The Pigeon Post: read-along
The Pigeon Post as a read-along for the projector: 15 pages, 1875 words, level 14, beyond grade 8.
Page 1 of 15
Teo's grandmother kept her pigeons in a loft at the bottom of her garden, a timber shed on stilts that had been painted, many years earlier, a peculiar shade of blue that nobody had chosen on purpose. Grandpa Ray had bought the tin of paint at a closing-down sale, she said, because it was cheap, and then discovered that it was the exact color of a swimming pool. The pigeons did not seem to mind. Every afternoon of the summer holidays Teo cycled the four streets to her house, scraped the droppings off the loft floor, and refilled the water fountains. Then he sat on an upturned bucket while forty birds walked over his shoes, muttering, as if he were a piece of furniture they had grown fond of.
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 14, beyond grade 8
- 15 pages, 1875 words, about 14 minutes aloud
- A story, a little spooky
Related
About The Pigeon Post
Teo's youngest racing pigeon keeps stopping on a mysterious rooftop garden, and a bird who stops cannot race. Then race day brings a falcon, and the roof turns out to matter more than anyone guessed.
Words to preview
- squab (SKWOB)
- young pigeon
- landmarks (LAND-marks)
- familiar sights
- magnetic (mag-NET-ik)
- like a magnet
- theory (THEER-ee)
- idea to test
- peregrine (PAIR-uh-grin)
- fast falcon
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 Pigeon Post take to read aloud?
It has 15 pages and 1875 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 Pigeon Post?
Level 14, 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.
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.