Four Flights Up: read-along
Four Flights Up as a read-along for the projector: 15 pages, 1642 words, level 11, grade 6.
Page 1 of 15
On the first day at Gantry Middle, Imara Okonkwo took the wrong staircase, and it was not an ordinary mistake. The plan pinned inside the front door showed three floors and a roof. But Imara, who counted landings the way other people hummed, because counting kept her from having to talk, had reached a fourth that no plan had ever mentioned. A door was set into the wall there, painted the gray of a rainy afternoon, and when she laid her hand against it she felt it breathe, damp and slow, like something enormous asleep. She was eleven and new to everything, and she looked for a long time before saying a word.
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 11, Grade 6
- 15 pages, 1642 words, about 12 minutes aloud
- A story, gentle
Related
About Four Flights Up
On her first day at Gantry Middle, Imara Okonkwo climbs one staircase too many and finds a floor that is not on the plans, where apprentices tune clouds, wind and fog. Somebody is stealing the fog, and the only clues are the ones a quiet new girl is good at noticing.
Words to preview
- apprentice (uh-PREN-tis)
- learning worker
- ledger (LEJ-er)
- record book
- barometer (buh-ROM-uh-ter)
- pressure gauge
- tuning (TOO-ning)
- gentle adjusting
- steady (STED-ee)
- calm and firm
Questions that fit any book
- What happened at the beginning, in the middle and at the end?
- Which page was your favorite? Why?
- How did the main character feel at the end? What tells you?
Questions
How long does Four Flights Up take to read aloud?
It has 15 pages and 1642 words, so about 12 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 Four Flights Up?
Level 11, Grade 6. The library numbers its levels from 0 to 18 and puts the level of a book on its cover; level 11 sits at grade 6. 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. It is not copied from a published book.
Nothing you do here is sent to us. The voice is your browser's own. No sign-in, no ads.