For Beginners 1 & 2

(START READING)
1. Going to the Zoo

She goes to the zoo. She sees a lion.

The lion roars. She sees an elephant.
The elephant has a long trunk. She
sees a turtle. The turtle is slow. She
sees a rabbit. The rabbit has soft fur.
She sees a gorilla. The gorilla is eating
a banana.

What are the animals in the story?

VOCABULARY

1. banana 8. see

2. eat 9. slow

3. elephant 10. soft

4. fur 11. trunk

5. gorilla 12. turtle

6. lion 13. zoo

7. rabbit
 2. Christmas Time

It is Christmas. Dad gives Tim a toy.

The toy is in the box. Tim takes off the
lid. He sees the toy. It is a car. The car
is red. The car makes noises. The car
moves fast. Tim likes the gift. He hugs
his dad. Dad smiles.

VOCABULARY

1. box
2. car
3. Christmas
4. fast
5. gift
6. give
7. hug
8. lid
9. make
10.noise
11.red
12.smile
13.take
14.toy
 3. She Goes to the Nurse

She goes out to play. She runs

around. She falls down. It hurts. She
cries. She gets up. She goes to the
nurse. The nurse is nice. She looks
friendly. The nurse gives her a lollipop.
It tastes good. The nurse gives her a
bandage. She is okay now. She walks
back to class.

VOCABULARY

1. play
2. run
3. around
4. fall
5. down
6. hurt
7. cry
8. nurse
9. look
10.friendly
11.lollipop
12.taste
13.bandage
14.class
 4. Waiting

The kids are in class. The teacher is

teaching math. The kids are tired.
They want to play. They want to see
the sun. They like slides. They also
like swings. They don't like math. They
stare at the clock. The clock moves
slowly. The kids continue to wait.

VOCABULARY

1. class
2. clock
3. Continue
4. kid
5. math
6. slide
7. slowly
8. stare
9. swing
10.teacher
11.tired
12.wait
 5. Chores

He is playing video games. Mom gets

mad. She thinks he is lazy. She gives
him a list of chores. He frowns. He looks
at the list. He has to clean the floors.
Then, he has to wash the dishes. Finally,
he has to feed the dog. He starts doing
his chores.

VOCABULARY

1. chore
2. clean
3. dish
4. feed
5. finally
6. floor
7. frown
8. game
9. lazy
10. list
11. mad
12. mom
13. start
14. think
15. video
 16. wash

6. The First Song

She sits in the car. Her dad turns on

the radio. A song plays. She taps her
feet. She sways her head. Her dad
laughs at her. He likes the song too.
The song is over. The radio plays a
different song. She does not like the
new song. She sits quietly.

VOCABULARY

1. Dad 8. Quietly

2. Car 9. Radio

3. Different 10. Sit

4. Feet 11. Song

5. Head 12. Sway

6. Laugh 13. Tap

7. Over 14. Turn
 7. Visiting the Doctor

Haley feels hot. Her mom touches

her forehead. Haley has a fever. The
mom takes Haley to a doctor. The
doctor is kind. He gives her a sticker.
He tells her to take a pill. He tells her
to drink a lot of water. Haley goes
home. She takes the pill and drinks
water. She does this for three days.
She is healthy again.

VOCABULARY

1. again 8. hot
2. doctor 9. kind
3. drink 10.pill
4. feel 11.sticker
5. fever 12.tell
6. forehead 13.touch
7. healthy 14.visit
 8. Different Foods

Sara is hungry. She goes to the

kitchen. She opens the cabinet. There
are a lot of snacks. The marshmallows
are too sweet. The potato chips are
too salty. The ice cream is too watery.
The kiwis are too sour. The cereal is
too bland. Her dad comes home. He
gives her crackers. The crackers are
perfect.

VOCABULARY

1.bland 6.different 11.open

2.cabinet 7.hungry 12.perfect

3.cereal 8.kitchen 13.potato

4.chips 9.kiwis 14.salty

5.cracker 10.marshmallow 15.snack

16.sour

17.sweet

18.watery

9. The Corner

Jill does not like math. Jill starts talking

about food. Her friends laugh. They stop
doing their homework. The teacher is
upset. She tells them to stand in the
corner. Jill goes to the corner. It is hard to
be quiet. She thinks about her family. She
thinks about her dog. Five minutes pass.
The teacher lets her go.

VOCABULARY

1. corner 5. homework 9. minute

2. food 6. laugh 10. pass

3. friend 7. let 11. quiet

4. hard 8. math 12. stand

 13. start 16. upset

14. stop

15. talk
10. A Surprise Party

It is Lily's birthday. She gets out of bed.

Nobody says anything to her. Her mom
takes her to school. Her friends do not
say anything. The teacher does not say
anything. Lily is sad. Lily walks home
alone. She opens the door. Her friends
and family are holding a cake. They say,
"Surprise Lily!"

VOCABULARY

1. alone 6. door

2. anything 7. friend

3. bed 8. hold

4. birthday 9. open

5. cake 10. party

11. sad 13. surprise

12. school

11. A New Pet

Kate is walking. She sees a dog.

The dog wags its tail. Kate likes the
dog. It has no collar. Kate takes it
home. She washes the dog. She
names him "Toby." She takes Toby to
the vet. Toby is healthy. Kate walks
Toby every day. They love each other.
VOCABULARY

1.collar 6.other

2.dog 7.pet

3.each 8.tail

4.healthy 9.vet

5.love 10.wag
11.walk 12.wash

12. Group Project

Ms. Howard assigns a project. She wants the students to

work in groups. Adam works with Joe and Bill. Adam is

smart. Joe draws well. Bill is cooperative. They make a good

group. They turn in their project. Ms. Howard likes it. She

gives them a high grade. Adam, Joe, and Bill are joyful.

VOCABULARY

1. group 8. cooperative

2. project 9. grade

3. assign 10. high

4. student 11. joyful

5. work 12. give

6. smart 13. turn in

7. draw
 13. A Cat and A Mouse
The cat is bored. He tries to have fun. He plays with

yarn. He scratches his tummy. He takes a nap. He

drinks milk. He is still bored. He sees a mouse. The

mouse is eating cheese. The cat steals the cheese. The

mouse is angry. The mouse chases the cat. The cat is

having fun.

VOCABULARY

1. angry 8. mouse

2. bore 9. nap

3. cat 10. scratch

4. chase 11. steal

5. cheese 12. try

6. fun 13. tummy

7. milk 14. yarn

 14. Lemonade Stand
John wants to go to his school field trip. He needs fifty

dollars. He wants to earn it himself. He plans to open

up a lemonade stand. He goes to the market. The

lemons are cheap. They are also ripe. He buys fifty

lemons. He starts making lemonade. A lot of people

are in line. His lemonade stand is a success. He makes

enough money.

VOCABULARY

1. buy 8. lemon

2. cheap 9. lemonade

3. dollar 10. market

4. earn 11. need

5. enough 12. plan

6. field 13. ripe

7. fifty 50 14. school

 15. stand 17. trip

16. success

15. New and Old

Tomorrow is the first day of school. Barbara looks at

her backpack. It has holes. It is dirty. She needs a new

one. Her mom takes her shopping. There are so many

backpacks. One backpack has yellow stars. Another

one has rainbow stripes. Another one has dogs.

Barbara likes this one. She buys it.

VOCABULARY

1. backpack

2. buy 9. shopping

3. dirty 10. star

4. first 11. stripe

5. hole 12. tomorrow

6. new 13. yellow

7. old
8. rainbow
 16.The Kind Dentist
Maria feels pain in her teeth. She tells her

mom. Her mom takes her to the dentist.

Maria is scared. She enters the waiting room.

The secretary calls Maria's name. Maria goes

in. Maria sits in a big chair. She waits for the

dentist. The dentist arrives. He is careful

with Maria's teeth. He gives her a new

toothbrush. Maria feels good.

VOCABULARY

1. arrive 9. room
2. call 10. scare
3. careful 11. secretary
4. chair 12. sit
5. dentist 13. tooth
6. enter 14. toothbrush
7. kind 15. wait
8. pain
 17. A Trip to the Library
Mark needs a book. He does not have money. His

mom takes him to the library. Mark can borrow

books for free. Mark enters the library. There are so

many books. There are books about animals. There

are books about pirates. There are books about

science. Mark borrows them all.

VOCABULARY

1. animal 7. need

2. book 8. pirate

3. borrow 9. science

4. free 10. trip

5. library

6. money
 18. A Lot of Ants
She eats a slice of cake. She drops a crumb. The ants can

smell it. They crawl towards the crumb. She notices the ants.

She does not want to kill them. She gets a cup. She puts the

ants inside. She opens the window. She lets the ants go.

VOCABULARY

1. ant 11. put

2. cake 12. slice

3. crawl 13. smell

4. crumb 14. towards

5. cup 15. window

6. drop

7. eat

8. inside

9. kill

10. notice
 19. Picking a Costume
It is Halloween. Nancy is dressed as a princess. She goes

trick-or-treating. She walks to one house. She rings the

doorbell. A young couple opens the door. Nancy holds out

her bag. She receives candy. She says, "Thank You!" The

couple smiles. Nancy goes to the next house.

VOCABULARY

1. bag 10. pick

2. candy 11. princess

3. costume 12. receive

4. couple 13. ring

5. doorbell 14. treat

6. dress 15. trick

7. Halloween 16. walk

8. hold 17. young

9. house
 20. Petting Zoo
He goes to the petting zoo. There are many different

animals. He pets the turtles. The turtles feel rough. He

pets the sheep. The sheep feel wooly. He pets the

cows. The cows feel smooth. He pets the bunnies. The

bunnies feel fluffy. He tells his mom he wants a pet.

His mom says he can get one tomorrow.

VOCABULARY

1. animal 9. smooth

2. bunny 10. turtle

3. cow 11. wooly

4. different

5. fluffy

6. pet

7. rough

8. sheep
 21. Mom is Mad
Robert's room is messy. There is pizza under his bed.

There is glue on the wall. There is a pile of clothes.

There are toys on the floor. Robert does not care. He

watches a television show. His mom goes into his

room. She turns off the television. She yells at him. He

starts to clean his room.

VOCABULARY

1. care 9. show

2. clothes 10. television

3. floor 11. toy

4. glue 12. wall

5. mad 13. watch

6. messy 14. yell

7. pile

8. pizza
 22. Father's Day
Today is Father's Day. Daniel surprises his father. He serves

him breakfast. There are eggs, bacon, and orange juice on

the tray. Daniel's father is happy. Later, they go to play

tennis. Daniel stands on one side. He swings the ball.

Daniel's father hits the ball back. Finally, they watch the

sunset. What a great day!

VOCABULARY

1. bacon 9. later

2. breakfast 10. orange

3. egg 11. serve

4. father 12. set

5. finally 13. side

6. happy 14. surprise

7. hit 15. swing

8. juice 16. tennis

 17. tray

23. The Baby Sister

Betty loves her baby sister. Betty takes care of her. She

changes her diaper. She feeds her. She teaches her how to

walk. She teaches her new words. It is not easy to take care

of babies. Betty's baby sister cries sometimes. Betty plays

peekaboo with her. She covers her eyes and then opens them.

The baby laughs.

VOCABULARY

1. baby 9. sister

2. change 10. sometimes

3. cover 11. teach

4. cry

5. diaper

6. eye

7. feed

8. laugh
 24. Sometimes You Lose
Sarah's basketball team lost today. She is upset. She walks

home sadly. She sits down on the couch. She starts crying.

Her mom sees her. She gives her a hug. Then, she bakes

Sarah's favorite cookies. The warm cookies make Sarah

smile. Sarah wipes her tears away. She realizes that

sometimes you win and sometimes you lose.

VOCABULARY

1. bake 9. sadly

2. basketball 10. team

3. cookie 11. tear

4. couch 12. upset

5. favorite 13. walk

6. hug 14. warm

7. lose 15. win

8. realize 16. wipe

 25. A New Home
He moves to a new city. There are many buildings. There are

a lot of people walking. There are many taxis. He feels

lonely. Everyone acts so different here. He goes to his new

school. He sees a friendly looking person. He asks him to

show him around.

VOCABULARY

1. act 10. person

2. around 11. show

3. building 12. taxi

4. city

5. different

6. feel

7. friendly

8. lonely

9. many
 26. Going to School
He eats his breakfast. He leaves his house. He walks

to the bus stop. He waits five minutes. He gets on the

bus. He puts in a quarter. He sits down. He looks

outside the window. He sees his school. He walks to

the bus door. He thanks the bus driver. He exits the

bus.

VOCABULARY
9. outside

1. breakfast 10. quarter

2. bus 11. wait

3. driver 12. walk

4. eat 13. window

5. exit

6. house

7. leave

8. minute
 27. A Nice Teacher
She is a teacher. She teaches third graders. She says "good

morning" every day. She asks her students how they are

doing. The students love her. She is good at her job. She does

not get a lot of money. Teachers should get more money.

They work so hard.

VOCABULARY

1. grader 10. work

2. hard

3. job

4. love

5. money

6. morning

7. student

8. teach

9. teacher
28. Harry Studies Everywhere
Harry thinks his grades are very important. He studies a lot.

He studies everywhere he goes. He studies at the library. He

studies when he goes out to eat. He even studies when he

goes to parties! His friends make fun of him. Harry does not

care. He gets A’s all the time.

VOCABULARY

1. care 10. party

2. eat 11. study

3. even 12. think

4. everywhere

5. friend

6. fun

7. grade

8. important

9. library
 29. The Coloring Book
She takes out her coloring book. She gets her crayons. She

opens the book. There is a drawing of a bunny dancing. She

colors the bunny with a brown crayon. She colors the sky

with a blue crayon. She colors the flower with a red crayon.

She rips the page out. She sticks it to the wall.

VOCABULARY

1. brown 10. sky

2. bunny 11. stick

3. color 12. wall

4. crayon

5. dance

6. drawing

7. flower

8. page

9. rip
 30. Picking a Book

She goes to the library. She looks at the shelves. She pulls out

a book. She opens the book. She reads the first page. She

laughs. The book is funny. She goes to the checkout desk.

She gives the book to the librarian. She takes out her library

card. She gives it to the librarian. The librarian gives her

back the card and the book.

VOCABULARY

1. card 7. library

2. checkout 8. page

3. desk 9. pull

4. funny 10. shelf

5. laugh

6. librarian
 31. Getting Ready to Study
He gets ready to study at the library. He puts his science

textbook in his backpack. He puts his pencils and pens in his

backpack. He puts an eraser in his backpack. He puts a

snack in his backpack. He might get hungry. He puts a

notebook in his backpack. He is ready to study!

VOCABULARY

1. backpack 10. textbook

2. hungry

3. library

4. notebook

5. pen

6. pencil

7. ready

8. science

9. snack
 32. Studying at the Library

He is at the library. There are a lot of people. Everyone is

studying for their final exams. He finally finds a seat. He sits

down. He takes out his book. He takes out a pen. He takes

out a highlighter. He highlights the important parts. Then he

takes a study break.

VOCABULARY
8. important

1. break 9. library

2. down 10. part

3. exam 11. seat

4. final 12. sit

5. finally

6. highlight

7. highlighter
 33. Taking Notes
He takes out his notebook. He reads his textbook. He copies

the chapter title on top of the page. He writes down

important information. He highlights words he should

remember. He turns the page. He takes more notes. He

writes a summary of the chapter at the end.

VOCABULARY

1. chapter 10. title

2. copy 11. turn

3. end

4. highlight

5. information

6. notebook

7. remember

8. summary

9. textbook
 34. She Writes an Essay

he is taking an English class. She has to write an essay. The

essay is on penguins. She finds information on penguins

from the Internet. She finds information on penguins from

books. Her first sentence is a riddle about penguins. Her last

sentence is the answer to the riddle.

VOCABULARY
8. penguin

1. answer 9. riddle

2. class 10. sentence

3. essay 11. write

4. find

5. first

6. Internet

7. last
 35. He Takes a Test

He sits down in his seat. He gets a copy of the test. He

reads a question. He writes his answer. There are 20

questions. He checks his answers again when he is done. The

bell rings. The class is over. He gets up. He hands his test to

the teacher. He is going to celebrate.

VOCABULARY

1. answer

6. question

2. bell

7. ring

3. celebrate

8. seat

4. check

9. sit

5. hand
10. test

11. write

36. Punching a Wall

He gets his essay back. He got a C minus. He is mad. He feels

that he deserves a better grade. He asks his teacher what

went wrong. Ms. Flores says he made a lot of grammar

mistakes. He asks her to re-grade it. She says no. He punches

the wall. He gets in trouble.

VOCABULARY
8. mistake

1. better 9. punch

2. deserve 10. trouble

3. essay 11. wrong

4. grade

5. grammar

6. mad

7. minus
 37. School Supplies Box
He has a school supplies box. There are five pencils inside.

They are sharp. They are all yellow. They all have a pink

eraser at the end. He has two erasers. One eraser is white.

Another is pink. He uses the pencil to write something. He

uses the eraser to fix his mistake.

VOCABULARY

1. box 10. white

2. end 11. yellow

3. eraser

4. fix

5. inside

6. pink

7. school

8. sharp

9. supply
 38. He Loses the Cap

He takes out a pen. He takes off the cap. He drops it. He

looks down. He does not see the cap. He looks around his

desk. He still does not see the cap. Where could it be? He has

to find it. The pen will dry out without the cap. He goes to

the other side of the room. He sees the cap.

VOCABULARY
8. other

1. around 9. pen

2. cap 10. room

3. desk 11. side

4. down 12. without

5. drop

6. dry

7. find
 39. The Lunch Bag
She has a lunch bag. It has two pockets. There is one on top.

That is the big pocket. She puts a sandwich inside. There is

another one in the front. That is the small pocket. She puts a

pack of gum inside. There is a long strap too. She can put it

over her shoulder.

VOCABULARY

1. bag 10. strap

2. front 11. top

3. gum

4. inside

5. pack

6. pocket

7. pocket

8. sandwich

9. shoulder
 40. School Cafeteria
He gets school lunch. It is not good. At least it is free. He

looks around the cafeteria. He thinks about sitting with new

people. There are a lot of different groups. He could sit with

the athletes. He could sit with the drama club kids. He could

sit with the rich kids’ group. He has a lot of choices.

VOCABULARY

1. athlete 10. sit

2. at least 11. think

3. cafeteria

4. choice

5. club

6. drama

7. free

8. group

9. kid