The Lost and Found Desk: read-along
The Lost and Found Desk as a read-along for the projector: 12 pages, 1289 words, level 11, grade 6.
Page 1 of 12
SEPTEMBER. The lost-and-found at Harlan Middle was not a room. It was a gray metal desk under the back stairs, with a shelf of orphaned things behind it and a custodian named Mr. Obuya, who whistled the same four notes whenever he was thinking. Nico Ruiz found it on the third day of sixth grade, because he wanted the one place in the building where nobody would ask him anything out loud. His words stuck at the front, like a coat on a hook, so he carried a notebook of questions and kept his mouth shut.
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
- 12 pages, 1289 words, about 10 minutes aloud
- A story, gentle
Related
About The Lost and Found Desk
Nico stutters, so he keeps his questions in a notebook, until a custodian lets him help run the lost-and-found. Each month a lost thing leads to a kid who needs finding.
Words to preview
- orphaned (OR-fund)
- left without owner
- retainer (ree-TAY-ner)
- tooth holder
- claim (KLAYM)
- ask for as yours
- mouthpiece (MOWTH-pees)
- horn part
- stairwell (STAIR-wel)
- shaft of stairs
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 Lost and Found Desk take to read aloud?
It has 12 pages and 1289 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 Lost and Found Desk?
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.