Category: English Stories season 1

Season 1, episode 22

It is the end of the school year for Imani and many others. She shouts “See you later!” to those she meets in the hallway. But what about her friends and others who won’t be back in the fall? Will she have to say goodbye? This simple story is told in the present tense and focuses on the words “says”, “responds”, “likes”, “goes”, and “goodbye”. 

See You Later!

It is the end of May and for Imani Reyes it is the end of school. Imani goes to high school. Her school is called Lincoln High. Imani walks in the school. She sees a lot of classmates. Not all the students in the school are her friends, so she isn’t going to talk to them during vacation. But Imani is a nice girl. She sees her classmates and says, “See you later!”

“See you later, Imani!” her classmates respond. Everyone is very excited that it is summer and they don’t have more school. They don’t have more exams or projects. It is the end! All the students smile when they say see you later.

Imani goes to the music room. Imani plays the trumpet in the band. She plays very well. Imani likes band class a lot. She likes the concerts and she likes to play at the football games.

Imani enters the music room. The band teacher is named Ms. Richardson. She is Imani’s favorite teacher. Ms. Richardson gives Imani music to practice during vacation.

“Thank you, Ms. Richardson,” Imani says with a smile. “See you later!”

“See you in September, Imani!” Ms. Richardson responds.

Then another student enters the music room. It is one of her bandmates. His name is Jacob. He plays the tuba. Jacob is graduating. Jacob passes his instrument and music to Ms. Richardson. She smiles, but it is a little sad.

“Goodbye, Ms. Richardson,” Jacob tells her.

“Good luck in the future, Jacob,” Ms. Richardson responds.

Then Imani goes to the library. She needs to return some books. The librarian looks at Imani when she enters. The librarian is very kind and smiles at Imani.

“Hello, Imani, how are you?” she asks.

“I’m well, thank you. I need to return some books,” Imani responds. Imana passes three books to the librarian. “See you later!”

“See you later, Imani!” the librarian says.

Then a student enters the library. Her name is Caris. Caris reads a lot of books and is always in the library. Caris is graduating. It is her last day in the library. Caris passes a book to the librarian. She seems really sad and says, “goodbye.”

“Good luck, Caris,” the librarian responds sadly.

After the library, Imani goes to social studies class. The teacher in the class is Mr. Anderson. Mr. Anderson is physically big and intimidating, but he has an excellent personality. He is caring and very patient. Imani likes Mr. Anderson a lot, even though she doesn’t always like social studies. In class, the teacher announces that he is not going to be at Lincoln High next year. Mr. Anderson and his family are moving to a different city to be closer to family.

Imani is sad. She doesn’t want to say goodbye to Mr. Anderson because he is an excellent teacher. When class ends, Imani goes to Mr. Anderson.

“Goodbye, Mr. Anderson,” Imani says in a small voice.

“Take care, Imani,” Mr. Anderson responds with a sad smile.

After social studies class, Imani goes to the cafeteria. In the cafeteria Imani sits with her friends. Some of her friends are finishing school and graduating. Imani realizes that it is her last lunch with those friends.

Imani thinks about all her friends and other classmates that are graduating. She thinks about Mr. Anderson and other teachers that are leaving to other schools or other jobs. Now Imani is sad.

“Imani, what’s wrong?” her friend Birdie asks.

“I’m sad Birdie,” Imani responds. “I don’t like to say goodbye.”

“So, don’t say goodbye,” Birdie says. “There are a lot of other options. You can say see you soon, take care, good luck, or my favorite, see you later!”

Imani smiles at her friend, but she is still sad. “I can’t say ‘see you later’ or ‘see you soon’ because I’m not going to see them.”

Birdie smiles too.

“That’s life, friend. People come and people go. You are also going to leave school one day. But you can always ‘see’ everyone in photos,” Birdie touches Imani’s cell phone, “and in your memories,” Birdie touches Imani’s head.

Imani listens to Birdie. She is right: saying goodbye is part of life. It’s sad, but it can also be happy. People are going on a new adventure.

After school, Imani looks at her friends that are graduation. She looks at Mr. Anderson. “See you later!” Imani yells.

The end.

You can also watch a video of this story on YouTube!

I really enjoy creating and sharing simple, comprehensible stories. I work hard to provide tools and supports for those who want to learn. Please, consider buying me a taco to support my work!

You can download a printer-friendly PDF of this story.

Season 1, episode 21

Victoria is feeling nervous and scared about leaving her small town and going to university in a big city. Her friend Piper doesn’t seem scared at all. Victoria learns that some of Piper’s confidence comes from her success in a martial arts class. Victoria decides to give it a try and she learns that small girls like her can be fierce opponents.

LITTLE VICTORIA

There is a young woman named Victoria. Victoria is not a big girl. She is very short and very thin. Victoria is 18 years old. She is preparing to go to college. Victoria is excited to go to college, but she is also nervous.

Victoria is nervous in part because the university is in a big city. Victoria is from a small town. She is not used to a lot of people. Also, Victoria is not ignorant. She knows that there are bad people. There are people that want to hurt small young women like her.

Victoria has a friend named Piper. Piper is also going to college, but she is not nervous. Piper has a lot of confidence. Victoria does not have confidence, she is scared. She is scared to walk alone around the university. She is scared to go to a big city. She is scared because she thinks she is small and weak. Victoria doesn’t want to be scared, she wants Piper’s confidence. One day Victoria decides to talk with Piper. 

“Piper, you have a lot of confidence in yourself. How do you have so much confidence?” Victoria asks Piper.

“I didn’t always have confidence in myself,” Piper responds. “In the past, I didn’t have confidence. I was scared of everything. My mom has a friend named Kayla. She is a martial arts instructor. My mom decided to enroll in Kayla’s classes. Now I train in martial arts and I have a lot of confidence in my abilities.

“Is there space in your class?” Victoria wants to learn more about martial arts.

“Yes. I have a class tomorrow after school. Do you want to go with me?” Piper asks Victoria. 

“Of course!” Victoria responds. She is excited, but also a little nervous. She is very small and is worried that she is not going to do well in the class. 

The next day after school, Piper and Victoria go to the martial arts class. Victoria meets Kayla and is impressed. Kayla is not weak, she is strong.

Victoria sees a demonstration by Piper and another student. The student grabs Piper’s wrist. Piper responds by kicking and hitting the student. The student grabs Piper’s back. Piper uses her body’s leverage to throw the student to the ground. Later Piper sits on the student and wraps her legs around the student’s legs. Piper’s opponent can’t move. 

Victoria is very impressed. Piper is not as small as Victoria, but she is not a big girl. Victoria wants to learn to defend herself like Piper. Victoria thinks that knowing how to defend herself is going to help her confidence.

Victoria enrolls in a basic class with the instructor Kayla. Kayla is very patient and kind. But the classes are also intense and strict. Victoria focuses and learns a lot. She listens to Kayla’s instructions. First, Victoria learns movements.

“Punch!” Kayla instructs and Victoria punches the air.

“Kick!” Kayla instructs and Victoria kicks the air.

“Roll to the right!” Kayla instructs and Victoria falls to the ground, rolls to the right, and stands up quickly.

“Roll to the left!” Kayla instructs and Victoria falls to the ground, rolls to the left, and stands up quickly.

After training for some days, Victoria is ready for contact. She is nervous because she is very small and other students in the class are big. Victoria still doesn’t have confidence in herself.

The class divides in pairs. Victoria is smaller than her opponent and she is nervous. She listens to Kayla’s instructions and trusts her instructor.

“Victoria, you don’t need to be nervous. You are strong. It is not necessary to be big to be strong,” Kayla says. “Now, grab your opponent.”

Victoria grabs her companion’s torso. If she grabs her partner, he can’t hit her. Her opponent uses his body’s leverage to throw Victoria to the ground. Victoria is scared. What can she do now?

“Victoria, grab your opponent with your legs and arms,” Kayla instructs. Victoria follows the instructions and grabs her opponent with her legs and arms.

“Good job, Victoria. Now, roll to the left.” Kayla continues with her instructions. Victoria tries to roll to the left, but it is difficult. She breathes and uses her body’s leverage and rolls to the left. Now Victoria is sitting on top of her opponent. Victoria is surprised and excited.

“Excellent!”Kayla says to Victoria. Then Victoria and her opponent stand up and repeat the practice.

When Victoria trains she feels very happy. She feels strong and confident. Victoria is small, but fierce. She learns when and where to kick an opponent. She learns to roll to escape problems and she learns to roll as an attack. She learns to use her body’s leverage more than her muscles. She learns to grab with her hands, arms, and legs. 

In her martial arts class with Kayla, she trains with big people. One day when the class divides into pairs, Victoria is with the biggest student in the class. For a moment, Victoria is scared.

Victoria punches, kicks, grabs, and rolls. She uses her body leverage and in a short amount of time, Victoria has immobilized her opponent.

Victoria is very happy. She is not weak now, she is very strong. Now she is not scared to go to the city. She is not scared to go to college. She is still not an ignorant person. She knows that there are bad people in the world. But now, Victoria has more confidence in herself because she believes that she can defend herself. She is grateful for Kayla and her martial arts class for this small victory in her life.

The end.

You can also watch a video of this story on YouTube!

I really enjoy creating and sharing simple, comprehensible stories. I work hard to provide tools and supports for those who want to learn. Please, consider buying me a taco to support my work!

You can download a printer-friendly PDF of this story.

Season 1, episode 20

Ronaldo comes from a family obsessed with football (or soccer), so it is no surprise that he wants to be a famous football star like his “tocayo”, or namesake, Cristiano Ronaldo. But Ronaldo only wants to play front and center, hogging the ball and making all the goals. He needs to learn the importance of each position to truly become a great player. 

THE GREAT RONALDO

Ronaldo has a dream: he wants to be a professional soccer player. He loves soccer. He loves the emotion of the game. He loves the technicality of the players. Ronaldo is obsessed with soccer.

Ronaldo’s whole family is obsessed with soccer, especially his mom, Alexandra. Alexandra met her husband, Ronaldo’s dad, at a soccer game. They were playing soccer at college with a group of friends. Alexandra kicked the ball at the same time as a tall, handsome man. The impact hurt her foot.

The tall, handsome man helped Alexandra to a bench in the park where they were playing. Then he looked for ice for her hurt foot. The man sat on the bench with Alexandra and they talked for a long time. The handsome man was named Fabio. Back then, Fabio Cannavaro was Alexandra’s favorite soccer player and she thought that it was “divine intervention” meeting a man named Fabio. Fabio invited Alexandra to eat and the rest is history. Alexandra says that it was “Love at first kick.”

Alexandra and Fabio got married and had three kids. Each kid was named after a famous soccer player: Lionel, for Lionel Messi; Marta, for Marta Vieira da Silva; and Ronaldo, for Cristiano Ronaldo.

Ronaldo has posters of his namesake, Cristiano Ronaldo, in his bedroom. Cristiano Ronaldo is his idol. Ronaldo wants to be a professional soccer player like his namesake. He wants to play the position of forward like his namesake. The forward is in the position of attacking the rival team. The forward typically makes the goals. Goals get all the glory of the game.

There are only two forwards on a team. There are other positions too. There are four midfielders. Being a midfielder isn’t so bad. You have a lot of freedom and you can get goals. Defense is not Ronald’s favorite position because you don’t have the opportunity to get a goal. The four defenders are very important because they protect the goal. There is a goalie on a soccer team. The goalie has a very stressful position. The goalie needs to block the goals. The goalie is also the only position that can use their hands in soccer.

Ronaldo doesn’t want to play in the position of midfielder or defense. He especially doesn’t want the position of goalie. He wants to be a forward. He wants to score goals like his idol.

Ronaldo goes to soccer practice with his team. They have a game on Thursday. In the practice, Ronaldo does very well. He is going to start the game as a forward. Ronaldo is excited. He believes that it is his opportunity to score a lot of goals and show the world that he is a professional soccer player. 

In the game, Ronaldo steals the ball in each opportunity. He doesn’t pass the ball to the other forward. He doesn’t pass the ball to the midfielders. Ronaldo wants to control the ball and score goals. But it is impossible. The rival team sees that Ronaldo doesn’t pass the ball. When Ronaldo has the ball, all the midfielders and defenders of the rival team run to Ronaldo to steal the ball.

The rival team wins the game with a score of two to zero. Ronaldo’s team loses the game. Ronaldo didn’t even score one goal. He is very frustrated. But Ronaldo’s team is more than frustrated. They are angry with Ronaldo because he doesn’t play well with the team. 

For the next game, the coach moves Ronaldo to the position of defense. Ronaldo is not happy. He doesn’t want to play defense. Defenders don’t score goals. Ronaldo is angry during the game. He is violent with the players on the rival team. In one moment, he pushes one of the forwards on the rival team. The referee sees and gives Ronaldo a yellow card for his bad sportsmanship. Ronaldo is furious and yells at the referee. The referee gives him a red card and Ronaldo leaves the game. He sits on the bench and only watches the rest of the game.

The rival team wins the game with a score of three to one. Ronaldo’s team loses the game. Ronaldo is angry and yells at the goalie. He thinks that the goalie didn’t do a good job because he didn’t block the goals. The coach sees Ronaldo and makes a plan.

The coach decides that Ronaldo can play the position of goalie at practice. Ronaldo thinks that it is not very difficult to be a goalie because you have the 4 defenders to help you. It is more difficult to be a forward and score goals. Ronaldo puts on the gloves and walks to his position in the goal.

After only five minutes as goalie, Ronaldo wants to change positions and teams. When he goes home, he is very angry. Alexandra notices that his son is upset and talks with him.

“What’s wrong, dear?” Alexandra asks.

“It’s just, the coach is putting me in as the goalie. I am not a goalie, I am a forward. I don’t block goals, I score goals.”

“Son, soccer is a game of attack and defense. You need to play attack and defense to have a good team. You need to understand all the positions to be a good player and to be a good teammate. You play very well, but with a good team, you can play better.”

“But I want to be a forward like my namesake, Cristiano Ronaldo.”

“Do you think the great Cristiano Ronaldo always played forward? He had to play as defense and midfielder also. He had to trust his team.”

Ronaldo thinks about his mom’s words. She is right. The great players understand all aspects of the game. They trust their teams. Ronaldo goes to practice with a new attitude. He passes the ball to his companions. He is positive and plays any position.

In the next game, he is a midfielder. He helps with attacks and helps with defense. It is an exciting game with a score of one to one. Ronaldo gets the ball. He runs in the field towards the rival goal. One of the forwards is in the perfect position. Ronaldo kicks the ball. The ball flies through the air. The forward hits the ball with his head and scores a goal! Ronaldo is very happy. He didn’t get the glory of the goal, but he is happy because he helped his team.

The end.

You can also watch a video of this story on YouTube!

I really enjoy creating and sharing simple, comprehensible stories. I work hard to provide tools and supports for those who want to learn. Please, consider buying me a taco to support my work!

You can download a printer-friendly PDF of this story.

Season 1, episode 19

Today’s story connects to episode 9. Perhaps you will remember “Miguel’s Little Lie”. Miguel wanted to go to a rock concert with his friend Wes, but, due to his lying, ended up going to a classical music concert with his mom and sister. Little did he know how much that concert would change his life. He thought rock music was the only sound worth listening to, but after hearing violins, flutes, trumpets, and tubas, he has a new appreciation for instruments. I hope you enjoy “Miguel’s Music.”

MIGUEL’S MUSIC

Miguel is a 12 year-old boy. He is usually honest, but one day he tells a lie to his mom. The lie is that he is going to his friend Wes’s house to spend the night, but in reality, Wes and Miguel are going to a Green Day concert. Miguel’s mom discovers the lie when Wes mentions a concert. Then Wes tells another lie when he says that the concert is of his sister playing the violin with the orchestra. What a stupid lie!

Now Miguel is going with his mother, his sister Maggie, and his friend Wes to a classical music concert. Miguel is not excited to listen to classical music. He prefers rock music. He thinks that rock music is very cool and that classical music is boring. Miguel doesn’t want to be at an orchestra concert with his mom and sister, he wants to be at the Green Day concert with Wes.

Maggie is very excited to listen to classical music. Maggie plays the piano and she loves classical music. Maggie practices the piano for one hour every day. She is very good.

Miguel looks at the stage. There are a lot of chairs, some very big drums, and other big instruments like a harp and a xylophone. The people in the orchestra enter the stage and the audience applauds. Some people go to the drums and tall instruments. Other people carry their instruments and sit on the chairs.

A person plays a note on the violin. The rest of the orchestra plays notes on their instruments.

“What are they doing?” Miguel asks Maggie.

“They are tuning their instruments. Tuning instruments is necessary so they don’t play in different tones,” Maggie responds.

Miguel looks at the instruments. He recognizes some instruments. He recognizes the trumpet and the trombone. He recognizes the clarinet and the flute. He recognizes the violin. But there are other instruments that he doesn’t recognize. There is a variety of drums that he doesn’t recognize. There are big violins that he doesn’t recognize. And there are brass instruments that he doesn’t recognize. 

“What are those instruments?” Miguel asks Maggie, indicating a circular brass instrument.

“It is a French Horn. And the other tall brass instrument is a tuba,” Maggie responds.

“What are the big violins?”

“They are not violins. They are violas. The bigger ones are cellos, and the really big ones are basses,” Maggie responds patiently.

The orchestra director enters the stage and everyone applauds. Then the orchestra plays their first song. Wes closes his eyes and sleeps. Miguel usually sleeps when he hears classical music, but this time is different. Miguel is very interested in the different instruments. He is fascinated by the musicians that play fast and slow, loud and soft.

Miguel is moved by the music. His emotions connect with the music. When the music is sad, Miguel feels sad. When the music is happy, Miguel feels happy. Miguel discovers that he likes classical music.

After the concert, Miguel thinks that the instruments are cool. Miguel wants to play a musical instrument. Miguel wants to make music, not just listen to it. Miguel observes while Maggie plays the piano. Miguel thinks that it is not complicated to play the piano, Maggie only moves her fingers on the piano keys.

Miguel sits at the piano and moves his fingers on the piano keys. Miguel’s fingers don’t produce music like Maggie. Miguel realizes that playing the piano is a little complicated.

Miguel decides that he doesn’t want to play the piano, he wants to play another instrument. So Miguel visits with the music teacher in his school. The music teacher is called Mr. Esteban. Mr. Esteban is an expert in music and musical instruments.

“I want to play an instrument,” Miguel declares to Mr. Esteban.

Mr. Esteban is excited. He likes teaching music and always wants more students in band. Mr. Esteban puts several instruments on a table. There is a flute, a clarinete, a trumpet, a trombone, and a saxophone.

Mr. Esteban passes the instruments to Miguel. He gives a little instruction and Miguel tries to play the instrument to see which he prefers. They start with the flute.

Miguel blows and blows, but he doesn’t make a sound on the flute. His lips need to have a specific form, but it is very complicated for Miguel.

Then Miguel tries the clarinet. Mr. Esteban explains that his lips need a specific position to play the clarinet. Miguel makes the correct formation and blows. The sound that the clarinet makes is horrible. It is a big “squawk!”

Miguel tries to play the trumpet and the trombone. They aren’t bad. Miguel likes the trumpet because it is not complicated. It only has three valves. Miguel likes the trombone because he likes moving the slide to produce notes.

Miguel thinks that the saxophone is the coolest. Sometimes Miguel sees the saxophone in rock bands. Miguel wants to play the saxophone. It is a little complicated, but Miguel forms his lips and blows air in the saxophone. It produces a sound and the sound is not horrible! Mr. Esteban teaches him how to move his fingers to change notes on the saxophone. Miguel moves his fingers and produces three notes. It is very cool!

Miguel wants to be an expert on the saxophone immediately, but Mr. Esteban explains that professional musicians practice for years and years. Miguel needs to be patient and he needs to practice every day.

Miguel practices and practices and practices. He doesn’t just practice the saxophone. Miguel learns to play the guitar and the accordion. Now Miguel plays instruments in three bands. He plays the saxophone in a jazz band. He plays the accordion in a polka band. And he plays the guitar in a rock band.

The End.

You can also watch a video of this story on YouTube!

I really enjoy creating and sharing simple, comprehensible stories. I work hard to provide tools and supports for those who want to learn and I like to keep it ad free. Please, consider buying me a taco to support my work!

You can download a printer-friendly PDF of this story.

Season 1, episode 18

Luisa loves winter. She likes the cold because it means snow and ice. She skates on the ice and plays in the snow. There is only one problem: it hasn’t snowed yet!

This simple story is told in the present tense and focuses on the words “snow”, “ice”, “cold”, “snowflake”, and “frost”.

A WINTER STORY

There is a girl named Luisa. Luisa lives in Canada. In Canada it is cold in the months of November, December, January, February, and March. The cold season is called winter. Luisa likes winter. She likes winter’s cold temperature. When it is cold, the lakes turn to ice. Luisa skates on the ice. She also plays hockey with her friends on the ice. When it is cold, it snows. Luisa plays in the snow. She likes winter a lot. 

Luisa especially likes the winter snow. When it snows, she looks at all the snowflakes. Every snowflake is unique. The snowflakes fall to the ground and everything is white. Luisa does a lot of activities in the snow. She makes snow angels. She builds snowmen. She sleds and skis down hills in the snow. She makes snowballs to attack her friends. She builds snow forts.

Luisa likes winter a lot. She likes the cold and the ice and the snow. But there is a problem – it is not cold this year. There is no snow and it’s December! Luisa wants to see snow. She thinks that snowflakes are pretty. She thinks that snow is fun. Because there isn’t any snow outside yet, Luisa decides to make snowflakes with paper. Luisa cuts the paper to make snowflakes. She decorates the house with her paper snowflakes.

Luisa likes her paper snowflakes, but the paper snowflakes are not the same as real snow. At night, Luisa looks at the stars. One star moves quickly. It is a shooting star! Luisa looks at the shooting stare and wishes for snow. She wishes for it to snow a lot.

In the morning when Luisa gets up it is cold. She looks at the window. There is frost on the window. The frost makes patterns on the window. Luisa is very excited to see the frost, but she is more excited when she looks outside. Everything is calm and white. There is snow! 

Luisa is very excited. She wants to play outside, but first she needs to eat breakfast. She eats cereal and looks at the real snowflakes outside. She looks at the frost on the window. Luisa is happy.

After eating, Luisa puts on her jacket, scarf, hat, and gloves. She runs outside to play in the snow. First, she falls in the snow and moves her arms and legs to make a snow angel. Then she makes another snow angel, and another and another. Luisa makes five snow angels. 

Then, Luisa makes a snowman. To make a snowman, she makes a big ball of snow, a medium ball of snow, and a small ball of snow. She moves the big ball of snow in front of the house. She puts the medium ball of snow on top of the big ball. She puts the small ball of snow on top of the medium ball.

She puts tree branches in the medium ball to be the snowman’s arms. She puts a scarf on the snowman’s neck. She uses rocks to make two eyes and a mouth in the small ball. She puts a carrot in the middle for the nose. The snowman is not very big, but it is very handsome. Luisa likes her snowman a lot.

Suddenly, a snowball hits Luisa’s back. Luisa sees her neighbor Gracie. Gracie throws another snowball. The ball hits the snowman’s head. The snowman’s head falls to the ground.

Luisa is angry. She wants to attack Gracie with snowballs, but she needs protection. Luisa quickly builds a snow fort. She pushes snow to form a barrier. Gracie throws more snowballs, but the balls hit the barrier, not Luisa. Luisa forms snowballs. She throws the balls at Gracie. One snowball hits Gracie in the face!

Luisa and Gracie throw snowballs for a while and then Gracie’s mom calls her in to eat. Luisa walks to her snowman. It is not completely destroyed. She takes the head off the ground and puts it on the medium ball again.

Luisa’s mom calls her. It is time to eat. Luisa enters her house and takes off her jacket, scarf, hat, and gloves. She sits at the table and eats a delicious soup. While she eats, it starts to snow again. Luisa eats her soup. She looks at the frost on the window, she looks at the snowflakes. She thinks about skating and playing hockey and skiing and she thinks that it is a perfect winter day.

The End.

You can also watch a video of this story on YouTube!

I really enjoy creating and sharing simple, comprehensible stories. I work hard to provide tools and supports for those who want to learn and I like to keep it ad free. Please, consider buying me a taco to support my work!

You can download a printer-friendly PDF of this story.

Season 1, episode 17

Life with a toddler can be fun and difficult. That is why routines are so important. When Lily doesn’t take her nap, the rest of the day is rough for her dad, Stephen. Perhaps a nighttime routine with soothing songs will be exactly what they both need to sleep.

This simple story is told in the present tense and focuses on the words “sleep”, “throws”, “sings”, “reads”, and “doesn’t”. 

TIME FOR BED

There is a girl named Lily. Lily is two years old. She has green eyes and brown hair. Lily is precious. She only has one problem – she has a lot of energy. Lily is super energetic. She is moving all the time. 

Lily spends a lot of time with her dad Stephen. Stephen loves his daughter a lot. They look a lot alike. They both have green eyes and brown hair. But Stephen is different because he has a mustache and he doesn’t have as much energy as Lily.

Lily’s mom is named Carol. Carol has brown eyes and blonde hair. Carol and Lily don’t have similar colors of eyes or hair, but Lily’s facial structure is similar to Carol’s facial structure.

Carol works in an office. She has a good job and she likes her work. So Carol goes to work and Stephen stays home and takes care of Lily. All day Stephen plays with Lily, reads books to Lily, and prepares food for Lily.

Sometimes days with Lily are perfect. They play with blocks. They read books. They watch “Bluey” on TV. They eat breakfast and lunch. They take a nap. They prepare dinner for Carol at the end of the day. These days are perfect

Other days are not so perfect. Sometimes Lily doesn’t like her food. She cries and yells and throws the food. Sometimes Lily only wants to explore and she throws books and objects throughout the house. Sometimes Lily doesn’t want to take a nap in the afternoon, so she is in a bad mood the rest of the day. These days are very difficult.

Today is one of these difficult days. It is an especially difficult day because Carol has to work late. First, Lily doesn’t want to eat her cereal. She throws her cereal on the floor. Then, while Stephen is cleaning the cereal off the flower, Lily destroys the living room. She throws all her toys on the floor. She throws all the books on the floor.

When it is time to take a nap, Lily doesn’t want to sleep. Stephen rocks Lily, but she doesn’t want to sleep. Stephen sings to Lily, but she doesn’t want to sleep. Stephen reads calm books to Lily, but she doesn’t want to sleep. Stephen wants to take a nap, but Lily doesn’t want to take a nap. 

The whole day is difficult with Lily because she doesn’t take a nap. She is in a bad mood the rest of the day. She doesn’t want to play with Stephen. She doesn’t want to read with Stephen. She doesn’t want to eat her food.

Finally, it is 7:30 (seven thirty) at night. At 7:30 at night, Stephen starts the bedtime routine. Every night Lily has the same routine before bed. Carol typically helps with the routine, but she isn’t there because she is working.

At 7:30, Stephen prepares a bath for Lily. Lily takes a bath every night. A bath calms kids and prepares them to sleep better. Stephen checks the water temperature because it is important to have the perfect temperature.

Stephen puts soap for babies in the water. The soap makes bubbles. Stephen puts Lily in the bath. She sees the bubbles and is happy. Lily likes bubbles a lot. She plays in the bubbles.

While Lily plays in the bath bubbles, Stephen washes her. He washes her feet because she runs in the house all day. He washes her toes and sings:

One, two, three little toes; four, five, six little toes; seven, eight, nine little toes; you have ten little toes.

Lily laughs and splashes in the water. Stephen is happy because Lily is not in a bad mood now, she is in a good mood. Stephen washes Lily’s legs and stomach. He washes her arms and her little hands. When Stephen washes Lily’s fingers, he sings her another song.

Daddy finger, daddy finger, where are you? Here I am, here I am, how do you do?

Mommy finger, mommy finger, where are you? Here I am, here I am, how do you do?

Brother finger, brother finger, where are you? Here I am, here I am, how do you do?

Sister finger, sister finger, where are you? Here I am, here I am, how do you do?

Baby finger, baby finger, where are you? Here I am, here I am, how do you do?

Lily laughs. She likes it when her dad sings to her. Lily doesn’t like it when her dad washes her hair. She doesn’t like to have water in her eyes. So Stephen keeps singing while he washes Lily’s hair.

Baby shark, doo-doo doo-doo-doo-doo. Baby shark, doo-doo doo-doo-doo-doo. Baby shark, doo-doo doo-doo-doo-doo, baby shark. Daddy shark, doo-doo doo-doo-doo-doo. Daddy shark, doo-doo doo-doo-doo-doo. Daddy shark, doo-doo doo-doo-doo-doo, daddy shark.

Stephen puts water on Lily’s head, but she doesn’t cry. She sings with Stephen. “Mommy shark, doo-doo doo-doo-doo-doo. Mommy shark, doo-doo doo-doo-doo-doo. Mommy shark, doo-doo doo-doo-doo-doo, mommy shark.”

Lily plays in the water a little more. Stephen is exhausted, but Lily still has a lot of energy. How is it possible? It’s time to sleep!

After the bath, Stephen puts a diaper on Lily and dresses her in her pijamas. Lily still has a lot of energy, but it is time to sleep. She needs to be calm to sleep. So Stephen sits with Lily. He selects a calm book and reads to Lily. He reads the book Good Night, Moon. It is the perfect book for bedtime, but Lily doesn’t want to sleep.

Stephen decides to rock Lily. The act of rocking calms kids and prepares them to sleep. Stephen rocks Lily and sings to her, “Go to sleep, go to sleep, go to sleep now my baby.”

Lily smiles at Stephen. She doesn’t move much. It looks like she is going to sleep! Stephen keeps rocking and singing. “Twinkle, twinkle little star, how I wonder what you are. Up above the world so high like a diamond in the sky.”

When Carol arrives home from work, everything is calm. She goes to Lily’s room and sees her husband and daughter in the chair, completely asleep.

The End.

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You can download a printer-friendly PDF of this story.

Season 1, episode 16

Some students feel that they just don’t know anything, so why even try? Perhaps they just need a little bit of motivation and confidence. Daniel is not the smartest student, but he finds inspiration through a magic notebook. Through his magic notebook, he finds a recipe for success. I hope you enjoy “The Magic Notebook.”

This simple story is told in the present tense and focuses on the words “doesn’t”, “needs”, “listens”, “study”, and “solve”. 

THE MAGIC NOTEBOOK

There is a boy, his name is Daniel. Daniel is 15 (fifteen) years old. Daniel is tall with black hair and brown eyes. Daniel is nice and popular. But Daniel has a problem. Daniel is not very intelligent, he is dumb. Daniel doesn’t do well in school. Daniel has terrible grades in all his classes.

A big part of the problem is that Daniel doesn’t pay attention in class. He doesn’t listen to his teachers. When his teachers teach the class, Daniel watches his phone. When Daniel should copy information in his notebook, he makes drawings on the paper. So, Daniel doesn’t learn anything. When Daniel takes a test, he doesn’t know the information. Daniel doesn’t know anything.

Daniel’s parents aren’t happy. They want Daniel to graduate. So they say that Daniel needs to study every afternoon. They take Daniel’s phone, so he doesn’t have distractions, and Daniel goes to his bedroom.

In his room, Daniel takes out his notebook. Daniel doesn’t study. Daniel doesn’t have anything to study. He opens his notebook and looks at his drawings. Some drawings are excellent. Maybe Daniel could be an artist. After a time, Daniel closes his eyes and sleeps.

In the morning, Daniel prepares for school. Daniel grabs his backpack. He puts things in his backpack for school. He puts a pencil and a sack with his lunch in the backpack. But there is a problem, Daniel doesn’t have his notebook. Daniel needs the notebook. When Daniel writes in the notebook his teachers think he is working. Daniel looks for the notebook in his bedroom, but it isn’t there. Daniel looks for the notebook in the rest of the house, but it isn’t there. Finally, Daniel sees a blue notebook. It isn’t Daniel’s notebook, but he doesn’t have more time. He grabs the notebook and puts it in his backpack.

Daniel’s first class is Math. The teacher writes some problems and the students copy and solve the problems. The teacher looks at Daniel, so Daniel also copies the problems. When the teacher isn’t looking at Daniel, Daniel looks at his phone.

“Daniel,” the teacher says, “what is the answer to number one?”

“Uh,” Daniel responds. He doesn’t know. Daniel looks at the first problem in the notebook. Daniel is surprised when he sees an answer next to the problem. “Is it 13?”

“Very good,” the teacher says. “Lupe, what do you have for number 2?”

Daniel doesn’t listen to Lupe’s answer. Daniel looks at the notebook. Daniel writes another problem in the notebook. After two seconds, the answer appears. It is magic!

Daniel goes to all his classes. In the classes, he writes problems or questions in the notebook. In all the classes, the answers simply appear in the notebook. Daniel is very excited. He has a magic notebook!

At home Daniel is not sad when it is time to study, he is excited! Daniel wants to write more problems and questions in the notebook and he wants to see the answers. Daniel is curious. He wants to see all the information that the notebook knows.

The next day at school, Daniel wants to copy information in the notebook. He likes to see when the answer appears. All day Daniel doesn’t look at his phone, he only looks at the notebook. Daniel pays attention in class and listens to his teachers and writes information in the notebook.

Sometimes Daniel asks for help from his teachers because he doesn’t understand the answer that is in the magic notebook. His teachers are patient and explain a lot to Daniel.

At the end of the week, Daniel has a test. Daniel is not worried – he has the magic notebook! Using notebooks on the test is not allowed, but Daniel has a plan.

The day of the test, Daniel puts the notebook under the table. The teacher hands out the tests. Then the teacher walks in the classroom. When the teacher is not walking near Daniel, Daniel copies a question from the test in the notebook. Then he waits. Daniel looks at the notebook after two seconds, but the answer doesn’t appear. Daniel is confused. What is the problem with the notebook?

The teacher walks close to Daniel, so Daniel closes the notebook and looks at the test. He looks at the question that he copied in the notebook. Daniel looks at the question and he realizes that he knows the answer. Daniel doesn’t need the answer from the notebook because he has the answer in his head. Daniel doesn’t need the notebook.

Daniel answers the question and looks at the next question. Daniel is about to copy the question in the magic notebook when he realizes that he knows the answer again. Daniel doesn’t need the magic notebook.

Daniel reads the other questions on the test. Daniel doesn’t copy the question in the magic notebook because he knows the answers. Daniel doesn’t use the magic notebook on the whole test.

On Monday, Daniel gets his test. He got an 85% (eighty-five percent)! Daniel is very happy and he is proud of himself. Daniel is not dumb, he is intelligent. Daniel doesn’t need the magic notebook, he just needs to study a little and pay attention in class.

Now Daniel listens to his teachers. He copies information in his notebook and studies the information at home. The notebook checks Daniel’s answers and marks the correct answers with a star. Daniel practices and studies and now he does very well in school. He has good grades in all his classes. Daniel’s parents and teachers are very happy too.

Daniel realizes that he doesn’t need to use a magic notebook, he just needs to use his head.

The end.

You can also watch a video of this story on YouTube!

I really enjoy creating and sharing simple, comprehensible stories. I work hard to provide tools and supports for those who want to learn and I like to keep it ad free. Please, consider buying me a taco to support my work!

You can download a printer-friendly PDF of this story.

Season 1, episode 15

Mothers often need to have patience as children learn and grow. Nadia is mother to Luisa and Perla. Luisa loves her family and she loves to help. But sometimes her help causes problems for her mother. All is well, though, with Luisa hugs her mom and tells her, “I love you, mom.”

This simple story is told in the past tense and focuses on the words “listened”, “ran”, “wanted”, “said”, “responded”, “surprised”, “pretty”, and “love”.

I LOVE YOU, MOM

Luisa is 4 years old. Her sister Perla is only one. Luisa and Perla live with their mom Nadia and their dad Max.

Luisa likes her family a lot. She loves her mom, her dad and her little sister. She likes to read stories with them. She likes to play with them and watch movies with them. She especially likes to help them in the house.

Luisa helps in the house a lot. When her mom and dad talk, Luisa listens. For example, one day Nadia mentioned that Perla needed a bath. So Luisa decided to help. Luisa went to the bathroom and grabbed a towel and soap. Luisa filled a bucket with water. Then Luisa walked with the towel, soap, and water to Perla’s room. Luisa put the towel in the bucket of water with the soap. Then Luisa washed Perla. When Luisa finished, she called her mom.

Nadia listened to Luisa and ran to the bedroom. When she entered Perla’s room, she was very surprised and a little angry. Perla’s room was a disaster! There was water and soap all over the floor.

“Why is it a mess here?” Nadia yelled at Perla. “Why is there water and soap on the floor?”

Luisa looked at the disaster and ran to her mom. She hugged Nadia and then she said, “I love you mom. I just want to help.”

Nadia sighed. “I love you too, Luisa,” Nadia responded. “Now let’s clean this up.”

Another time Nadia mentioned that the family was going to an important event. She said that they were going to have elegant clothes and that they had to be very pretty. Luisa was very excited. She loved elegant clothes. Perla also had an elegant dress, although small.

The day of the event, Luisa observed her mom. Nadia was putting on makeup. Luisa thought that she also needed makeup to be pretty. So Luisa took her mom’s makeup. She went to Perla’s room. Luisa painted her lips and cheeks red. Then she put makeup on Perla. She thought they were very pretty and called her mom.

Nadia listened to Luisa and ran to the room. When she entered Perla’s room she was very surprised and a little angry. Luisa had used her favorite makeup and it was destroyed. Then she looked at Luisa with her big, red smile and Perla with her rosy cheeks. Luisa ran to her mom.

“Look mom, we are pretty like you!” Luisa said. Then she hugged her mom and said, “I love you, mom.”

Nadia sighed. “Yes, dear. We are very pretty,” Nadia responded.

Luisa wanted to do something special for her mom’s birthday. So in the morning she decided to prepare breakfast for her mom. Her mom likes to eat eggs. So Luisa grabbed two eggs. One egg fell and broke on the floor. Luisa broke the other egg in the pan. Then Luisa decided to prepare pancakes for her mom’s special day. She opened a lot of boxes and combined the ingredients.

Max, Luisa’s dad, heard the noise in the kitchen. He walked to the kitchen to investigate. When he entered the kitchen he was very surprised and a little angry. The kitchen was a disaster!

Luisa looked at her dad’s angry face and began to cry. “I just wanted to prepare a special breakfast for mom,” Luisa cried.

So Max helped Luisa prepare eggs and pancakes for Nadia. Max and Luisa walked to Nadia’s bedroom. Nadia looked at the delicious breakfast and she was surprised. Luisa ran to her mom and hugged her.

“I love you, mom,” Luisa said. “Happy birthday!”.

“Thank you, Luisa!” Nadia exclaimed and then she ate all the pancakes while Max and Luisa cleaned the kitchen.

One day Luisa was watching a television show. On the show, a boy made a panting for his mom. Luisa decided that she also wanted to make a painting for her mom. So Luisa grabbed paintbrushes and paint. Luisa worked on the painting for a long time. She painted and painted with red, blue, yellow, and purple.

Nadia was with Perla. She didn’t see Luisa. She didn’t hear Luisa. Nadia was worried. She decided to investigate. She wanted to see if Luisa was okay. When Nadia entered Luisa’s room, she was very surprised and a little angry.

Luisa was painting on the wall of her bedroom. Luisa painted three girls on the wall. One girl was tall, one girl was short, and the third girl was very small. The girls were in a red heart. Luisa looked at her mom. Then Luisa ran to her mom and hugged her.

“It’s you, me, and Perla. I love you, mom,” Luisa said.

Nadia sighed. “I love you too, Luisa. This is a very pretty painting. In the future, let’s paint on paper and not on the wall.”

The end.

You can also watch a video of this story on YouTube!

I really enjoy creating and sharing simple, comprehensible stories. I work hard to provide tools and supports for those who want to learn and I like to keep it ad free. Please, consider buying me a taco to support my work!

You can download a printer-friendly PDF of this story.

Season 1, episode 14

We all get bored. Georgie has a room full of things, but he still gets bored. When he tells people he is bored, they just send him away to do something else. Will he just stay bored forever? Or will he find something to entertain the day away? Listen in to find out in “I’m Bored!”

This simple story is told in the present tense and focuses on the words “thinks”, “grabs”, “takes”, and “What’s wrong?”.

I’M BORED!

Georgie is 6 years old. He lives with his mom, dad, sister and grandma. At home, Georgie has a big bedroom. in the bedroom there are a lot of things. There are books to read and color. There are teddy bears and dinosaurs. There are toy cars and trucks. there are blocks and balls. Georgie has a lot of things, but today, it is not enough.

Today is Saturday. Georgie doesn’t have school. Georgie doesn’t have work. After eating breakfast, Georgie sighs loudly.

“What’s wrong, dear?” his mother asks.

“I’m bored, mom,” Georgie responds.

“Bored?” his mom reacts in surprise. “Well, read a book.”

Georgie walks to his bedroom and looks at all the books. He selects a comic book. Georgie reads the book. It is interesting, but today it is not enough. Georgie closes the book and walks to his dad. Georgie’s dad is washing the dishes. Georgie sighs loudly.

“What’s wrong, dear?” his dad asks.

“I’m bored, dad,” Georgie responds.

“Bored?” his dad reacts with surprise. “Well, read a book.”

“I already read a book,” Georgie says. 

“Well, watch a show on the TV with your grandma,” his dad recommends.

Georgie walks to the living room. His grandma is sitting on the couch and she’s watching a show on the TV. The TV program is her favorite soap opera. The soap opera is super dramatic and intense. Georgie doesn’t like the soap opera very much. Georgie sighs loudly.

“What’s wrong, Georgie?” his grandma asks.

“I’m bored, grandma,” Georgie responds.

“Bored?” his grandma reacts in surprise. “This telenovela is very intense and interesting! If you don’t want to watch my telenovela, play with your sister.”
Georgie goes to his sister’s room. His sister’s name is Brisa. Brisa has a group of dolls and teddy bears. She is playing with the dolls when she sees Georgie.

“Can I play with you, Brisa?” Georgie asks.

“Yes,” Brisa responds, “but you have to listen to me and you can’t attack my dolls!”

Georgie grabs a teddy bear and a dinosaur from his bedroom. He plays with Brisa for a few minutes, but he is bored! Brisa and her dolls drink tea and talk about girl stuff. Ugh! Georgie sighs loudly.

“What’s wrong?” Brisa asks Georgie.

“I’m bored, Brisa,” Georgie responds.

“Bored?” Brisa reacts in surprise. “You are at the exclusive tea party of princess Adela (the name of her favorite doll) and you are bored?!”

“Yes.”

“Well! Play in your room. Good-bye!” Brisa exclaims.

Georgie walks to his bedroom and looks at his stuff. He sees a book. The drawings are nice, but Georgie is still bored. He looks at the balls. He throws a ball against the wall, but it isn’t enough. Georgie is still bored. He looks at the blocks. He builds a tower, but it isn’t enough. Georgie is still bored. He looks at the cars. He pushes the cars on an imaginary street, but it isn’t enough. Georgie is still bored.

Georgie sits in the middle of his dormitory with all his stuff. Georgie is bored. He thinks and thinks and thinks. Then Georgie has an idea.

Georgie takes the blocks and builds a small city of blocks. Georgie takes his cars and puts them on the street of the little city. Then Georgie goes to his parents’ bedroom. He opens the closet and grabs the camera and tripod. Georgie returns to his bedroom with the camera and tripod. Georgie positions the camera and the tripod.

Georgie grabs a teddy bear and a dinosaur. He puts the dinosaur on the street of the little city with the cars. Then Georgie takes a picture. Then he moves the dinosaur a little and takes another picture. Georgie continues moving the dinosaur and the cars little by little. With each movement, he takes a picture. After a lot of pictures, he puts the teddy bear in the street of the little city too.

After 30 minutes, Brisa enters Georgie’s bedroom and sighs loudly. “I’m bored,” Brisa says. Then she sees Georgie’s activity. She grabs some small dolls and puts the dolls on the street with the cars and the dinosaur. She helps Georgie move the toys and take pictures.

After 20 more minutes, Georgie’s dad enters the bedroom and sighs loudly. “I’m bored,” his dad says. Then he sees Georgie’s activity. His dad takes a position with the camera. Georgie and Brisa move the toys and their dad takes the pictures.

After ten more minutes, Georgie’s mom enters the bedroom and sighs loudly. “I’m bored,” his mom says. Then she sees Georgie’s activity. His mom helps move the toys with Georgie and Brisa.

The whole family works together for two hours. They move the toys and take pictures. Then the dad grabs his computer. He puts the photos on the computer and connects all the photos to make a movie. The mom then takes the computer. She puts in music and sound effects.

Then the family goes to the living room to watch their movie. The grandma is in the living room. She is sitting on the couch and she sighs loudly. “I’m bored,” grandma says.

Georgie smiles. The family sits on the couch with the grandma and watches the movie on the computer. It is a fantastic movie about a dinosaur that attacks a small city. The dinosaur grabs and throws cars. The people in the city yell and the dolls run. Then an enormous bear attacks the dinosaur and defends the city.

The movie is fantastic and Georgie is happy. He decides that sometimes it is good to be bored because boredom leads to creativity.

The end.

You can also watch a video of this story on YouTube!

I really enjoy creating and sharing simple, comprehensible stories. I work hard to provide tools and supports for those who want to learn and I like to keep it ad free. Please, consider buying me a taco to support my work!

You can download a printer-friendly PDF of this story.