Naked Mole-Rats: read-along
Naked Mole-Rats as a read-along for the projector: 10 pages, 1432 words, level 17, beyond grade 8.
Page 1 of 10
The naked mole-rat is a small, nearly hairless rodent that inhabits the dry grasslands of East Africa, in countries such as Kenya, Ethiopia, and Somalia, where it spends virtually its entire existence in subterranean tunnels that it excavates itself. An adult is usually about three or four inches long, approximately the length of a human finger, and it weighs only as much as a few coins. Its pink, wrinkled skin hangs loosely on its body, a scattering of thin hairs grows along its back, and long whiskers help it navigate through the darkness. Despite the name, it is neither a mole nor a true rat, since biologists classify it in a separate family of African rodents, and very few people have ever encountered one outside a laboratory or a well-equipped zoo. Its body is shaped like a tiny sausage, and its legs are short.
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
- 10 pages, 1432 words, about 11 minutes aloud
- A true book, gentle
Related
About Naked Mole-Rats
Meet a wrinkled, nearly hairless rodent that lives in a colony with a queen, like a bee. It lives for decades, hardly ever gets cancer, and does not feel acid burn.
Words to preview
- rodent (ROH-dnt)
- gnawing animal
- colony (KOL-uh-nee)
- group living together
- eusocial (yoo-SOH-shul)
- one big family
- tuber (TOO-ber)
- underground food root
- dialect (DY-uh-lekt)
- local speech
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 Naked Mole-Rats take to read aloud?
It has 10 pages and 1432 words, so about 11 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 Naked Mole-Rats?
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.
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.