Yahaaa · Reading
Stories for the classroom
Short narratives that put vocabulary into a scene a learner can follow. 7,459 on the shelf, each with a discussion question.
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Story Common Nouns in English: military navy 6
The Frogman's Fun Adventure on the Freighter
A frogman joins a freighter's crew, helps clean its clogged funnel, becomes a cook and catches a giant gator for dinner, earning the respect and admiration of the crew.
Talk about it 1. What did the frogman offer to do when he first jumped on the freighter? 2. Why was the crew of the freighter grateful for the frogman's help with the funnel? 3. How did the frogman become a cook on the freighter? 4. What did the frogman do to catch the giant gator? 5. Why did the crew of the freighter celebrate after the frogman caught the gator? 6. How did the frogman earn the respect and admiration of the crew?
Open reading -
Story Common Nouns in English: military navy 7
The Adventures of Jarhead Joe and His Kapok Keel.
A jarhead named Joe sets sail on a kapok raft to explore the ocean and becomes known as the greatest adventurer.
Talk about it 1. What is a jarhead? 2. What is jetsam and what did Joe discover among it? 3. What is kapok, and how does it play a role in the story? 4. What was the shape of the object Joe found on the beach? 5. What kind of adventures did Joe have while exploring the ocean?
Open reading -
Story Common Nouns in English: military navy 7
Jack's Island Adventure
A young man named Jack sails to an island and conquers his fears by climbing a highline to reach the summit and discover the world.
Talk about it 1. Why did Jack want to go on an adventure? 2. What did Jack discover when he reached the top of the island? 3. Why was climbing the highline scary for Jack? 4. What did Jack learn about himself by climbing the highline? 5. How does determination play a role in Jack's adventure?
Open reading -
Story Common Nouns in English: military navy 8
Lifer the Lightship Keeper: A Story of Duty and Liberty
A lighthouse keeper named Lifer braves a storm to protect ships and preserve liberty while shining the lights on his lightship.
Talk about it - What is Lifer's job as a lighthouse keeper? - Why is it important for Lifer to keep the lights shining during the storm? - How does Lifer feel after the storm has passed? - What does Lifer learn about his job and its importance? - How does Lifer's job help preserve liberty?
Open reading -
Story Common Nouns in English: military navy 8
Jack and the Treasure of the Tall Ladder".
A brave and adventurous lad named Jack sets sail with his crew, discovers a treasure and learns the importance of tying knots before climbing tall ladders.
Talk about it 1. Who is Jack and what does he dream of? 2. Why did Jack tie a lanyard around his waist on the tall ladder? 3. What did they find in the treasure chest? 4. Why is it important to always tie a knot before climbing a tall ladder?
Open reading -
Story Common Nouns in English: military navy 9
The Muddy Pier Party
Birds have a fun, rain-soaked party on a pier despite the mud.
Talk about it 1. Why did the birds decide to have their party on the pier? 2. What happened when it started to rain during the party? 3. Why were the birds still happy after the party despite the mud and rain? 4. Can you think of a time when you had fun despite bad weather or other obstacles?
Open reading -
Story Common Nouns in English: military navy 9
Luke's Adventure at Sea
A longshoreman named Luke discovers a magazine and sets out to fulfill his dream of becoming a mate on a ship.
Talk about it - What did Luke find in the log floating in the sea? - Why was the mainmast the most important mast on the ship? - What did Luke dream about after reading the magazine? - What did Luke do to become a mate on a ship? - What kind of adventures do you think Luke had as a mate?
Open reading -
Story Common Nouns in English: military navy 10
The Adventures of Sam the Sandcrab and the Reef Rescue
Sandcrab Sam saves the reef from a screw that caused the water rate to increase by removing it with the help of other creatures.
Talk about it 1. Who is Sam? 2. What was the problem in the reef? 3. How did Sam and the other creatures solve the problem? 4. Why was Sam called a hero? 5. What can we learn from this story?
Open reading -
Story Common Nouns in English: military navy 10
The Adventures of Peter the Pilot and His Lucky Radar
A pilot named Peter finds a pile of gold coins with his radar and becomes the richest person in the village, using a quarter of the treasure to build a school for the children.
Talk about it - What did Peter find with his radar? - Why did the villagers want to know about Peter's discovery? - What did Peter do with a quarter of the gold coins he found? - How did Peter become known among the villagers?
Open reading -
Story Common Nouns in English: military navy 11
The Skunk and the Snipe's Sonar Adventure
A skunk learns how to use sonar to find food with the help of a snipe in the forest.
Talk about it - What did Stripe learn from the snipe? - Why was Stripe fascinated by the snipe's sonar? - How did Stripe become the best food finder in the forest? - What did Stripe do with his newfound skill? - Who did Stripe share his newfound skill with?
Open reading -
Story Common Nouns in English: military navy 11
Semaphore to the Rescue
A wise and experienced skipper saves his ship and its crew with the help of a repaired semaphore and quick thinking during a pirate attack.
Talk about it 1. What was the problem with the semaphore on the ship? 2. How did the skipper and crew solve the problem with the semaphore? 3. What happened when the ship encountered pirates? 4. Why was the semaphore important in saving the ship and its crew? 5. Can you think of a time when you had to solve a problem quickly like the skipper did in the story?
Open reading -
Story Common Nouns in English: military navy 12
The Flying Trimmer Truck and the Turbine in the Void
A truck named Trimmer helps a turbine stuck in a void and receives the power of flight as a reward.
Talk about it 1. What did Trimmer do to help the turbine? 2. Why was the turbine stuck in the void? 3. What was Trimmer's special gift from the turbine? 4. How did Trimmer use his new gift to help others? 5. Do you think Trimmer was happy with his new gift? Why or why not?
Open reading -
Story Common Nouns in English: military navy 12
Sally's Train Adventure
A young girl's quick thinking saves the day and leads to an exciting train adventure.
Talk about it 1. What was the problem Sally faced at the train station? 2. What did Sally use to clean up the leak from the tanker car? 3. How did Sally and the conductor solve the problem with the tanker car? 4. What did the conductor do for Sally at the end of the story? 5. Can you think of other ways Sally could have solved the problem with the leaking tanker car?
Open reading -
Story Common Nouns in English: military navy 13
The Yeoman and the Winged Gift
A yeoman saves a bird and is rewarded with a golden watch that keeps perfect time.
Talk about it 1. What did the yeoman do when he noticed his watch wasn't working? 2. What did the bird drop for the yeoman? 3. Why was the yeoman happy with the gift from the bird? 4. How did the yeoman's actions towards the bird affect his life?
Open reading -
Story Common Nouns in English: wine 1
The Four Grapes: A Tale of Friendship and Fine Wine.
Four grape friends compete to be chosen as the finest wine for a special celebration, with Cabernet ultimately being selected.
Talk about it -What were the four grape varieties named? -What did the owner of the vineyard announce he would be selecting one of them for? -What were the unique qualities of each grape variety? -Which grape variety was selected as the finest wine and why? -How did the other grapes feel when Cabernet was selected as the finest wine?
Open reading -
Story Common Nouns in English: wine 1
The King of Wines
The seven wine friends attend a grand party hosted by Barolo and compete to be crowned the King of Wines, with Barolo winning the contest and becoming beloved by all.
Talk about it 1. What were the names of the seven friends in the story? 2. What did Barolo announce at the beginning of the story? 3. What was the contest in the story about? 4. Who was crowned the King of Wines? 5. How did the other wines feel about Barolo after he was crowned the King of Wines?
Open reading -
Story Common Nouns in English: wine 2
The Adventure of Four Grapes
Four grapes, Lambrusco, Madeira, Malbec, and Marsanne, turn into different types of wine and bring joy to everyone who drinks them.
Talk about it 1. What kind of wine did each grape turn into? 2. Who was the bravest grape in the story? 3. How did the grapes make everyone happy? 4. What do you think scared the grapes about becoming wine?
Open reading -
Story Common Nouns in English: music production 1
Bob the Brave: An Adventure with a Cache of Treasure.
A bus driver finds a cache of treasure but returns it to its rightful owners, earning the title of "Honest Bus Driver.
Talk about it 1. Why did Bob return the treasure to its rightful owners? 2. What do you think would have happened if Bob had kept the treasure for himself? 3. How do you think Bob's actions made the kids feel about him? 4. Would you have done the same thing as Bob in his situation? Why or why not?
Open reading -
Story Common Nouns in English: music production 1
Title: "Bit's Beat-tastic Adventure
A robot named Bit discovers the power of the auxiliary input on his amplifier to bring his unique accent and beats to life.
Talk about it 1. What was the problem that Bit had with his amplifier? 2. How did Bit solve his problem with the amplifier? 3. Why was Bit's accent special? 4. How did the audience react to Bit's performance? 5. Why did Bit use the auxiliary input from then on?
Open reading -
Story Common Nouns in English: music production 3
Emma the Engine and the Great Race
An engine named Emma who lived in a train station wins a race and becomes known as the fastest engine in the land.
Talk about it 1. Why was Emma sad at the beginning of the story? 2. How did Emma feel when she won the race? 3. What did Emma do to become known as the fastest engine in the land? 4. What lesson can we learn from Emma's story?
Open reading -
Story Common Nouns in English: music production 3
The Magic Disk and the Echo Effect
A wizard creates a beautiful musical duet with his magical disk by adding a cue and a delay to create an echo effect.
Talk about it 1. What was special about the wizard's disk? 2. Why was the wizard worried about the delay in his music? 3. How did the echo effect change the wizard's music? 4. What was the final outcome of the wizard's attempt to add a special effect to his music?
Open reading -
Story Common Nouns in English: music production 4
The Groovy Bird and the Magic Instrument
A little bird named Tweet shows others how to have fun and dance by using a magical instrument.
Talk about it 1. Why did Tweet fly out of his lane? 2. What was so special about Tweet's instrument? 3. How did the other birds react when they saw Tweet dancing? 4. What did Tweet teach the other birds? 5. What happened in the end?
Open reading -
Story Common Nouns in English: music production 4
The Sound-o-tron 9000: A Tale of Music and Invention
A young inventor named Flam creates the Sound-o-tron 9000, a machine that revolutionizes the world of music with its use of formants, format, frame, gain, gate, and gear.
Talk about it 1. What inspired Flam to create the Sound-o-tron 9000? 2. What does the fader do in the Sound-o-tron 9000? 3. How did Flam use formants, format, and frame in his invention? 4. Why was the Sound-o-tron 9000 so amazing? 5. What did the audience think of Flam's creation? 6. How did Flam's invention change the world of music?
Open reading -
Story Common Nouns in English: music production 5
MIDI's Musical Adventure with Modulation.
A robot named MIDI learns about modulation and uses it to add variety to his songs, transforming his mono singing into a rich stereo sound.
Talk about it 1. What did MIDI want to do with his microphone? 2. Who did MIDI go to for help with his songs? 3. What did the Modulation Wizard teach MIDI about? 4. How did MIDI’s songs change after he learned about modulation? 5. What was the name of the machine that MIDI used with his microphone?
Open reading