Gilgamesh: read-along
Gilgamesh as a read-along for the projector: 15 pages, 2237 words, level 17, beyond grade 8.
Page 1 of 15
Climb the great wall of Uruk and walk along its summit; examine its foundations, inspect its brickwork, fired in kilns and laid in their millions, and consider whether any civilization ever constructed anything so magnificent. This is the oldest surviving story in the world, inscribed on tablets of clay in Mesopotamia, the fertile territory between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers that is now Iraq, more than four thousand years ago. It concerns Gilgamesh, the legendary king who commissioned that wall. The gods had fashioned him two-thirds divine and one-third human, taller than any ordinary man, more powerful than a wild bull, and more beautiful than the sunrise. Unfortunately, they had neglected to make him wise. He exhausted the young men of Uruk with endless labor, interrupted every celebration, and swaggered through the city as though its inhabitants existed exclusively for his amusement, and nobody dared to challenge him, because nobody could.
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 17, beyond grade 8
- 15 pages, 2237 words, about 17 minutes aloud
- A classic tale, a little spooky
Related
About Gilgamesh
Gilgamesh, the mighty king of Uruk, meets the one man as strong as he is, and the wild man Enkidu becomes his dearest friend. When death takes Enkidu, the king walks to the ends of the earth to learn how to live forever.
Words to preview
- divine (dih-VINE)
- godlike
- arrogant (AIR-uh-gunt)
- too proud
- inseparable (in-SEP-er-uh-bul)
- always together
- eternal (ih-TUR-nul)
- never ending
- tavern (TAV-ern)
- inn
- artisans (AR-tih-zunz)
- skilled makers
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 Gilgamesh take to read aloud?
It has 15 pages and 2237 words, so about 17 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 Gilgamesh?
Level 17, 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.
Is this the original text?
No. It is a retelling in Peabody's own words at this reading level, so it may differ from the edition you know.
Nothing you do here is sent to us. The voice is your browser's own. No sign-in, no ads.