The Nutcracker: read-along
The Nutcracker as a read-along for the projector: 18 pages, 1561 words, level 10, grade 5.
Page 1 of 18
On Christmas Eve, Marie and her brother Fritz were not allowed into the best parlor all day long. They sat in a corner of the nursery and whispered about what might be going on behind the closed doors. Only one person knew the secret, and that was their godfather, Drosselmeier, a tall, thin man with a patch over one eye and a wig made of spun glass. He was also the cleverest clockmaker in the whole town, and he made marvelous wonders out of wheels and springs.
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 10, Grade 5
- 18 pages, 1561 words, about 12 minutes aloud
- A classic tale, a little spooky
Related
About The Nutcracker
On Christmas Eve, a girl named Marie falls in love with a nutcracker doll that nobody else wants to look after. At midnight the toys wake up, and a Mouse King with seven heads comes for her friend.
Words to preview
- clockwork (KLOK-wurk)
- wind-up machinery
- regiment (REJ-ih-ment)
- army group
- hussars (huh-ZARZ)
- horse soldiers
- marzipan (MAR-zih-pan)
- almond candy
- kernel (KUR-nul)
- inside of nut
- spell (SPEL)
- magic curse
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 Nutcracker take to read aloud?
It has 18 pages and 1561 words, so about 12 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 Nutcracker?
Level 10, Grade 5. The library numbers its levels from 0 to 18 and puts the level of a book on its cover; level 10 sits at grade 5. 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.