The Pied Piper of Hamelin: read-along
The Pied Piper of Hamelin as a read-along for the projector: 16 pages, 1717 words, level 13, grade 8.
Page 1 of 16
Hamelin was a pleasant old town in Germany, built of timber and stone beside the deep, wide river Weser. It had a cobbled market square with a splashing fountain, a church with a magnificent spire, and narrow streets where the tall houses leaned together as if they were whispering secrets. The townspeople were comfortable and prosperous, and they were exceedingly proud of their town. But in the summer of 1284, Hamelin had a terrible problem, a problem that no amount of money or pride could solve. The town was completely overrun with rats, more rats than anybody could possibly have imagined, and every week there seemed to be twice as many.
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
- 16 pages, 1717 words, about 13 minutes aloud
- A classic tale, gentle
Related
About The Pied Piper of Hamelin
The town of Hamelin is overrun with rats until a stranger in a coat of red and yellow pipes them all away, for a thousand guilders. When the mayor won't pay, the piper plays a different tune, and the children follow.
Words to preview
- pied (PIDE)
- two-colored, patchy
- guilders (GIL-derz)
- old coins
- council (KOWN-sul)
- town leaders
- vermin (VUR-min)
- pest animals
- procession (pruh-SESH-un)
- long parade
- bargain (BAR-gin)
- a deal
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 Pied Piper of Hamelin take to read aloud?
It has 16 pages and 1717 words, so about 13 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 Pied Piper of Hamelin?
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.
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.