Moby-Dick: read-along
Moby-Dick as a read-along for the projector: 13 pages, 2020 words, level 18, beyond grade 8.
Page 1 of 13
"Call me Ishmael." So begins one of the most celebrated novels in literature, narrated by a restless young schoolteacher who, whenever he found himself growing melancholy and irritable, with a damp, drizzly November in his soul, recognized that it was time to go to sea. One December, with a few dollars in his pocket and a carpetbag over his shoulder, Ishmael traveled to New Bedford, in Massachusetts, intending to enlist aboard a whaling ship. In those days, before electricity, whale oil illuminated the lamps of America, and whaling was an enormous and perilous industry, dispatching ships around the globe on expeditions that could continue for three or four years. The town's inns were overflowing, and the landlord of the Spouter Inn informed Ishmael that the only available accommodation was half of a bed, which he would have to share with a harpooner who was out in town, attempting to sell a peculiar souvenir from the South Seas.
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 18, beyond grade 8
- 13 pages, 2020 words, about 15 minutes aloud
- A classic tale, a little spooky
Related
About Moby-Dick
A restless young sailor called Ishmael signs aboard the whaling ship Pequod with his new best friend, the harpooner Queequeg. Too late they discover that their captain, Ahab, has only one purpose: to hunt down the great white whale that took his leg, wherever on earth it swims.
Words to preview
- harpooner (har-POON-er)
- whale spear thrower
- foreboding (for-BOH-ding)
- sense of doom
- doubloon (duh-BLOON)
- gold coin
- obsession (ub-SESH-un)
- fixed idea
- inscrutable (in-SKROO-tuh-bul)
- impossible to understand
- vortex (VOR-teks)
- whirlpool
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 Moby-Dick take to read aloud?
It has 13 pages and 2020 words, so about 15 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 Moby-Dick?
Level 18, 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.