A Practical Lamp, Not a First One: read-along
A Practical Lamp, Not a First One as a read-along for the projector: 11 pages, 1267 words, level 14, beyond grade 8.
Page 1 of 11
Who invented the light bulb? The question has a confident answer, Thomas Edison, and the answer hides a problem. The word invented covers three separate claims: being the first to make a thread glow, making a lamp that lasts, and making one that can be sold and wired into a city. The National Park Service, which cares for Edison's laboratory, says plainly that Edison was not the inventor of the first bulb. What he and his Menlo Park team did was make the first practical incandescent lamp, which is a different and much larger achievement. Calling Edison the inventor of the first bulb is a shortcut, and the shortcut leaves out a long line of earlier work.
Keys: ← → or Page Up and Page Down turn the page, Space starts and pauses the voice, Home and End jump, F fills the screen. Tapping the right side of a page goes on; the left side goes back.
How to use it
- Press Full screen (F) to put the book on the projector.
- Press Read to me (Space), or read it yourself and turn pages with the arrow keys or a tap. Pick the Pace that suits the class.
- After the last page, three questions come up to talk about.
About this book
- Level 14, beyond grade 8
- 11 pages, 1267 words, about 9 minutes aloud
- A true book, gentle
Related
About A Practical Lamp, Not a First One
Credit for the electric light turns on what you mean by invented. A close look at Davy, Swan, Edison's Menlo Park team, the patents, and the evidence about one famous night.
Words to preview
- incandescent (in-kan-DES-ent)
- glowing from heat
- filament (FIL-uh-ment)
- glowing thread
- carbonized (KAR-buh-nyzd)
- turned to carbon
- vacuum (VAK-yoom)
- space without air
- infringed (in-FRINJD)
- broke a patent
- resistance (rih-ZIS-tuns)
- hindrance to current
Questions that fit any book
- What is one new thing you learned from this book?
- Which page told you the most? What did it say?
- What would you still like to find out about this?
Questions
How long does A Practical Lamp, Not a First One take to read aloud?
It has 11 pages and 1267 words, so about 9 minutes at the Steady pace and a little less at Quick. If you stop to talk on the way, plan for more.
What reading level is A Practical Lamp, Not a First One?
Level 14, beyond grade 8. The library numbers its levels from 0 to 18 and puts the level of a book on its cover; levels above 13 are beyond grade 8 and have no grade. A level is a guide for choosing, so look at the pages yourself.
Whose voice is it?
Your browser's own. Read to me uses a speaking voice already on the computer, so it sounds like that computer and works without a sign-in. Voices differ: some light each word as it is spoken, and some do not, in which case the highlight follows a steady pace instead. Some browsers use an online voice; if yours does, the browser, not us, sends the words of the page to its speech service. If no voice is installed, turn the pages and read it aloud yourself.
Do students need an account?
No. Nothing is asked of anyone and nothing is sent to us. Project the page, or share the link and let students open it on their own screens.
Where does this book come from?
It was written for Peabody's library as a true book. It is not copied from a textbook or another site.
Nothing you do here is sent to us. The voice is your browser's own. No sign-in, no ads.