The Boxcar Children: read-along
The Boxcar Children as a read-along for the projector: 20 pages, 1395 words, level 9, grade 4.
Page 1 of 20
Once there were four children who had no mother or father to take care of them. Henry was the oldest, and Jess was twelve, and Violet was a quiet, clever girl. The youngest was Benny, who was five years old and always hungry. They had heard that their grandfather was a hard man who would not want them. So they made up their minds to look after themselves.
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 9, Grade 4
- 20 pages, 1395 words, about 10 minutes aloud
- A classic tale, gentle
Related
About The Boxcar Children
Four children with nobody to take care of them run away in the night and look for a place to hide. In the woods they find an old freight car, a waterfall, and a very good use for a dump.
Words to preview
- freight (FRAYT)
- carried goods
- haystack (HAY-stak)
- big pile of hay
- shelter (SHEL-ter)
- a safe place
- thorn
- sharp prickle
- dump
- place for old things
- hemmed (HEMD)
- sewed the edge
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 Boxcar Children take to read aloud?
It has 20 pages and 1395 words, so about 10 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 Boxcar Children?
Level 9, Grade 4. The library numbers its levels from 0 to 18 and puts the level of a book on its cover; level 9 sits at grade 4. 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.