by Elaine Gallagher

These stories definitely are NOT intended to be used as a quiz, homework, or class assignment!

READING ALOUD is a stimulating technique to promote oral listening and spoken fluency for children of all ages.  DAILY reading aloud, for all ages, is our goal. The same story can be read several times during a week. The students actually enjoy hearing them over and over, because the tale will begin to make more sense, and fluency builds.

Following are three more stories for 1^st graders.

Reading aloud to students

  (Eager and apt readers, may also read these stories by themselves.)

 Note: Words in BOLD PRINT are suggested vocabulary words

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 IN MY CLOSET

                 I wonder what is in my closet.  It is time to clean my clothes closet because the weather is getting cold and rainy. I need to put my clothesin order.

(SHOW: a closet with clothes hanging inside, and messy stuff in the closet, on the floor..)

                 I will put the clothes for hot weather together.  I love my skirtwith the butterfly shapes. I wear it in hot weather.  My sandals, my purple shorts with rectangle shapes, the orange dress with theyellow butterfly on the shoulder, and the short dress with triangles all will be on one side of my closet.  I will not need them until hot weather comes again in summer.  I will miss my clothes with the butterfly shapesbecause I think that a butterfly is so beautiful!

(SHOW: several butterflies….and a variety of clothes: sandals, shorts with rectangle shapes,, and a dress with triangle shapes, and another dress with a butterfly shape on the shoulder.)

                 Now I will look at my clothes for cold and rainy weather.  They will be in the middle of my closet.  I will need my purple umbrella for the rainy days.   My black shoes and warm socks  I will need every day when it is cold.

I need a hat, a sweater, pants, a warm shirt, and a jacket, for the cold days. My blouse with long sleeves will also keep me warm.

I am now done organizing my closet.  It feels good.  Here comes my mother.

“Thank you, Ceci, for cleaning your closet.  It looks so good!  I am so proud of you!”

“You’re welcome, Mommy. It feels good to be organized. I will miss my clothes for the hot weather because I love the butterfly shapes.”

Ceci’s mother said, “Winter will be gone soon. Then you can enjoy your clothes for hot weather and see the real butterflies, not just the butterfly shapes on your clothes.”

Now that you know about Ceci’s clothes in her closet, what is her favorite shape?

You’re RIGHT!   A butterfly!  Now you will make a butterfly to take home with you.

THE  END

(Students: will make a butterfly. Using a cardboard frame and tissue paper for the wings, will make it look nice!)

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(SHOW: various toys on the floor and on shelves in a bedroom)

 MY FAVORITE TOYS

                 “Jorge, please clean your room”, said his mother.

“Mama wants me to clean my room. I have toys all over the floor,” thought Jorge. “Here is my toy car and the white truck.  I want to keep them. These are my favorite toys.”

(SHOW: a toy car and toy truck in the hands of a little boy.)

                 Over there are more toys. Jorge saw an airplane, a game of dominoes, a toy boat, and a pink ball, that was his sister’s.  The doll was his sister’s, too.

(SHOW: a toy airplane, a ball, and a doll.)

                 In the corner were more toys.  There were seven blocks, and a teddy bear , and six more toy cars.   There was a bridge made from blocks.  Jorge used the bridge  to drive his toy cars over there to the other side.  He would blow a whistle when he wanted to drive the cars and white truck over the bridge.

(SHOW: a teddy bear a bridge made of blocks, a whistle, and some toy cars.)

                 Jorge loved to play with his toys.  He wanted a rocket, but he did not have one. His mother said that he had to clean his room.  Jorge put all his toys on a shelf.  His room looked good!  It was clean.

(SHOW: shelves with toys on them: cars, a truck, blocks, a doll, a ball, a boat, an airplane…all neatly arranged.)

                 When Jorge was finished, his mother came to see his room. She was very happy.  “Thank you, Jorge”, said his mother.

“You’re welcome”, said Jorge to his mother.

Jorge’s mother said, “Now we will make a rocket! You cleaned your room.  It looks good!  Let us go to the kitchen.  I will teach you how to make a rocket!”

“Thank you, mama”, said Jorge.  Then they went to the kitchen to make a rocket.

(SHOW: a rocket)

END

(Now the students will make a rocket.)

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(SHOW:  a street with several buildings, and a bus, and a taxi driving on the street.)

MY NEIGHBORHOOD

                 Ana Elisa and her brother, Ramon, live in the city.  There are many cars and buses, and taxis. On their street are eight stores and offices.

Ana Elisa and Ramon take a bus to school because the school is far from their house. The bus driver is very nice.  He stops for them every school  day.  The police officer helps them cross the street to catch the bus. He holds their hands so they can cross the street safely.

(SHOW:  a police officer crossing the street with a boy and a girl holding his hand.)

                 One day, a fire truck drove quickly down the street.  There was a firefighter on each side of the fire truck.  Ramon counted the firefighters.

“There are nine firefighters on the fire truck!” shouted Ramon.

“There are many”, said Ana Elisa. She began to count them. “One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight…and nine!” Ana Lisa was proud she could count all the way to twenty.  The fire truck passed by quickly.

(SHOW: a fire truck speeding by)

                 After school, Ramon and Ana Elisa’s mother called a taxi because she wants to go to the doctor for a checkup, and there were bo buses to get there.   The taxi driver arrived in eight minutes and drove them to the doctor’s office.

The nurse asked, “What do you want?”

“I want a checkup because I have a cold,” mother said to the nurse.

(SHOW a doctor checking a woman.)

                 When the doctor checked Ana Elisa’s and Ramon’s mother, he told her that she needed to take two aspirins, drink juice, and rest in bed.

Then they went to the drug store.  Mother told the salesperson to please sell her a bottle of aspirins. When she bought the aspirins, they took a taxi home, and mother went to bed to rest.

“Don’t forget”, said Mother. “Tomorrow you both have a dentist appointment.  We will go at 11:-00 a.m. because tomorrow is Saturday. There is no school tomorrow. Now I will rest.”

(SHOW: a woman in bed resting.)

                Ana Elisa and Ramon watched TV.  They also want to draw pictures, but could not find a pencil.

“Let’s  make a pencil,” said Ramon.

“How?” asked Ana Elisa.

“I will show you,” said her brother.  “We can make a pencil for you, and  one for me.”

Ramon got some paper, and he showed Ana Elisa how to make a make-believe pencil out of paper.

“When we have a real pencil, we will make a list of all the helpers that we see in our neighborhood”, said Ramon.  “There is the firefighter, the taxi  driver, the bus driver, and the salesperson.”

“Also, “said Ana Elisa, “ there is the doctor, the nurse, the dentist, and the police officer.”

(SHOW: a police officer, a firefighter, a doctor, and a nurse)

                 “There are many helpers that are near our home”, said Ramon.  “Now let’s make pencils.”

 (SHOW: two pencils)

THE END

(NOTE TO TEACHER: Now the students will each make a pencil.)

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