The Call of the Wild: read-along
The Call of the Wild as a read-along for the projector: 13 pages, 2001 words, level 15, beyond grade 8.
Page 1 of 13
Buck did not read the newspapers, or he would have understood that trouble was approaching. In the summer of 1897, prospectors had discovered gold in the frozen Klondike, in the remote Canadian north, and thousands of adventurers were stampeding there, every one of them desperate for powerful dogs with heavy coats to haul their sleds across the snow. Buck was exactly that variety of dog. He weighed a hundred and forty pounds, half Saint Bernard and half Scottish shepherd, and he lived like an aristocrat on Judge Miller's sunny estate in the Santa Clara Valley of California. He swam in the reservoirs with the judge's sons, escorted the judge's daughters on their morning expeditions, and dozed in front of the library fireplace on winter evenings. For four years he had governed the entire property, the lawns, the stables and the orchards, and he had never imagined that existence could be different.
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
- 13 pages, 2001 words, about 15 minutes aloud
- A classic tale, a little spooky
Related
About The Call of the Wild
Buck, a big, pampered dog from a sunny California estate, is stolen and sold to pull sleds in the frozen Klondike gold rush. He learns the hard law of the north, finds one man he would die for, and hears a wild call from the forest that grows louder every night.
Words to preview
- prospectors (PROS-pek-terz)
- gold hunters
- instincts (IN-stinkts)
- inborn urges
- rivalry (RY-vul-ree)
- contest
- traces (TRAY-siz)
- harness straps
- torrent (TOR-ent)
- rushing water
- muse (MYOOZ)
- think deeply
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 Call of the Wild take to read aloud?
It has 13 pages and 2001 words, so about 15 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 Call of the Wild?
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.