RSD2 ALERT: Reading and Media Literacy
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ChromeBooks for 
e-Reading and e-Listening!

Chapter Books: Classic Fiction, Poetry, and Drama

What is a classic? For our elementary readers' discussion, a classic is a work of art, music, or literature that has been judged exemplary or outstanding by generations of viewers, readers, or listeners. Project Gutenberg, LibriVox, and Kindle CloudReader list free books, poetry, and plays that might be interesting to readers today that were published before 1926.

We have created a list of some of the books available on Project Gutenberg, Librivox, and Kindle CloudReader. They are not all of the thousands of books available, but we know they may be of interest to readers ready for classic literature. Parents may find some favorites to share as well.

When you are ten and born in the 21st century, it is often hard to get a accurate picture of what might be a classic, or published before 1926. After all, some students have asked Mr. Durden if he was at Bunker Hill or Gettysburg . . . 

The Book Seer

Book suggestions using prediction based upon the latest books you've enjoyed.

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http://bookseer.com/
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Project Gutenberg Classics--This is a volunteer effort to make digital books more widely available to readers, just as the Gutenberg press's movable type made books easier to copy in 15th century Europe. Check for your favorite classic books on this reader, which does not require any downloaded software or login. Keep track of your page number by bookmarking with Google Chrome.

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LibriVox Recordings--LibriVox has a growing library of audio recordings of classic fiction. These recordings will not usually be for storybooks, but for longer chapter books at higher Lexile ranges. 

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Kindle Cloud Reader--If your family has an Amazon account, with their permission (note, phone call, or e-mail) I will help you add the Kindle Cloud Reader application to your Chrome page.  Then, you may browse the Kindle Store for free books to deliver to the Cloud Reader. 

Often, Kindle will have one version of the book as a free (plain vanilla words only) book, and another listed for sale for $1.00-$5.00. Please do not select the book for sale--just get the simple book for free. After all, the story is the most important thing . . . 

Other Online Reading Sources
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Bibliomania: This site has more than 2,000 classic texts, plus study guides and reference books.
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Classic Bookshelf: This site has put many classic novels online, from Charles Dickens to Charlotte Bronte, students will likely need for high school and college literature courses.
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Classic Book Library: Genres here include historical fiction, history, science fiction, mystery, romance and children’s literature.
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Classic Literature Library: Focused on  British authors including Shakespeare and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
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Classic Reader: Here you can read Shakespeare, young adult fiction and more.
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The University of Pennsylvania hosts this book search and database.
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Online Library of Literature: Find full and unabridged texts of classic literature, including the Bronte sisters, Mark Twain and more.
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Page by Page Books: Find popular classic books by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and H.G. Wells, as well as presidential speeches on this site.
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Planet eBook: Download free classic literature titles here, from Dostoevsky to D.H. Lawrence to Joseph Conrad.
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​Read Print
: From George Orwell to Alexandre Dumas to George Eliot to Charles Darwin, this online library is stocked with the best classics.

Favorite Free Classic Books Online

Cover 
(Go ahead, judge a book by its cover)
Title, Author, 
Reading Counts
Project 
Gutenberg
LibriVox
Kindle Cloud
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The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, 
Mark Twain
Lexile 990, 24 points
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The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, 
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. 
 Lexile 1080, 25 points

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The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, 
Mark Twain
Lexile 950, 15 points

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Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, 
Lewis Carroll
Lexile 890, 12 points

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Anne of Green Gables, 
Lucy Maud Montgomery
Lexile 990, 22 points

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Around the World in 80 Days, 
Jules Verne
Lexile 1070, 15 points

Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, 
Benjamin Franklin
Lexile 1370, 19 points

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Ben-Hur, 
Lew Wallace
Lexile 990, 34 points

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The Black Arrow, 
Robert Louis Stevenson
Lexile 980, 18 points

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The Call of the Wild, 
Jack London
Lexile 1120, 9 points

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A Christmas Carol, 
Charles Dickens
Lexile 1080, 8 points

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The Count of Monte Cristo, 
Alexandre Dumas
Lexile 930, 35 points

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Dracula, 
Bram Stoker
Lexile 990, 34 points

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The Hound of the Baskervilles, 
Arthur Conan Doyle
Lexile 1090, 15 points

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The Jungle Book, 
Rudyard Kipling
Lexile 1140, 28 points

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Kidnapped, 
Robert Louis Stevenson
Lexile 990, 18 points

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Little Women, 
Louisa May Alcott
Lexile 1300, 39 points

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The Lord of the Rings:
​Three Volumes in One
J.R.R. Tolkien
Lexile 860, 74 points
lord_of_the_rings_the.epub
File Size: 7060 kb
File Type: epub
Download File

lord_of_the_rings_the.mobi
File Size: 8817 kb
File Type: mobi
Download File

_the_hobbit.epub
File Size: 4283 kb
File Type: epub
Download File

the_hobbit.mobi
File Size: 4912 kb
File Type: mobi
Download File

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The Hobbit
J.R.R. Tolkien
Lexile 1000, 21 points
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the_hobbit_tolkien.pdf
File Size: 4146 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File


​The Two Towers

J.R.R. Tolkien
Lexile 810, 31 points

02-the-two-towers.pdf
File Size: 1966 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

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The Fellowship of the Ring
J.R.R. Tolkien
Lexile 860, 34 points
01-the-fellowship-of-the-ring.pdf
File Size: 2502 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

The Return of the King
J.R.R. Tolkien
Lexile 920, 27 points
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03-the-return-of-the-king.pdf
File Size: 6444 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

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The Old Man and the Sea
Ernest Hemingway
Lexile 940, 6 points
hemingway_the_old_man_and_the_sea_1952.pdf
File Size: 262 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

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Oliver Twist, 
Charles Dickens
Lexile 990, 40 points

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Peter Pan, 
J.M. Barrie
Lexile 920, 11 points

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The Phantom of the Opera 
Gaston Leroux
Lexile 910, 19 points

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The Red Badge of Courage, 
Stephen Crane
Lexile 900, 10 points

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A Tale of Two Cities, 
Charles Dickens
Lexile 1130, 32 points

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The Three Musketeers, 
Alexandre Dumas
Lexile 960, 41 points

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The Time Machine, 
H.G. Wells
Lexile 1070, 9 points

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Treasure Island, 
Robert Louis Stevenson
Lexile 1100, 17 points

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20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, 
Jules Verne
Lexile 1030, 23 points

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Uncle Tom's Cabin, 
Harriet Beecher Stowe
Lexile 1050, 40 points

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The War of the Worlds, 
H.G. Wells
Lexile 1170, 15 points

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The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, 
Frank Baum
Lexile 1000, 11 points

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Active Learning Experiences in Resourceful Thinking: Our  Mission

​The Richland School District Two ALERT program for academically gifted students, in association with families, the district and global community, affords each learner unique challenges to inspire the pursuit of highest academic standards by providing rigorous, differentiated curricula that cultivates excellence in leadership and life-long learning.
​


Website Updated:
10 December 2019
Webpage maintained by the Active Learning Experiences in Resourceful Thinking (ALERT)  and Scholarly Pursuits Always Reveal Knowledge (SPARK) classes of Richland School District Two, Columbia, South Carolina.
Please direct queries to Mr. Kevin Durden.