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

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

 NOTE: Words in BOLD PRINT are suggested vocabulary words.

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DRESS-UP NIGHT

 Marianna and Pedro were so excited! Their grandmother and grandfather were coming to Saltillo for a visit. They were arriving that evening. They would stay for two weeks at Marianna’s and Pedro’s house. The grandparents live in Madrid, very far away, so they did not come often.

(SHOW: a boy and a girl, about 8 and 10 years old.

ALSO: SHOW a small map of Mexico, with Saltillo indicated by a dot. ALSO: Show a map of SPAIN, with a dot indicating  Madrid.

            “What clothes are you going to be wearing tonight?” Mother asked Pedro and Marianna. “This is going to be a Dress-up Night. We need to look special to welcome grandmother and grandfather.”

             Marianna answered, “ This is great!  I love to dress up! I am going to wear a dress with a jacket, and black shoes and white socks,” answered Marianna.

             “What color dress?” Mother asked.

             “It is the yellow one with the yellow jacket,” she replied.

(SHOW: a dress, a jacket that matches the dress, a pair of shoes, and socks.

            “Pedro, what are you going to wear tonight?” Mother questioned.

             He replied, “I am going to wear brown pants, these tennis shoes, white socks, my blue shirt, and this blue sweater with the fox design on the pocket.”

(SHOW: a sweater, with a pocket, and a fox picture on the pocket.)

            “What’s the fox picture doing on the pocket?” Marianna asked.

             “It’s just a design,” Pedro told her.

             “What are you going to wear, Mother?” Marianna asked. 

             “I will be wearing a skirt and blouse, a sweater, and a hat because it will be cool tonight when we go to the bus station to meet Grandmother and Grandfather.”

             “What color are your clothes for tonight, Mother?” Pedro asked.

             She answered, “My skirt is black.  The blouse is pink. My sweater is black, too.  My shoes are black, and my hat is pink, like my blouse.”

             “We will look terrific when we go to the bus station tonight!” Mother said.

            “Now let’s finish cleaning the house so it will be ready for grandmother and grandfather when they arrive!  Tonight we will have Dress-up Night, and tomorrow we will begin to have fun enjoying their visit!” 

(SHOW: Mother, Pedro, and Marianna smiling.) 

THE END

(TEACHER: You will show the children a fox in a book or from Internet. Then, they can draw a fox. OR they can draw and color some of the clothes described in the story.) 

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I LOVE TO GO HOME.

            “Today, boys and girls, we are going to draw a map of your house,” said Mr. Aguirre, the second grade teacher of group 2-D.  He continued, “Each of you has a different house, so each of you will have a different map. See, here is a map of my house so you can see what you will do.”

(SHOW: a floor plan…map…of a house, with 2 bedrooms, a kitchen, a living/dining room, and a bathroom.)

            Mr. Aguirre had a big poster of a map of his house.  He pointed to the parts of the drawing and told his students about his house.

            “I love to go home after school and relax in my chair, reading a book or a newspaper, or watching TV.  Do you students like to go home, after school, too?” asked their teacher.

            “Yes,” many students answered.  Some students said they love to stay school and be with Mr. Aguirre, too.

            That is good,” he said.  “I am glad that you love to go home after school, and you love to be in school when you are here.  Now let me show you my house map.”

            Mr. Aguirre pointed.  “What’s this?” he asked.

            “The kitchen,” they replied.

            “What do you do in the kitchen?”

            “Cooking and eating,” the children answered.

            “What are these?” the teacher asked as he pointed to pictures from a magazine that he had glued on his house map.

            A rectangle object is the stove.  The round object, like a circle, is a table. The square object is the refrigerator.

            “What’s this, on the sink, Maria?” Mr. Aguirre asked.

            Maria replied that she did not know the word in English. No one knew, so Mr. Aguirre said, “Don’t worry.  We are learning.  That is a FAUCET. Water comes out of the faucet, into the sink.  Now, students, say ‘faucet’.”

            They all said the word, faucet.

            “Very good,” praised Mr. Aguirre. “Now let us continue looking at the house map so you can draw one of your house.”

(SHOW: a male teacher in front of a classroom of children.)

             Mr. Aguirre continued. “Now let us look at the house map.  What’s this? What do you see, Juan? ”

             “I see a bathroom.  It has a bathtub, a sink with a faucet, and a closet for towels.”

             “Very good,” said Juan’s teacher, Mr. Aguirre,

             “What do you see, girls?”

             All the girls answered, “A bedroom, with a bed, a table with a lamp, and a closet for clothes. Someone is sleeping on the bed.”

           “O.K. boys,” Mr. Aguirre asked, “What do you see that I am pointing to now?”

(SHOW: a living / dining room with a table, a TV on the table, a sofa, and a bookcase.)

             “We see a dining room and a living room together.  There is a sofa, a table with TV, a bookcase, a table to eat on, a triangle-shaped window, and some chairs.”

             “How many chairs?” asked Mr. Aguirre.

             “Four”, the students answered.

            “Where do people go to eat?”

             “The dining room…or the kitchen,” replied the class.

             “Where do we put books?”

             The students replied, “On the bookcase.”

             The teacher showed a picture of a boy playing with a toy car and girl watching TV .

             Then he asked, “What are they doing, Ana?”

             “She’s watching TV,” she replied. “And he’s playing with a car.”

             “O.K. class…the last question,” said Mr. Aguirre. “Who is sleeping in the bed?”

             The class looked at the picture, but they could not see who was in the bed. The person was covered with a blanket.

            “That question is too hard because we cannot see a person», students said.

             “You are right,” said their teacher.  I have another question.  “Who is swimming in that glass goldfish bowl?”

            The students laughed.  “That is easy, Mr. Aguirre!  It is our pet goldfish!”

 (SHOW: a goldfish swimming in a bowl.)

             “You did great work today.  You really know the parts of a house.  I bet you can make a map of your house and use magazine pictures to show furniture and people.  Next week we will work on a house map…For now, we are going to make something else.”

             “What, what???” asked the students. 

             “We will make a pet goldfish for you to take home!”

THE END

 (TEACHER: Show students how to make an origami goldfish, or make a gold fish by cutting out 2 fish shapes, color them yellow.  Make stuffing from a tissue, then staple or tape the 2 fish drawings together with the stuffing between them. Remember to make eyes, gills, and fins.  You could also make a classroom mural of an aquarium scene.)

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ANIMAL FRIENDS

             One day Junior, a big, big, big German Shepherd dog, decided he was going to go for a walk all by himself.  He wanted to see what was in the world outside his house. His name was Junior. 

(SHOW: a big German Shepherd dog)

            “It is a nice day, with the warm sun in the sky, so I will see what’s out there,” thought Junior.  He was a smart dog!

            First he saw a little, little, little bug. It was a lady bug. It did not see Junior, so Junior kept on walking.

            Then he saw something. “Is that a snake?” he asked himself. When he got closer, Junior saw that it was a worm, not a snake.  So, he kept on walking.

(SHOW: a picture of a hippopotamus, seen small, as if from a distance.)

            “Wow!  It’s a hippopotamus!” said Junior to himself.  But when he got closer, he was disappointed. “It’s only a horse. 

(SHOW: a horse)

            Junior kept on walking.  He saw a cat, a cow, and a duck in front of a barn. “They’re friendly I hope.  I will say something to them,” thought Junior.

            “Hi!” Junior shouted to the animals. “Will you be my friends?”

            “Yes, we will be your friend.  Where do you live?” the animals asked Junior.

            “I live in the white house with the big tree in front. It’s not far from here.”

            “Good,” said Junior’s new friends. “You can come to visit us every afternoon when the sun is out,” the horse said.  “The cat does not fight with dogs, so you have to be good to her.”

            “OK, I will be good, “Junior said to the horse.  “See you tomorrow.  I have to walk home now.”

            On his way home, Junior saw a bird fly over his head.

(SHOW: a German Shepherd dog walking, and a bird flying by over his head.)

             Then he saw a small pond.  In the pond were a fish and a frog. The fish swam away quickly when he saw Junior.  The frog hopped away quickly when he saw Junior.

            “I guess they don’t want to be my animal friends,” thought Junior. “But I have my new friends, the cat, the cow, and the horse , so I am happy. I had a good walk and a good visit with my new animal friends.” 

THE  END

 TEACHER: Teach the students how to make a horse.  First show them a picture, so they can have a guide to use when they draw and color the ho

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