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10 public-domain read-alouds a sub can show on the projector

Grades K–810 ideasUpdated October 2026

Every story and poem here was published before 1930, is public domain in the United States and is free to read on Project Gutenberg, so you can put it on the projector with no login and no purchase. Each one says the grades it fits, how long it takes to read aloud, counted from the text, and two questions to talk about afterward.

Kindergarten to 2nd grade

  1. 1. The Tale of Benjamin Bunny (Beatrix Potter, 1904)

    Fits kindergarten to 2nd grade. It runs about 1,200 words, so plan on roughly nine minutes. Benjamin and his cousin Peter sneak back into Mr. McGregor's garden for Peter's lost clothes and get trapped under a basket by a cat. Ask: Was Benjamin a good friend to Peter? and What would you have done when the cat sat on the basket? Read it first: Benjamin's father ends the story by giving both bunnies a switching.

    Grades K–2You need The Project Gutenberg page on the projectorUse Read-aloud books for the projector

  2. 2. The Owl and the Pussy-Cat (Edward Lear, 1871)

    Fits kindergarten to 2nd grade. The poem is about 230 words and takes about two minutes, so read it twice and let the class join in on the repeated lines the second time. An owl and a cat sail away in a pea-green boat and get married by the light of the moon. Ask: Which part of the trip sounds the most fun? and What made-up word would you add to the poem?

    Grades K–2You need The Project Gutenberg page of Nonsense Songs

  3. 3. My Shadow (Robert Louis Stevenson, 1885)

    Fits kindergarten to 2nd grade. It is about 185 words, under two minutes, and works well right before or after time outside. A child describes a shadow that grows tall, shrinks to nothing and once stayed in bed. Ask: When is your shadow longest? and Why did the shadow stay home in the last verse? Read only this poem; skip the others in the book.

    Grades K–2You need The poem from A Child's Garden of Verses on the projector

  4. 4. Why Grandfather Frog Has No Tail (Thornton W. Burgess, 1910)

    Fits kindergarten to 2nd grade. The chapter is about 800 words, roughly six minutes. Old Grandfather Frog tells the young Breezes how a vain Frog King, who did nothing but admire his long tail, lost it, and why every tadpole's tail still disappears. Ask: What lesson did Grandfather Frog want the Breezes to remember? and What really happens to a tadpole's tail?

    Grades K–2You need Chapter 2 of Old Mother West Wind on the projector

  5. 5. The Real Princess (Hans Christian Andersen, 1835)

    Fits kindergarten to 3rd grade. This is the tale many children know as the princess and the pea, and it is only about 400 words, roughly three minutes. A soaked stranger says she is a real princess, so the queen hides three peas under twenty mattresses. Ask: Was the pea a fair test? and What test would you invent to find a real princess?

    Grades K–3You need The Project Gutenberg page of Andersen's Fairy Tales

3rd to 5th grade

  1. 6. The Emperor's New Clothes (Hans Christian Andersen, 1837)

    Fits 2nd to 5th grade. It is about 1,900 words, roughly fourteen minutes. Two swindlers sell a vain emperor cloth they say fools cannot see, and no one dares admit they see nothing until a child speaks up. Ask: Why did the grown-ups pretend to see the cloth? and Have you ever gone along with something because everyone else did?

    Grades 2–5You need The Project Gutenberg page of Andersen's Fairy Tales

  2. 7. A Mad Tea-Party (Lewis Carroll, 1865)

    Fits 3rd to 6th grade. The chapter is about 2,300 words, roughly seventeen minutes, and it stands on its own. Alice joins the Hatter, the March Hare and a sleepy Dormouse at a tea table where it is always six o'clock. Ask: Which riddle or joke made the least sense, and why is it funny? and Was Alice polite, or were they? Students enjoy reading the Hatter's lines in a silly voice.

    Grades 3–6You need Chapter 7 of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland on the projector

Middle school

  1. 8. The Lady, or the Tiger? (Frank R. Stockton, 1882)

    Fits 6th to 8th grade. It is about 2,700 words, roughly twenty minutes. A young man in love with the king's daughter must open one of two doors, one hiding a tiger and one a bride, and the princess signals which to choose. The author never says which door it was. Ask: Which door did the princess point to, and what in the story makes you think so? and Why would a writer leave the ending open?

    Grades 6–8You need The Project Gutenberg page on the projector

  2. 9. The Open Window (Saki, 1914)

    Fits 6th to 8th grade. It is about 1,200 words, roughly nine minutes. A nervous visitor hears a teenage niece's sad story about her lost uncles, then sees them walking up to the window. Stop before the last paragraph and ask for predictions. Ask: At what point did you realize the niece was making it up? and Was her joke harmless or cruel?

    Grades 6–8You need The story from Beasts and Super-Beasts on the projector

  3. 10. After Twenty Years (O. Henry, 1906)

    Fits 6th to 8th grade. It is about 1,300 words, roughly nine minutes. Two friends promised to meet in a doorway in New York twenty years later, and one of them is now a wanted man. Ask: Did the friend on the police force do the right thing? and What clues earlier in the story point to the twist?

    Grades 6–8You need The story from The Four Million on the projector

Making it work

  • Read the story once to yourself before class, even quickly. Five minutes of reading ahead tells you where the hard words are and whether any part needs a warning.
  • Make the type large on the projector and stand to the side of the screen, not in front of it, so the class can follow along.
  • For the middle school stories, stop before the last page and have students write a one-sentence prediction. It turns a quiet read into a short writing task.
  • Ask the two questions as a turn-and-talk first, then take three or four answers from the whole class. More students get to speak that way.
  • Peabody's read-aloud shelf lights each word on the big screen as it is read, with its own questions, if you would rather not read every line yourself.
  • Leave the title, the pages you read and how the discussion went in your sub note so the teacher knows what the class heard.

Questions teachers ask

What is a good read aloud for a substitute teacher?
Pick something short that stands on its own, like a poem, a fable or one chapter. For little ones, The Tale of Benjamin Bunny or The Owl and the Pussy-Cat; for middle school, The Open Window or After Twenty Years, each under ten minutes.
Are these books free to show on a projector?
Yes. Every title here was published before 1930 and is listed by Project Gutenberg as public domain in the United States, so anyone can read it aloud or project the text without paying or signing in.
How were the reading times worked out?
We counted the words of each story or chapter in its Project Gutenberg text and divided by a steady read-aloud pace of about 135 words a minute. Stopping for questions or voices will make it take a little longer.
What if the class has already heard the story?
Ask a student to retell it first, then read it anyway and have the class listen for one detail they forgot. Or switch to another title from the same grade group, since each group has more than one option.

Sources

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