible they could not hear it? Almighty God! no, no! They heard! They suspected! They knew! They were making a cruel joke of my horror! Anything was better than their hypocritical smiles. I could bear it no more. I felt I must scream or die! And now! Again—listen! louder! louder! louder!

“Villains!” I shrieked. “Pretend no more! I admit the deed! Tear up the floor boards! Here! Here! It is the beating of his horrible heart!”






High-Frequency Word List












INSIDE BACK COVER

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