The Blue Carbuncle: read-along
The Blue Carbuncle as a read-along for the projector: 12 pages, 1549 words, level 15, beyond grade 8.
Page 1 of 12
On the second morning after Christmas, I called upon my friend Sherlock Holmes to wish him the compliments of the season. I discovered him reclining on the sofa in his purple dressing-gown, surrounded by crumpled newspapers, with a shabby old hat lying upon the chair beside him; it was a battered black felt, cracked in several places and obviously far from clean. Holmes assured me that the hat was not connected with any crime. It belonged, he explained, to a commissionaire named Peterson, who had been walking home before dawn on Christmas morning when he observed a tall gentleman, carrying a goose, who was being attacked by a gang of ruffians. The gentleman had fled in alarm, abandoning both his hat and his Christmas dinner on the pavement.
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
- 12 pages, 1549 words, about 11 minutes aloud
- A classic tale, gentle
Related
About The Blue Carbuncle
Two days after Christmas, a battered hat and a goose lead Sherlock Holmes to a stolen jewel hidden in the least likely place. The thief is easy to find, but what Holmes does about him is the surprise.
Words to preview
- commissionaire (kuh-mish-uh-NAIR)
- uniformed doorman
- carbuncle (KAR-bunk-ul)
- precious stone
- deduce (dih-DOOS)
- work out
- alias (AY-lee-us)
- false name
- wager (WAY-jer)
- bet
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 The Blue Carbuncle take to read aloud?
It has 12 pages and 1549 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 The Blue Carbuncle?
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.