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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PARTY TIME

             “My birthday is next week, on Friday, but I will have my birthday party on Saturday, because on that day, there is no school,” said Samantha to her friend, Mari. 

             “What do you want for a present?” asked Mari.

             “I do not need a gift. I will be happy if the children from our class in school are at my birthday party.

(SHOW: Two girls talking.)

            “How old will you be next Friday?”

            “I will be eight years old.  I want nine birthday candles on my cake.  Eight for my age, and one for good luck!” exclaimed Samantha.

            Samantha began to plan her birthday party.  She sat on a chair near her bed, and made a list of food for her party.

            “Let’s make a list for my party, Mari. Will you please help me?”

            “O.K. Samantha,” replied Mari.

            Mari and Samantha began to plan.  Samantha wrote:

•             Hamburger sandwich and hot dogs
•             Cookies and birthday cake
•             Pizza
•             Milk shakes made with ice cream and milk
•             Sodas

             “It sounds delicious! What else do we need?” asked Mari.

             “We need to have fun, too. We can swing on the swings, we can fly a kite, and we can play ‘fish’ with paper fish and magnets,” answered Samantha.

             “I have an idea, too,” exclaimed Mari.  “On Wednesday or Thursday, I can go to the big oak tree and pick up acorns that have fallen from the tree.

            We can use them for a game I know.  I can teach the game at your party.

            We blow up balloons, and then try to hit the balloons with the acorns. If you break a balloon, you win.”

            “That sounds like fun.  What’s an acorn?” asked Samantha.

            “It’s a nut, a big seed that the oak trees drop.  If you plant them, they can grow into big oak trees.”

(SHOW: a big oak tree and tiny acorns on the ground below the tree.)

             The two girls went to the kitchen to give the list to Samantha’s mother. She read the list, and said, “ Samantha, it sounds like you will have a wonderful birthday party!  I am glad that Mari is able to help you.  I think we will have all the food you have on your list because I want you to have the best birthday I can give you! “

            Mari and Samantha looked at each other and smiled, and Samantha gave her mother a big hug!

(SHOW: a girl hugging her mother.)

THE END

TEACHER: You will show students how to make an acorn using origami if you know how. If not, look one up, and have students draw an acorn, then a big oak tree, with little acorns on the tree..  Since most kids will not know what an acorn is, try to locate real acorns, and bring some to class for the students to see and touch.

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TIME TO CLEAN MY ROOM

            Ricardo is eleven years old. His mother always says, “Please, clean your room! It’s a mess! Keep your toys in the toy box, not on the floor, not under your bed.”

            But every day, Ricardo’s room was a mess. He put a toy plane in the toy box, but the rest of his toys were under the bed, on the bed, or in the closet. 

(SHOW: a bedroom with tons of toys all over the place, a real mess.)

            One day, when Ricardo’s mother was cleaning the house, she went into Ricardo’s room. “What’s this?” she asked, picking up a vegetable on the floor.

            “I don’t know what it is, Mama. What color is it, I’m not sure?”

(SHOW: an eggplant)

            Mother answered, “It’s dark purple and green. I think it is an eggplant. What’s an eggplant doing in your room? Ricardo, I want you to clean your room. It is a big mess! Where is your toy box?”

            Ricardo felt sad that his mother was angry.  He answered, “The eggplant vegetable I found in the back yard. It was growing under the tree. The toys are a mess because I put my toy box in the closet so I do not see it.  I promise, I will clean my room now.”

            His mother left Ricardo’s room and brought the eggplant to the kitchen to wash it and to cook it.

            Ricardo began to clean his room.  “Where’s my bike?” he thought to himself.  “I remember, it’s in the garage. I will make mama happy.  I will finally clean my room.”

            He found his toy box and took it out of the closet.  He found eighteen marbles under his bed.  He put the eighteen marbles in the toy box. Then he saw twelve blocks on the floor.  He put the twelve blocks in the toy box.  There also were seventeen small toy cars all over the room.  What a mess!  His mother was right! Ricardo put the seventeen toy cars in his toy box.

(SHOW:  a boy putting toys in a toy box, with blocks, cars, all over.)

             Ricardo continued to clean.  He found a doll under the bed.  It was a G.I. Joe doll, with army stuff for boys to play with.  Then he picked up his kite and his skates, putting them in his toy box.  It was starting to get full, but he knew that he had more toys to clean from his room.

            He found a bunch of tennis balls, maybe fourteen or fifteen.  He put them all in the toy box.  Ricardo was almost done.  He found a toy boat, with the number ‘thirteen’ painted on the side.  It was old.  He had had it since he was a small boy.

            Ricardo looked around his room.  Wow!  It is clean! It is clean! All the toys were in the toy box. “Mama!  Come to see my room.”

            Ricardo’s mother went into his room.  She looked around.  She looked in the closet.  She looked on the bed.  She looked under the bed. 

(SHOW: a woman standing in a bedroom, looking around.  The room is clean. There is a toy box in the room.) 

            Mother smiled.  “Ricardo, thank you! Thank you!  Your room is finally clean.  There is no mess.  All the toys are in the toy box. I am so happy! I hope you will always keep your room clean like this. Thank you, Ricardo.”

            Ricardo smiled, and hugged his mother.  He thought, “I will always keep my toys organized so Mama will be happy.”

(SHOW: Mother and Ricardo hugging.)

THE END

 TEACHERS: You will show the children how to make an origami eggplant or to draw an eggplant.  Since most of the children do not know what an eggplant is, bring one to school to show them.

 SECOND GRADE

TIME FOR ACTION!

             Having fun is what all children want to do and love to do.  Brothers, sisters, friends, everyone…they all are happy having fun.  What do they do?  They are doing many things.

(SHOW several kids: one is jumping rope, another is reading, another is riding a bike.)

             They play ball, kicking it or catching the ball.  They ride a bike, riding a bike as fast as they can. Children love to have fun.  Fun can be quiet, like reading, and watching TV, or it can be active, like jumping the rope if they have a jump rope, or flying a kite, or skating with ice skates.

            Some boys and girls like to play with a puppet, and clap when the show is done. They like running, and singing, and swimming.  Others like dancing and doing things like having a picnic, eating under the sun , sitting in the grass, watching grasshoppers jump.

            After a very busy day, having fun, most boys and girls want to sleep because they are tired. They had fun, they played, and they now they are tired, so they go to bed. As they are sleeping, they may dream this poem that they learned in school:

(SHOW : a person sleeping in bed, with bubbles coming from the head, as if he is dreaming.)

(SHOW: a hat with a rose on it, a grasshopper on top of a hat that an elephant is wearing, and show a fat cat…….it’s a dream)

THE END

 TEACHER: Showstudents how to make an origami grasshopper OR show them a picture of an enlarged grasshopper so they can see the details.  Note how many legs and how many body segments it has. (6 legs, 3 body parts are the distinguishing characteristics of all insects.) Then have the students draw a grasshopper, or, in pairs, they can make a 3 dimensional grasshopper using pipe cleaners or other objects. Be creative.

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                   THE END OF SECOND GRADE STORIES

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