Rain's Long Trip: read-aloud with discussion questions
Read Rain's Long Trip aloud on the projector: 11 pages of big type with each word lit as it is said, 193 words (about a minute), level 7, grade 2, and 5 questions to talk about.
Page 1 of 11
This drop of water has a secret. Here is its trip, from the sea.
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 the questions come up on the screen. The same questions are below, with what to listen for.
About this book
- Level 7, Grade 2
- 11 pages, 193 words, about a minute aloud
- A true book, gentle
Related
About Rain's Long Trip
A 193-word follow-the-drop text that tells the water cycle as one drop's trip: sea, vapor, cloud, rain, stream, river, sea again. The order is clear enough for children to draw and retell, and the last lines connect the cycle to the water in a drinking glass.
Follow one drop of water from the sea, up into a cloud, down as rain and back again. It is a very old trip, and it is not the drop's first.
Before you read
Hold up a glass of water and ask where it has been. Tell the class that the book follows one drop, and ask them to listen for each place it goes.
Words to preview
- vapor (VAY-per)
- hidden water
- cloud (KLOWD)
- tiny drops
- stream (STREEM)
- small river
- rain (RAYN)
- falling water
Questions to talk about
- Where does the drop start, and what happens when the sun shines?Listen for: In the sea. The sun warms it and it turns into vapor, which is water you cannot see.
- In what order does the drop make its trip?Listen for: Sea, vapor rising, a cloud of tiny drops, rain falling on a hill, a little stream, a river, and back to the sea. Draw it as a circle.
- How much of Earth's water is in the ocean, according to the book?Listen for: Almost all of it: 96 cups out of every 100. Ask the class to picture a hundred cups on a table.
- The book says the air around you has vapor in it right now. Why can't you see it?Listen for: The book says vapor is water you cannot see.
- What does the book mean when it says the water in your glass has been rain before?Listen for: Water goes round and round and almost all of it is very old, so the water we drink has been through the cycle many times.
Questions
How long does Rain's Long Trip take to read aloud?
It has 11 pages and 193 words, so about a minute 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 Rain's Long Trip?
Level 7, Grade 2. The library numbers its levels from 0 to 18 and puts the level of a book on its cover; level 7 sits at grade 2. 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.