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Twenty years after: read and explore
D'Artagnan, still a lowly lieutenant after two decades, is summoned by the despised…
About this reading
- Author
- Alexandre Dumas
- Form
- novel
Choose this reading by interest and comfort with the language. This catalog does not assign a school grade. Preview the text before reading with a child; classic works can contain unfamiliar language and historical attitudes.
Read Twenty years afterPreview the language: The Shade of Cardinal Richelieu
The Shade of Cardinal Richelieu. In a splendid chamber of the Palais Royal, formerly styled the Palais Cardinal, a man was sitting in deep reverie, his head supported on his hands, leaning over a gilt and inlaid table which was covered with letters and papers. Behind this figure glowed a vast fireplace alive with leaping flames; great logs of oak blazed and crackled on the polished brass andirons whose flicker shone upon the superb habiliments of the lonely tenant of …
Choose a phrase from this opening. What does it suggest, and which words support your interpretation? Read on to test your first impression.
A reading activity for Twenty years after
- Before opening the text, read the title and this catalog description: “D'Artagnan, still a lowly lieutenant after two decades, is summoned by the despised…” Write one question you hope the reading will answer.
- Read a short passage. Choose one sentence that helps you understand what is happening and explain which words support your interpretation.
- Choose one unfamiliar word. Guess its meaning from the surrounding words, then check a dictionary or discuss it with a reading partner.
- Return to your original question. Explain what the passage answered and what you still need to read to find out.
These are suggested discussion tasks, not a scored assessment or a claim that finishing the text establishes mastery.
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Source edition: Project Gutenberg record for Twenty years after. This link identifies the catalog source; it does not imply endorsement.
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Educators and independent learners
Learning goal: Read Twenty years after by Alexandre Dumas, then support an interpretation with words from the text.
Before you begin: Preview the language and historical context. Select a passage appropriate for your learners.
Check understanding: Ask for one observation, the evidence that supports it, and a question to investigate next.
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