1-sheet Vocabulary Printables

The Pit and the Pendulum
Edgar Allan Poe
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Computer-selected — preview before using
Give students a vocabulary head start before reading.
20 words on one double-sided sheet.
No grading required.

How it works

Students preview 20 words from the reading, each in a sentence that supports understanding.

An optional post-reading quiz uses the same 20 words in excerpts from the text. Use it after reading, or skip it entirely.

Why it works

The pre-reading activity supports comprehension and primes students to notice the words in context. The optional post-reading quiz reinforces the same words while using excerpts from The Pit and the Pendulum.

Highlighted words:
abyss, agony, comprehend, deduce, despair, earnest, enable, endeavor, hideous, moreover, notwithstanding, pendulum, perceptible, perish, pervasive, ponder, prostrate, resolve, sufficient, tumult
Why these 20 words?

Selected automatically for:

  • grade-level challenge
  • academic usefulness
  • frequency in the text
  • confidence in contextual meaning
Resources
Other vocabulary resources for
The Pit and the Pendulum
Aligned to CCSS ELA Language Standards
(context clues and determining word meaning).