The Odyssey: read-along
The Odyssey as a read-along for the projector: 13 pages, 1954 words, level 16, beyond grade 8.
Page 1 of 13
"Tell me, Muse, about the man of many turns," begins the oldest adventure story in Europe, and the man is Odysseus, king of the rocky island of Ithaca, the most ingenious of all the Greek commanders. For ten years he had battled in the war against Troy, and it was Odysseus who eventually concluded it, by inventing the hollow wooden horse that smuggled Greek soldiers inside the city walls. Then he set sail for home with twelve ships, anticipating a voyage of a few weeks; instead, it occupied another ten years. Meanwhile, in his palace on Ithaca, his wife Penelope waited, and his son Telemachus, a baby when his father departed, matured into a young man. More than a hundred arrogant noblemen had moved into the palace, devouring the king's cattle and consuming his wine, and every one of them insisted that Odysseus was dead and that Penelope must marry one of them.
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 16, beyond grade 8
- 13 pages, 1954 words, about 14 minutes aloud
- A classic tale, a little spooky
Related
About The Odyssey
After ten years of war at Troy, clever Odysseus sets sail for his island home, and it takes him ten more years to get there. Past a one-eyed giant, a bag of winds, a witch who turns men into pigs, the singing Sirens and a six-headed monster, he comes home in rags to a palace full of enemies and a wife who has never stopped waiting.
Words to preview
- suitors (SOO-terz)
- men seeking marriage
- shroud (SHROWD)
- burial cloth
- enchantress (en-CHANT-ress)
- witch
- prophet (PROF-it)
- fortune teller
- immortal (ih-MOR-tul)
- never dying
- impudence (IM-pyoo-dunce)
- rude boldness
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 Odyssey take to read aloud?
It has 13 pages and 1954 words, so about 14 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 Odyssey?
Level 16, 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.