The Hamster's Wild Design: read-along
The Hamster's Wild Design as a read-along for the projector: 12 pages, 1366 words, level 13, grade 8.
Page 1 of 12
My notebook for that spring has a column for time and a column for what the hamster was doing, and the second column is almost empty until dusk. Poppy, my family's Syrian hamster, slept through every afternoon I checked. Then at around nine she would emerge, stretch, and head for the wheel. My dad, who is the adult in charge of her care, told me that this is exactly what the RSPCA predicts, and I began to enjoy being proved right by a clock: wild hamsters are usually active only at dusk and at night, and can run up to five miles a day.
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 13, Grade 8
- 12 pages, 1366 words, about 10 minutes aloud
- A true book, gentle
Related
About The Hamster's Wild Design
Nia keeps a night log on her family's Syrian hamster and traces every rule of its care back to a wild burrow, a sharp nose, and a body built to stay hidden. Where careful sources disagree, the book says so.
Words to preview
- nocturnal (nok-TUR-nul)
- night active
- pheromones (FAIR-uh-mohnz)
- scent signals
- torpor (TOR-per)
- deep sleep
- incisor (in-SY-zer)
- front tooth
- hoard (HORD)
- store up
- terrestrial (tuh-RES-tree-ul)
- living on land
Questions that fit any book
- What is one new thing you learned from this book?
- Which page told you the most? What did it say?
- What would you still like to find out about this?
Questions
How long does The Hamster's Wild Design take to read aloud?
It has 12 pages and 1366 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 Hamster's Wild Design?
Level 13, Grade 8. The library numbers its levels from 0 to 18 and puts the level of a book on its cover; level 13 sits at grade 8. 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.