The Haunting of Bench Seven: read-along
The Haunting of Bench Seven as a read-along for the projector: 13 pages, 1355 words, level 11, grade 6.
Page 1 of 13
The lie began, as most of the best ones do, because somebody was being annoying. It was a Monday in October, and Imogen Salt, the girl who knew everything, had just informed the entire lunch table that ghosts could not exist, for four separate reasons she had ready in alphabetical order. Wesley Wu, who was eleven and loved puns and could not leave a silence alone, looked across the schoolyard at the old green bench by the fence and said, "Bench Seven is haunted." Imogen raised one eyebrow. "By who?" "By Mr. Pennywhistle," said Wesley. He had no idea where the name had come from.
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 11, Grade 6
- 13 pages, 1355 words, about 10 minutes aloud
- A story, gentle
Related
About The Haunting of Bench Seven
To win an argument, Wesley Wu says the old green bench in the schoolyard is haunted by a ghost named Mr. Pennywhistle, who answers notes. By Friday, the whole school is writing to him, and Wesley is the one writing back.
Words to preview
- loiter (LOY-ter)
- hang about
- clarifying (KLAIR-ih-fy-ing)
- making clear
- predecessor (PRED-ih-ses-er)
- person before
- exaggeration (eg-zaj-er-AY-shun)
- stretching the truth
- fraud (FRAWD)
- pretending, cheating
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 Haunting of Bench Seven take to read aloud?
It has 13 pages and 1355 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 Haunting of Bench Seven?
Level 11, Grade 6. The library numbers its levels from 0 to 18 and puts the level of a book on its cover; level 11 sits at grade 6. 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. It is not copied from a published book.
Nothing you do here is sent to us. The voice is your browser's own. No sign-in, no ads.