Yahaaa · Reading
Stories for the classroom
Short narratives that put vocabulary into a scene a learner can follow. 7,463 on the shelf, each with a discussion question.
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Story RAZ Vocabulary B: We Pack a Picnic
The Mischievous Squirrel's Picnic Adventure
A group of animals have a picnic with a mischievous squirrel and play a trick on him by filling a pack with fake carrots made of cheese, crackers, and grape juice.
Talk about it 1. What food items did the animals pack for their picnic? 2. Who appeared when the animals were setting up their picnic blanket? 3. What did the animals do to play a trick on the squirrel? 4. What did the squirrel become after the picnic? 5. How did the story end?
Open reading -
Story RAZ Vocabulary B: What Has These Feet
The Amazing Footwear Adventure
A duck, tiger, and shark team up to help an elephant find his missing shoes in "The Amazing Footwear Adventure.
Talk about it 1. What made the duck want to help the elephant find his shoes? 2. Why did the tiger decide to join the search for the shoes? 3. How did the shark get sidetracked during the search for the shoes? 4. How did the trio feel when they finally found the shoes? 5. What kind of adventures do you think the duck, the tiger, and the shark went on after they became friends?
Open reading -
Story RAZ Vocabulary B: What Has These Stripes
Stripey's Smooth and Fuzzy Adventure
Stripey, the zebra with smooth and fuzzy stripes, has a wild and dizzying adventure with a long snake.
Talk about it 1. Why did Stripey climb onto the snake's back? 2. What did the other animals think of Stripey's ride with the snake? 3. How do you think Stripey felt after his adventure with the snake? 4. Would you climb onto a snake for a ride? Why or why not? 5. What makes Stripey special compared to other zebras?
Open reading -
Story RAZ Vocabulary B: What Has This Tail
The Curly Person and the Long-Tailed Animal
A curly person chases and catches a magical animal with a long tail, making a wish for a long tail of their own and becoming known as the one with the longest tail in the forest.
Talk about it 1. Why did the curly person chase the animal with the long tail? 2. What was so special about the animal with the long tail? 3. How did the curly person get a long tail of their own? 4. What did the other animals in the forest help the curly person do? 5. Did the curly person live happily ever after? Why or why not?
Open reading -
Story RAZ Vocabulary B: Where Is Water
Tweety's Water Adventure
A curious bird named Tweety explores different bodies of water and learns about their unique qualities.
Talk about it 1. What did Tweety learn about the different bodies of water? 2. Which body of water was your favorite? Why? 3. Can you think of any other creatures that might live in each of the bodies of water? 4. How do you think Tweety felt after its adventure? 5. If you could go on an adventure with Tweety, where would you like to go?
Open reading -
Story RAZ Vocabulary B: Where
The Honey-Hunting Bear and the Trickster Fox
A bear learns to not trust everyone and always listen to his father's advice through a trickster fox's attempts to steal his honey.
Talk about it 1. Why did the fox want to help Ben find honey? 2. What lesson did Ben learn from the trickster fox? 3. Why was Ben's father important in the story? 4. How do you think Ben felt when the fox took his pot of honey? 5. What could Ben have done differently to avoid the trick?
Open reading -
Story RAZ Vocabulary B: You and I
The Dragon's Dance Adventure
A group of friends go on an adventure and dance, ride, slide, run, swing, and hike their way to defeat a dragon.
Talk about it 1. How did the friends defeat the dragon? 2. What happened when the dragon joined in on their dance? 3. Why did the friends have to sneak away from the dragon? 4. What should they remember to bring on their adventures in the future?
Open reading -
Story RAZ Vocabulary B: Yours or Mine
Tail-for-Cake Trade: The Misadventures of Mittens the Cat
A mischievous cat named Mittens trades his tail for a piece of cake and becomes best friends with the girl.
Talk about it 1. Why did Mittens want to trade his tail for the cake? 2. What kind of pranks do you think Mittens and the girl played together? 3. If you were the girl, what would you have done differently in the story? 4. What do you think the moral of this story is?
Open reading -
Story RAZ Vocabulary C: A Place Called Home
Lily's Adventure: The Funniest Trip Around the World
A little girl named Lily sets out to explore the world and eventually realizes there's no place like home on the funniest street in the world, Giggles Street.
Talk about it 1. Where did Lily live? 2. What was Giggles Street known for? 3. What did Lily forget about when she was in the state of Fun? 4. Why did everyone in Sillypolis have a party for Lily when she returned home? 5. What did Lily learn from her adventure?
Open reading -
Story RAZ Vocabulary C: All About Penguins
Polka the Brave and Creative Penguin
A black and white penguin named Polka teaches other birds to swim and stay warm on a cold day.
Talk about it 1. Why did Polka go for a swim? 2. How did the other birds feel about swimming? 3. What happened after all the birds followed Polka into the water? 4. What was Polka known as from that day forward?
Open reading -
Story RAZ Vocabulary C: All About Spiders
Spinnerella the Spider: A Tale of Silk and Eggs
Spinnerella, a spider who loved to spin silk and lay eggs, found a creative solution to carry her eggs while climbing using a stronger string.
Talk about it 1. What was Spinnerella's problem? 2. How did she solve her problem? 3. How did Spinnerella feel when she reached the top? 4. Why was Spinnerella known as the cleverest spider in the can? 5. What would you have done if you were Spinnerella?
Open reading -
Story RAZ Vocabulary C: Busy At School
The Snack Bus Adventure
A group of toys go on a fun-filled snack bus adventure, playing games, telling stories, and singing songs.
Talk about it 1. What did the toys do before they found out about the bus full of snacks? 2. What did the bus driver ask the toys to do? 3. How did the toys feel when they saw the bus full of snacks? 4. What did the chosen toy suggest before eating their snack? 5. What did the toys do on the snack bus?
Open reading -
Story RAZ Vocabulary C: Different Kinds of Sharks
Spot the Different Shark
Spot, a shark with striped teeth, becomes special in a new way after getting spots from another shark.
Talk about it 1. How was Spot different from other sharks at first? 2. What did Spot ask the other shark for? 3. How did Spot become special in a new way? 4. Do you think being different is good or bad? 5. If you were Spot, would you have asked for spots too? Why or why not?
Open reading -
Story RAZ Vocabulary C: Fall Foods
The Great Food Adventure of Apple, Pear, Beet, Potato, Cabbage and Pumpkin
A group of friends discover the joy of appreciation and sharing all types of food through a cooking contest.
Talk about it 1. What did each of the friends initially think about their favorite food? 2. How did the friends come to understand that all foods are good? 3. What is a lesson you can learn from the story?
Open reading -
Story RAZ Vocabulary C: Get In
The Adventure of the Forest Friends
The Adventure of the Forest Friends" is a funny and creative story about an elephant, woman, man, duck, pig, dog, and girl who become friends and have a big feast together in the forest.
Talk about it 1. What does the man want to do with the duck? 2. Who helps the pig find his home? 3. Who leads the group to the little girl's cottage? 4. What is the main dish at the feast? 5. How did Ellie, Sarah, the man, duck, pig, dog, and girl become friends?
Open reading -
Story RAZ Vocabulary C: Go Away Lily
Gretta the Reader: Finding Joy in Being Different
A goat named Gretta learns to embrace her love of reading and the joys of friendship.
Talk about it 1. Why did Gretta want to try all the other activities? 2. How did she feel about each activity she tried? 3. How did Gretta feel about reading by the end of the story? 4. What did Gretta learn about being different? 5. How can you be like Gretta and embrace your unique interests and talents?
Open reading -
Story RAZ Vocabulary C: How Frogs Grow
Freddy and the Magic Elgs
Freddy, a proud frog, helps his shrinking tadpole grow into a healthy frog by feeding it magic elgs.
Talk about it 1. What was the problem with Freddy's tadpole in the beginning of the story? 2. What did Freddy do to help his tadpole grow? 3. What did Freddy's friends tell him about how to help his tadpole grow? 4. How did the tadpole change after Freddy fed it elgs? 5. What lesson did Freddy learn in this story?
Open reading -
Story RAZ Vocabulary C: How Many Wheels
Will The Wheel Who Could Roll Up Hills
A wheel named Will discovers his unique ability to roll up hills and learns to embrace his differences in a world of three friends, two, four and one.
Talk about it 1. What did Will do when they came across the steep hill? 2. How did Will feel about being different from his friends at first? 3. What did Will realize about being different in the end? 4. Why did Will become known as the "Wheel Who Could Roll Up Hills"?
Open reading -
Story RAZ Vocabulary C: How Many
The Five Monkeys and Their Fingers
Five monkeys discover they have 20 fingers together and learn to count on their hands.
Talk about it 1. How many monkeys were in the story? 2. How many fingers did they have all together? 3. How did the monkeys count their fingers in the end? 4. What did the monkeys say when they found out how many fingers they had? 5. Why was it important for the monkeys to count on their hands?
Open reading -
Story RAZ Vocabulary C: I Wonder
The Sleepy Sheep and the Purring Kitten
A sheep who loves to sleep finds a lost kitten and they become best friends, sleeping together in a pile of wool every night.
Talk about it 1. Why did the sheep go on an adventure to find the source of the purring sound? 2. How did the sheep's flock react when they saw the kitten? 3. What was special about the friendship between the sheep and the kitten? 4. Can you think of any other animals that might have become friends in a similar way? 5. Do you think it's important to be kind to animals, even if they're different from us? Why or why not?
Open reading -
Story RAZ Vocabulary C: Jack and Lilys Favorite Food
The Great Meat Taste Test
A group of farm animals find out they all taste great in different dishes during "The Great Meat Taste Test".
Talk about it 1. What were the different types of meat in the story? 2. How did the animals feel about each other before the taste test? 3. What happened during the taste test? 4. How did the animals feel after the taste test? 5. Why do you think the animals realized they all tasted great in different dishes?
Open reading -
Story RAZ Vocabulary C: Machines at Home
The Ice Cream Machine Adventure
A curious girl uses an old dryer as a blender to make the perfect ice cream in "The Ice Cream Machine Adventure".
Talk about it 1. What did the girl use to make her ice cream? 2. Why did she decide to use a dryer instead of a blender? 3. How did she feel when she saw the ice cream was ready? 4. Do you think she will always use the dryer to make her ice cream? 5. Can you think of another creative way to make ice cream?
Open reading -
Story RAZ Vocabulary C: Making Salsa
The Great Salsa Adventure of the Veggie Bunch
The Veggie Bunch embarks on a funny and adventurous journey to make salsa, but a gust of wind scatters their ingredients.
Talk about it 1. How did the Veggie Bunch come back together to make salsa? 2. Why was the chip stuck in a tree? 3. What happened to the cilantro? 4. What did the friends learn about teamwork?
Open reading -
Story RAZ Vocabulary C: Mash the Potatoes
Max's Mashed Potato Mishap
A little boy learns to make creamy mashed potatoes after a funny mishap with a mischievous batch of potatoes.
Talk about it 1. Why did Max have trouble making mashed potatoes? 2. What did the potatoes do that was so surprising? 3. How did Max finally get the mashed potatoes he wanted? 4. What did Max learn from this experience?
Open reading