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 RAZ Vocabulary I: How to Make Paper
The Magic of the Blend Machine
A little girl uses a magical blend machine to create unique and amazing frames, but must find a creative solution when they run out of paper supplies.
Talk about it 1. What did Lily put in the blend machine to make the frame? 2. What happened when Lily and her friends tried to turn on the machine, but it wouldn't work? 3. What was Lily's solution to make the machine work again? 4. What did Lily and her friends learn about the blend machine? 5. Can you think of any other things you could put in the blend machine to make something new and exciting?
Open reading -
Story RAZ Vocabulary I: Jane Goodall
Charlie the Behaved Chimpanzee: A Tale from Africa
A mischievous chimpanzee named Charlie learns to behave and becomes a valuable assistant to a scientist in Africa.
Talk about it 1. Why did the scientist give Charlie a tool? 2. What did Charlie do with his tool? 3. How did Charlie's behavior affect the other chimpanzees? 4. Why did the scientist like having Charlie as her assistant?
Open reading -
Story RAZ Vocabulary I: Life at the Pond
The Floating Island Adventure
A beaver builds an island of lily pads with help from a bullfrog, water strider, turtle, and heron to save it from sinking due to springtails.
Talk about it 1. What did the beaver build in the story? 2. Who warned the beaver about the island sinking? 3. Who helped the island stay afloat? 4. What was eating the lily pads on the island? 5. Who saved the island from the insects?
Open reading -
Story RAZ Vocabulary I: Mikes Good Bad Day
The Clumsy Man and the Kind Stranger's Pumpkin Adventure
A clumsy man and a kind stranger's teamwork leads to the creation of a unique and funny pumpkin for the festival.
Talk about it 1. What was Jack trying to do at the library? 2. Why did Jack need help carving his pumpkin? 3. Who offered to help Jack carve his pumpkin? 4. How did Jack and the stranger make the pumpkin carving a success despite the challenges? 5. What made the pumpkin they carved so unique and funny?
Open reading -
Story RAZ Vocabulary I: Owls Overhead
The Rainbow Prey Hunt
A group of animals with poor hearing use their imagination to attract prey by painting stripes on themselves.
Talk about it 1. What was the problem faced by the animals in the story? 2. How did they come up with a solution to their problem? 3. Can you think of another way the animals could have survived without good hearing? 4. How important is creativity and imagination in solving problems?
Open reading -
Story RAZ Vocabulary I: Slow and Slower
Max the Sneaky Superhero
A sneaky and creepy mammal named Max gains superpowers from a magical energy source and uses them to become a secret superhero.
Talk about it 1. How does Max feel about being average? 2. How does Max gain his superpowers? 3. Why does Max keep his powers a secret? 4. What does Max use his powers for? 5. How do the other animals in the forest feel about Max?
Open reading -
Story RAZ Vocabulary I: Soup and a Sandwish
The Jiggly Gobbler: A Gooey Adventure in Eating
A glob of jiggly green goo learns to shape itself into utensils and joins humans for feasts.
Talk about it 1. How did the glob of green goo feel when it first saw humans eating food? 2. What did the glob do to be able to eat food like the humans? 3. Why did the humans run away from the glob when it started eating their food? 4. How does the glob feel about eating food with humans now?
Open reading -
Story RAZ Vocabulary I: The Magic Bike
Sophie's Enchanted Contest Adventure
A curious girl named Sophie wins a contest and goes on a magical adventure filled with wonders and humor.
Talk about it 1. Why do you think Sophie was chosen to win the contest? 2. How did Sophie feel when she received the envelope in the mail? 3. What kind of wonders did Sophie see in the magical world? 4. Why do you think the creatures played a trick on Sophie? 5. What lesson did Sophie learn from her adventure?
Open reading -
Story RAZ Vocabulary I: The Three Little Pigs
The Brave Little Stick
A boastful stick learns to stand tall and be brave, impressing a slurping monster.
Talk about it 1. What did the stick do when it heard the growl? 2. How did the stick stop the monster from slurping it up? 3. Why did the stick stop boasting after the incident with the monster?
Open reading -
Story RAZ Vocabulary I: Tian Tian A Giant Panda
Poppy the Special Giant Panda: A Story of Inner Strength
A special giant panda named Poppy learns that true specialness comes from within and becomes the star of her zoo by showing off her unique skills.
Talk about it 1. How did Poppy feel when she heard the zookeeper talking about her weight? 2. What did Poppy do to show everyone that she was still special? 3. How did the visitors react to Poppy's skills? 4. What did Poppy learn about being special? 5. How can we apply Poppy's lesson to our own lives?
Open reading -
Story RAZ Vocabulary I: We Make Maple Syrup
The Boiling Sap Adventure of Sam and the Superhero
A superhero saves Sam the sap's boiling syrup by removing a drill blocking the spout, and Sam rewards him with some syrup.
Talk about it 1. What was Sam trying to do in the story? 2. How did the drill get into the spout of the pot? 3. What happened when steam started to come out of the pot? 4. Who appeared to save the day? 5. Why did Sam give the superhero some syrup?
Open reading -
Story RAZ Vocabulary I: Why Robins Hop
The Woodpecker and the Fox: A Tale of Friendship and Food.
A woodpecker and a fox form an unlikely friendship and protect food together in "The Woodpecker and the Fox: A Tale of Friendship and Food.
Talk about it 1. Why did the woodpecker help the fox? 2. What was the solution to the fox's problem? 3. How did the woodpecker and the fox become friends? 4. Why did the woodpecker bring the fox to the farm? 5. Why did the fox agree to help the woodpecker protect the chicken?
Open reading -
Story RAZ Vocabulary I: Winter Vacation
Lost and Found Adventure: A Neighborhood Game
Max's arrival in the neighborhood sparked a fun game of "Follow the Leader" that cured everyone's boredom and led to a new daily tradition.
Talk about it 1. What did the friends do when they were bored? 2. How did Max help solve the problem of boredom? 3. Who was the leader in the game of "Follow the Leader"? 4. Why did the friends have so much fun playing with Max? 5. Do you think you would enjoy playing "Follow the Leader" with your friends? Why or why not?
Open reading -
Story RAZ Vocabulary J: A Rainbow of Food
The Bouncing Can of Energy Vitamins Adventure
A little boy and a can of energy-packed vitamins embark on an adventurous snacktime journey.
Talk about it 1. What was the can of vitamins filled with? 2. How did the can of vitamins behave in the pantry? 3. Who did the can of vitamins meet in the kitchen? 4. What kind of adventure did the boy and the can go on? 5. How did the adventure end?
Open reading -
Story RAZ Vocabulary J: Animal Skeletons
Skelly's Bone-tastic Adventure
Skelly goes on an adventure and learns to embrace his uniqueness.
Talk about it 1. What did Skelly do when he felt different from everyone else? 2. What did Skelly learn on his adventure? 3. Can you think of any other creatures with bones? 4. Why is it important to be unique? 5. How do you think Skelly felt at the end of the story?
Open reading -
Story RAZ Vocabulary J: Being Bilingual2
The Weaving Adventure of the Four Tribes
A group of four tribes, Aztecs, Navajo, Incas and Guarani, go on a journey to learn about weaving and end up forming a friendship through a weaving competition.
Talk about it 1. Which tribe won the weaving competition? 2. Why did the Guarani want to join the competition even though they never wove before? 3. What was the most beautiful and creative weave in the story? 4. How did the four tribes become friends after the competition?
Open reading -
Story RAZ Vocabulary J: Brazil
Carnaval Mix-Up: A Rainforest Adventure
Lost animals from the rainforest join a parade in the savannah, doubling the fun of the Carnaval celebration.
Talk about it 1. What happened when the parrot leading the parade forgot the way? 2. Who did the animals from the rainforest ask for help to find their way back? 3. Why did the animals from the coast decide to join the parade in the savannah? 4. How was the Carnaval celebration different after the two parades merged? 5. Can you think of another name for the owl who came up with the idea to ask the jaguar for help?
Open reading -
Story RAZ Vocabulary J: Can You Say Pterodactyl2
The Pterodactyl's New Leader: The Tale of Tongo's Tongue
A creature named Tongo who had a long tongue became the leader of the pterodactyls by using his tongue to pronounce a difficult word.
Talk about it 1. What kind of creature was Tongo? 2. How did Tongo become the leader of the pterodactyls? 3. What was the difficult word that the pterodactyls were trying to pronounce? 4. Why were the pterodactyls impressed by Tongo's tongue? 5. Can you think of other creatures that have unique body parts like Tongo's tongue?
Open reading -
Story RAZ Vocabulary J: Changes
Timmy's Downtown Dance Surprise
A young boy named Timmy learns to have fun and dance during a surprise downtown dance party.
Talk about it 1. How did Timmy feel when he first saw the dance party? 2. What made Timmy start dancing in the street? 3. How did Timmy feel when everyone turned to look at him? 4. What did Timmy learn from this surprise dance party? 5. How do you think Timmy felt when he heard that he was the best dancer there?
Open reading -
Story RAZ Vocabulary J: Darbys Birthday Party
The Special Birthday Party at the Park: A Friday Adventure
Jim surprises his best friend Tim with a special birthday party at the park and a gift of a brand new bicycle, making every Friday a special day for both of them.
Talk about it 1. How did Jim and Tim become friends? 2. What was the special surprise Jim had for Tim on his birthday? 3. What did Tim think of his birthday present? 4. Why did Jim and Tim enjoy Fridays so much? 5. What did Jim and Tim like to do together at the park?
Open reading -
Story RAZ Vocabulary J: Darbys Birthday Party2
The Fun-Loving Duo: We and They
Two friends, We and They, help a bored wizard find new ways to have fun without hurting anyone in a magical land.
Talk about it 1. How did We and They feel when they first heard about the strange things happening in the land? 2. What did the talking tree tell We and They about the source of the strange things? 3. Why did the wizard make everything in the land very strange? 4. What did We and They do to help the wizard stop making everything strange? 5. How did the people in the land react to the changes after We and They helped the wizard?
Open reading -
Story RAZ Vocabulary J: Egypt
The Pharaoh's Underwater Adventure
A pharaoh skeleton embarks on an underwater adventure after being freed from his tomb by a deluge in the desert.
Talk about it 1. Why did the delta river start to flow into the desert? 2. How did the tourists feel when they saw the pharaoh's tomb being filled with water? 3. What did the skeleton pharaoh say when he came out of the tomb? 4. What adventure did the skeleton pharaoh go on? 5. What happened to the pyramid after the pharaoh's adventure?
Open reading -
Story RAZ Vocabulary J: Feliz Navidad Carlos
The Glowing Fiesta Journey
A neighborhood goes on a journey to find the source of a mysterious glow and ends up discovering a fiesta celebration that becomes an annual tradition.
Talk about it 1. What was the journey about? 2. What did the neighborhood find at the end of their journey? 3. What was the celebration about? 4. Why did the glow disappear at the fiesta? 5. Why did the people from the neighborhood follow the trail back home?
Open reading -
Story RAZ Vocabulary J: Firefighters
Max the Brave: A Fire Safety Adventure
A brave fireman named Max saves the day by fixing many smoke-producing machines and putting out flames with his trusty fire extinguisher and tools.
Talk about it 1. Why did Max bring a fire extinguisher and toolbox with him? 2. What did Max do when he saw many machines producing smoke? 3. Why was it important for Max to act fast at the scene? 4. How did Max ensure safety at the scene? 5. What can kids learn from Max's bravery and quick thinking?
Open reading