Posts Tagged ‘Grade One’

Storytime Standouts highlights three special picture books for youngsters headed off to school and shares a free printable picture dictionary and writing paper

Are your children excited to start school or are they fearful about it? Do they have questions about what the classroom will look like and who will be there? Are they concerned about rules, routine and homework or are they excited to meet their teacher and make new friends?


For many adults, books are a great source of information as well as entertainment. Whether searching for a delicious recipe, researching an upcoming family vacation or deciding if a visit to the doctor is necessary, books can be inspiring, entertaining, informative and reassuring.


Just as adults seek information from books, children gain understanding and confidence as they explore new and unfamiliar situations through books. Whether beginning preschool or returning to school in September, there are many delightful picture books available to help you and your child explore the experience together and then make the transition with ease.

Fun song for children starting First Grade

Biscuit Goes to School written by Alyssa Satin Capucilli and illustrated by Pat Schories
Beginning Reader published by Harper Trophy

Biscuit is a truly outstanding series for beginning readers. Beautifully illustrated with engaging pictures that will help a new reader to determine meaning. Classroom depicted is racially diverse.

Resources for extension activities, including printables are available here.
Biscuit Goes to School at Amazon.com

Biscuit Goes to School at Amazon.ca

Ready, Set, Preschool! – written by Anna Jane Hays, illustrated by True Kelley
Picture book about preschool published by Knopf Books for Young Readers an Imprint of Random House Children’s Books

Ready, Set, Preschool! features stories, poetry and detailed illustrations that will enable youngsters to explore a typical preschool classroom, experience a field trip, observe playground activities and more. As well, the illustrations and text offer opportunities to practice counting, identifying colors and shapes, recognize rhyming words, the alphabet and letter sounds.

Extensive notes for parents provide helpful suggestions of ways to extend learning and prepare young children for their very first school experience.

Ready, Set, Preschool!: Stories, Poems and Picture Games with an Educational Guide for Parents at Amazon.com

Ready, Set, Preschool!: Stories, Poems and Picture Games with an Educational Guide for Parents at Amazon.ca

Off to First Grade – written by Lousie Borden, illustrated by Joan Rankin
Picture book about starting grade one published by Margaret K. McElderry Books

I can still recall vividly a recommendation that was made when I attended my eldest son’s kindergarten orientation: make sure your child is not expecting to ride the school bus to school unless he actually is going to climb aboard)! It was great advice. In those days he was captivated by large vehicles. Discovering at the last minute that he would not be riding the bus off school could have been terribly disappointing. The transition from kindergarten to grade one is explored thoroughly and with thoughtfulness in Off to First Grade. The author tells the story from a variety of perspectives. We discover some children will ride the bus and others will walk. Some are eager to begin grade one and a few think they would rather stay in kindergarten. Mrs. Miller is hoping to remember everyone’s name, the school bus driver is excited and the principal wonders which book to read aloud to the new grade one students.

Off to First Grade at Amazon.com

Off to First Grade at Amazon.ca

How Do Dinosaurs Go to School? – written by Jane Yolen, illustrated by Mark Teague
Picture book about school life published by The Blue Sky Press an imprint of the Scholastic Trade Book Division.

For children heading off to school, the best How Do Dinosaurs title by Jane Yolen and Mark Teague is How Do Dinosaurs Go to School? Here the reader visits a conventional elementary school. The school, its staff and students appear quite unremarkable except for eight or ten extraordinary pupils. Enormous creatures from the Jurassic period demonstrate proper behavior enroute to school, on the stairs, in the classroom, during show-and-tell and at the playground. Lots of funosaurus for dino fans who are heading off to school soon.

How Do Dinosaurs Go To School? at Amazon.com

How Do Dinosaurs Go to School? at Amazon.ca

These stories about worries and fears may also be helpful for children who are anxious about starting school

Our back to school theme printables are perfect for beginning writers.

3 Free Back to School Theme Printables for Home and School

  School Picture Dictionary

Free printable school picture dictionary for readers and writers in kindergarten and grade one. Also a great resource for ELL / ESL

  Writing paper for kids - Back to School

Free printable Back to school theme interlined paper for beginning writers.

  My First Day of School 'Boom'

Free printable interlined writing paper for the First Day of School

When my boys first ventured into reading grade one chapter books, they were delighted to discover Frog and Toad by Arnold Lobel. Featuring a wonderful friendship and many happy adventures, the Frog and Toad series has been a favorite with young readers for decades.

James Howe’s latest book, Houndlsey and Catina is very reminiscent of the Frog and Toad series. Howe is famous for Bunnicula (Today Vegetables… Tomorrow the World). Houndlsey and Catina will appeal to younger readers who prefer shorter, generously illustrated chapters and less text. It will likely suit a child reading at a mid to late grade one level.

Houndlsey and Catina written by James Howe and illustrated by Marie-Louise Gay
Chapter book series for kindergarten – grade three published by Candlewick Press

Illustrated beautifully by Marie-Louis Gay, Houndlsey and Catina tells of Catina’s desire to write a prize-winning book and Houndleys’ wish to win a cooking contest. Together, they help us see that being friends “is better than being famous.” This is a lovely tribute to friendship.

Houndsley and Catina at Amazon.com

Houndsley and Catina at Amazon.ca

The Frog and Toad Collection Box Set (I Can Read Book 2) at Amazon.com

The Frog and Toad Collection Box Set at Amazon.ca

When looking for a special grade two chapter book, you can’t go wrong with Nate the Great

Nate the Great written by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat and illustrated by Marc Simont
Published by Yearling

Nate likes pancakes and syrup almost as much as he enjoys solving a perplexing mystery. Nate and his canine sidekick, Sludge, are called upon to solve all sorts of cases; locating lost paintings, disappearing dogs and, in one case, a missing key.

With an appearance that is often reminiscent of Sherlock Holmes, Nate is all business – except if pancakes are on the menu. Along with Annie and Rosamond, our hero cracks each case with solid detective work.

Nate the Great is a series that has been delighting young readers for more than thirty years. Suitable for children who are reading at about a grade two level, some of the stories are divided into chapters. Generously illustrated, the text is perfect for young readers who are ready to take on a meatier story (than typically found in easy readers).

Series like these are great because beginning readers often decide they want to read every single one of the Nate the Great books. This is just what we want, a child who is motivated to read by fun stories and a delightful cast of characters.

Nate the Great at Random House includes printable activities plus author information.

TeacherVision Nate the Great summarizing activity

Nate the Great at Amazon.com

Nate the Great at Amazon.ca

There are many, many ways to support young readers with these free, printable sight words. Homeschoolers, classroom teachers and parents will love using them with beginning readers.

We want all readers to aquire the skills they need to decode unfamiliar words so that most words become sight words. This aspect of learning to read is also referred to as aquiring ‘Instant’, ‘Whole’, ‘Look & Say’, ‘Dolch’, &/or ‘High Frequency’ words.

We know readers with large sight word vocabularies read more rapidly and more fluently than readers whose sight word vocabularies are small. It is logical that a reader who is able to ‘instantly’ recognize and understand the words he or she reads, will be faster and more fluent than a reader who must often pause in order to decode unfamiliar words.

We also know that some English words are not appropriate for ‘sounding out’ – they occur much too often and are not necessarily phonetic (for example ‘there’ does not sound anything like /t/+/h/+/e/+/r/+/e/).

Our free early literacy printables, including our sight word printables are in PDF format, if you don’t already have Adobe Reader, you will need to download it to access the printable sight words.

You will find our entire selection of free printable alphabets here and all of our early literacy printables here.

On our “Printables” page you will find links to printable sight words, that is, lists of high frequency words. We also refer to these as whole words. We have organized the sight words in groups of ten (per page) and a total of sixty sight words per link. (#1-60, 61-120, 121-180 & 181-240). Here is a shortcut…

  Sight Words 1 to 60

Download and print these high-frequency sight word flashcards for beginning readers to learn. This is the first set.

  Sight Words 61 - 120

Download and print these high-frequency sight word flashcards for beginning readers to learn. This is the second set.

  Sight Words 121 - 180

Download and print these high-frequency sight word flashcards for beginning readers to learn. This is the third set.

  Sight Words 181 - 240

Download and print these high-frequency sight word flashcards for beginning readers to learn. This is the fourth set.

The printable lists can be used for flash cards (I don’t call them ‘flash cards’ with children. I prefer something a bit zippier) but the real fun is in finding creating ways to introduce these words and make them ‘instant.’

There are dozens of ways to make learning sight words fun – especially if you have access to colored paper, attractive stickers, cardstock and/or file folders. Adding authentic game pieces (like dice, markers, spinners, and penalties (for example “go back two”) will help to engage your child in the activities. In all likelihood, he or she will be glad to help you create board games, memory games, special tic tac toe squares or bingo cards.

Note, we also have sight word dominoes, practice sentences and special PDFs (i.e. seasonal, vehicles, and activity-related sight words) that include words and pictures.

  Sight Word Domino Game Part 1

Download and print Part 1 of our Sight Word Domino game for beginning readers. This can be used to help new readers to read high-frequency sight words confidently and fluently.

  Sight Word Domino Game Part 2

Download and print Part 2 of our Sight Word Domino game for beginning readers. This can be used to help new readers to read high-frequency sight words confidently and fluently.

  Sight Word Domino Game Part 3

Download and print Part 3 of our Sight Word Domino game for beginning readers. This can be used to help new readers to read high-frequency sight words confidently and fluently.

Important Note: Please limit the number of sight words you introduce at any one time – five or ten at most.

You will be interested in our Sight Word board on Pinterest

Check out this series for emergent readers

I spent a fair amount of time in a dentist’s chair today and was reflecting on my recent experience with a grade one student. I’ve been working with him for a while. His older brothers have had some difficulty with reading so I spend half an hour, once a week with this youngster. Yesterday he read from the Oxford University Press Read at Home series. He is familiar with these books and knows the characters; Floppy, Chip, Kipper and Biff.

During our session, I suggested he try one of the Level 4 stories. He eagerly selected, Trapped! text by Cynthia Rider, illustrations by Alex Brychta. It was delightful to hear him read confidently but what was even more special was his reaction to the book. Clearly, he saw this story as different from others he has read independently. There was more text – about three sentences per page. There were letters and hidden keys to locate within the illustrations. But, most surprising, there was drama – when Grandma was briefly trapped in a castle – and mystery – why was there face at the castle window?

My emergent reader was thrilled to read Trapped – he likened it to the kind of books his older brothers read. He felt competent, confident and intrigued. If only all books for young readers could replicate this winning combination.

The Oxford University Press Read at Home series is excellent from beginning to end and includes dozens of great titles for emergent readers.

Read at Home: More Level 4c: Trapped! at Amazon.com

Read at Home: More Level 4c Trapped! at Amazon.ca

Read at Home: Level 4, Pack of 6 at Amazon.ca

What is your favorite series for readers at this level? Please share your ideas and suggestions.

Why Should I Recycle? written by Jen Green and illustrated by Mike Gordon

Why Should I Recycle?a picture book about recycling is part of a series of books that includes Why Should I… Save Energy, Save Water, and Protect Nature. It explains that items typically tossed into the garbage often can be reused.

On a field trip to a recycling center, Mr. Jones explains that bottles, cans, plastic, clothing and paper can all be used again. Additional suggestions include composting, donating used clothing, books and toys, reusing plastic bags and choosing to buy items made from recycled materials.

Endnotes for teachers and parents include suggestions for points to discuss as well as follow-up activities and a list of picture books about recycling, pollution, and conserving energy.

Best for children aged 4 – 6, Why Should I Recycle? provides an introduction to this subject and is well-suited for use in a classroom library.

Why Should I Recycle? at Amazon.com

Why Should I Recycle? at Amazon.ca

Be sure to visit our page highlighting
picture books about caring for our environment,
ecosystems, recycling,
reducing our environmental footprint and more.
Terrific resources for Earth Day and Arbor Day.