The White Seal: read-along
The White Seal as a read-along for the projector: 17 pages, 2003 words, level 12, grade 7.
Page 1 of 17
Every summer, hundreds of thousands of fur seals swim north out of the cold gray sea to a beach called Novastoshnah, on an island in the Bering Sea, because nowhere else in the world has such fine flat rocks for a seal's nursery. Sea Catch, a huge old male with a mane on his shoulders and the scars of a hundred fights, always arrived before the rest and spent a month battling for the best place beside the water. He never ate a mouthful while he stayed on the beach, and his temper was therefore dreadful. By the time his wife Matkah came ashore, soft-eyed and sleek, he had won his forty-fifth fight of the spring and could hardly lift his head.
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 12, Grade 7
- 17 pages, 2003 words, about 15 minutes aloud
- A classic tale, a little spooky
Related
About The White Seal
A fur seal is born white on a crowded northern beach, and he learns that men come every year to drive his friends away. Nobody else cares, so he swims across the oceans to find an island where his people will be safe.
Words to preview
- holluschickie (hol-oo-SHIK-ee)
- young male seals
- porpoise (POR-pus)
- small, dolphin-like whale
- walrus (WAWL-rus)
- huge tusked sea animal
- mane (MAYN)
- long neck fur
- bachelors (BACH-uh-lerz)
- young unmated males
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 White Seal take to read aloud?
It has 17 pages and 2003 words, so about 15 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 White Seal?
Level 12, Grade 7. The library numbers its levels from 0 to 18 and puts the level of a book on its cover; level 12 sits at grade 7. 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.