The Boy Who Cried Wolf: read-aloud with discussion questions
Read The Boy Who Cried Wolf aloud on the projector: 17 pages of big type with each word lit as it is said, 335 words (about 2 minutes), level 7, grade 2, and 5 questions to talk about.
Page 1 of 17
A boy watched sheep on a hill above the village. Every day was exactly the same. The sheep ate grass and said baa.
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
- 17 pages, 335 words, about 2 minutes aloud
- A classic tale, gentle
Related
About The Boy Who Cried Wolf
A 335-word telling of the fable in which a bored shepherd boy shouts "Wolf!" twice for fun and a third time for real. It is built as three calls for help, so the class can follow the pattern and then see exactly where it breaks.
A bored shepherd boy shouts "Wolf!" just to see the village come running. It's a great joke, until the day a real wolf comes.
Before you read
Ask if anyone has told a joke that went too far. Tell the class that the boy in this book is bored, and ask what bored people sometimes do.
Words to preview
- village (VIL-ij)
- small town
- bored (BORD)
- not having fun
- tricked (TRIKT)
- fooled
- cross (KRAWS)
- a bit angry
- fibber (FIB-er)
- someone who lies
Questions to talk about
- Why does the boy shout "Wolf!" the first time?Listen for: He is bored and has an idea. The text calls it "not a good idea."
- What do the villagers do when they hear him, and how do they feel afterward?Listen for: They drop their work, grab sticks and hurry up the hill, and there is no wolf. They are cross.
- Why does nobody come the third time?Listen for: They think it is another trick. The text has them say "We will not be fooled again."
- What happens because nobody came?Listen for: The wolf scatters the sheep over the hills and into the woods, and it takes the boy all night to find them one by one.
- What does the old man mean by "Nobody believes a fibber, not even when he is telling the truth"? How does the story end?Listen for: People stop trusting someone who has lied. By the end the boy only tells the truth, and when he shouts "Wolf!" again the whole village comes.
Questions
How long does The Boy Who Cried Wolf take to read aloud?
It has 17 pages and 335 words, so about 2 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 Boy Who Cried Wolf?
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.
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.