The War of the Worlds: read-along
The War of the Worlds as a read-along for the projector: 13 pages, 2104 words, level 18, beyond grade 8.
Page 1 of 13
At the end of the nineteenth century, nobody on Earth would have believed that our world was being watched, keenly and closely, by intelligences far greater than our own. Across the gulf of space, on the dying planet Mars, minds that were vast, cool and unsympathetic regarded our green and fertile world with envious eyes, and slowly and surely they drew their plans against us. The narrator of this story, a writer of philosophical essays who lived with his wife in the quiet town of Woking, in Surrey, south of London, first heard of the danger from a friend, the astronomer Ogilvy. Through Ogilvy's telescope, one summer night, he watched a tiny reddish planet swimming in the darkness, and observers around the world reported mysterious flashes of incandescent gas erupting from its surface, night after night, as though enormous guns were being fired. Ogilvy laughed at the idea of life on Mars. "The chances of anything coming from Mars," he declared, "are a million to one."
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 18, beyond grade 8
- 13 pages, 2104 words, about 16 minutes aloud
- A classic tale, a little spooky
Related
About The War of the Worlds
A falling star lands on a common outside London, and out of the metal cylinder crawl the first visitors from Mars. Soon giant three-legged fighting machines are striding across England with heat rays and black smoke, and one man runs, hides and watches as the mightiest armies on Earth fail, until something far smaller steps in.
Words to preview
- incandescent (in-kan-DES-unt)
- glowing hot
- cylinder (SIL-in-der)
- metal tube
- invulnerable (in-VUL-ner-uh-bul)
- unbeatable
- exodus (EK-suh-dus)
- mass escape
- curate (KYOOR-it)
- young clergyman
- bacteria (bak-TEER-ee-uh)
- tiny germs
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 War of the Worlds take to read aloud?
It has 13 pages and 2104 words, so about 16 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 War of the Worlds?
Level 18, 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.