Little Women: read-along
Little Women as a read-along for the projector: 14 pages, 2213 words, level 15, beyond grade 8.
Page 1 of 14
"Christmas won't be Christmas without any presents," grumbled Jo, lying on the rug in front of the fire. It was December in a small New England town during the American Civil War, and the four March sisters were knitting in the twilight while they waited for their mother. Their father, an affectionate minister, was serving with the Union army as a chaplain, and the family had lost most of its fortune years before. Meg, the eldest at sixteen, was pretty and longed for elegant dresses and luxuries. Jo, fifteen, was tall and coltish, with a ferocious temper and an imagination crammed with adventures, and she resented being a girl, because girls could not enlist and go to war. Beth, thirteen, was so painfully timid that she studied at home, and she treasured music above everything. Amy, the youngest, was an ambitious artist with golden curls who adored impressive vocabulary and frequently selected the wrong words.
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 15, beyond grade 8
- 14 pages, 2213 words, about 16 minutes aloud
- A classic tale, gentle
Related
About Little Women
With their father away at the Civil War and very little money, the four March sisters, pretty Meg, fiery Jo, shy Beth and artistic Amy, set out to conquer their faults before he comes home. There is a lonely boy next door, a burned manuscript, a sister through the ice, a telegram, and a long night when the whole family waits to learn if Beth will live.
Words to preview
- chaplain (CHAP-lin)
- army minister
- coltish (KOHL-tish)
- lively and gangly
- vanity (VAN-ih-tee)
- pride in looks
- manuscript (MAN-yuh-skript)
- handwritten book
- telegram (TEL-uh-gram)
- wired message
- catastrophe (kuh-TAS-truh-fee)
- total disaster
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 Little Women take to read aloud?
It has 14 pages and 2213 words, so about 16 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 Little Women?
Level 15, 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.