Fun Frog Facts...Jumping Jim Frogs are great jumpers. That’s why I like them. Boy called Roy I like playing a game called ‘leap frog‘ with Mr. I or sometimes with Yo-yo Man

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Fun Frog Facts Characters Firefighter Fred Teacher Vicky Violet Golden Girl Boy called Roy Noisy Nick Jumping Jim Fix-it Max Everyone Story Words: questions tongues moisture mosquitoes guhrump poisonous

Words to Decode: v i s i to r su rp r i se i n te res ted

s l imy i n sect s

Teacher Today we will be learning about frogs. Can any of you tell us something about frogs? Golden Girl I like frogs because lots of them are green. Noisy Nick I enjoy listening to frogs making a noise. Jumping Jim Frogs are great jumpers. That’s why I like them. Boy called Roy I like playing a game called ‘leap frog‘ with Mr. I or sometimes with Yo-yo Man. And I have a toy frog. Vicky Violet I don’t like frogs. I’ve heard that some frogs have poison! Teacher I am glad you all shared what you know about frogs. We are having a visitor today… Golden Girl Don’t tell us who it is. That will spoil the surprise. Let us guess who it is. I’m good at guessing games. Teacher Okay, you can guess. He knows all about frogs. He has lots of them around his fish pond at his farm. Who he is?

Everyone Firefighter Fred! Teacher Yes, you are all good at guessing and here he is now. Firefighter Fred Hello, my fine friends. Let’s start with you asking questions about frogs. Raise your hands and I will point to you. Fix-it Max Why are you interested in frogs, Firefighter Fred?

© Letterland International Ltd. 2011. May be photocopied only for use within the purchasing school and only with the Teacher’s Guide that it was supplied with. All rights reserved. Not for resale; loan or rental.

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Fred I like frogs because they start with my sound, but I really like having them around my fish pond as well. Noisy Nick Do you think they are noisy? Fred Yes, but I enjoy hearing their froggy voices at night. They sound like this, ‘Guhrump, guhrump!’ One starts and another joins in. Soon all of them are singing a joyful song.

Everyone Guhrump, guhrump, guhrump! Vicky Violet Don’t frogs have slimy skins? Fred Frogs do have to keep their skins moist. So most frogs live close to water, but others dig down into the soil to get moisture. Golden Girl What do frogs eat? Fred Most frogs eat insects. If there is a pond near your house, mosquitoes can really annoy you. Frogs really help with those mosquitoes. They catch them with their long, sticky tongues. Jumping Jim Are frogs really good jumpers? Fred They have to be good jumpers to avoid being eaten by other animals. One day I saw a snake coiled up by the pond near a little frog. As the snake uncoiled, the little frog leaped the length of a small car right into the pond.

Roy Oh, boy, I would like to play ‘leap frog’ with a real frog! Vicky Violet Do frogs really have poison? Fred Some frogs are poisonous. It helps to keep them safe. They have bright colors to warn animals to leave them alone. Fix-it Max Do people eat frogs? Fred Some people like to eat frog legs.

Vicky Violet That wouldn’t be my choice for lunch! But now I know frogs do good things like singing and eating mosquitoes.

Jumping Jim & Roy And they are really great jumpers! Fred You’re right. I must be off now. Another day I’ll come back and tell you about how frogs start off as tadpoles.

Everyone Thank you, Firefighter Fred. Guhrump, guhrump!


1 Unit 22

Peter Puppy, Author Characters Annie Apple Walter Walrus Narrator Talking Tess

Yellow Yo-yo Man Lucy Lamp Light Pop (Peter Puppy) Polly (Patsy Puppy)

Harry Hat Man Firefighter Fred Vicky Violet Story Words: audience neighbor awkward violin practice teriffic

Words to Decode: applaud pe r fo rm contes t

remember pe r fect not ice doggone awesome

Annie Apple Did you know that Peter Puppy is an author? Walter Walrus So what did Peter Puppy write? Annie Apple He wrote a play. Walter Walrus Aw, Peter Puppy can’t write a play. I bet it’s an awful play. Annie Apple Well, you can find out for yourself. Peter Puppy and Patsy Puppy are about to perform the play right here on Lucy Lamp Light’s lawn. Water Walrus Aw, I guess I’ll stay and watch, but if this play isn’t any good, I’ll splash you with cold, salty water. Annie Apple Aw, Walter, don’t be awful! Narrator Sammy Snake and Harry Hat Man are seated on the lawn just in front of Annie and Walter. Sammy isn’t saying anything. He is just loudly sipping some soda with a straw. Harry turns around and says…

Harry Hat Man Sh! The show is about to begin. Should be a good show! I hope there is no shouting though.


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Narrator Talking Tess is sitting on the front row with Yellow Yo-yo Man. Talking Tess Yo-yo Man, I hear this is a terrific play. Did you know that Peter Puppy wrote it? And Patsy Puppy is in it and also Firefighter Fred—he plays himself—and Vicky Violet, she… Narrator Just then Yellow Yo-yo Man yawned a huge yawn. Yo-yo Man Oh, excuse me, Talking Tess. I am quite sleepy. I’ve been awake since dawn. I’ve been hauling my Yo-yo’s all about and hauling e’s for Mr. E too, without a pause. But I am sure Peter Puppy’s play will keep me awake. Lucy Lamp Light Listen, everyone! Peter Puppy and Patsy Puppy proudly present a play by Peter Puppy. The title of the play is Polly Puppy and her Pop. Peter will play the part of Pop and Patsy Puppy will be his daughter, Polly.

Act 1 Pop Polly Puppy, I think it is time that I taught you a few things that I learned as a young puppy. Polly Okay, Pop. What should we begin with? Pop Well, my favorite thing is gnawing on a bone, but I guess you already know how to do that. Polly Yes, Pop, My jaws are not as big as yours but I have been gnawing bones for quite a while. Pop Well, I could teach you how to eat raw meat. Polly I have been doing that for a while, too. Pop Okay, I guess I could teach you how to catch a stick and haul it across the yard. Talking Tess, is in the audience. Uh, could you toss me a stick, please. Talking Tess Toss a stick? Sure, Peter…I mean, Pop.


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Pop See you just keep your eye on the stick, open your jaws, and jump when the stick is in the air. Narrator Pop jumped up and caught the stick in the air. Pop Then you just gnaw on it and get lots of slobber all over it and take it back to Talking Tess. Talking Tess (taking the stick by just holding on to the very tip of it and then laying it down) Thanks, Pop, I’ll just let this dry over here. Polly That’s great Pop, but… Pop But what? Polly Well, this is a bit awkward, but I won a Stick Catching Contest last August. Pop Oh, yes, I remember, now. Well, what else do puppies need to learn… Can you crawl on your belly? Polly Yes. Pop Can you bark at a hawk flying by? Polly Yes. Pop Can I teach you how to jump up and pull Lucy Lamp Light’s laundry off the line? Lucy Lamp Light Hold on, that’s not a good idea! Polly I know, Pop! Can you teach me how to dig a hole with my claws? Pop You bet, Polly. I am a great digger. Polly Maybe you and I can dig out a hole for Lucy Lamp Light to plant a tree. Lucy A large, leafy tree would be lovely right here on my lighthouse lawn. Narrator Pop and Polly got started digging.


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Pop You see, Polly, you scratch at the ground with your front paws and let the dirt fly out behind. Narrator Polly caught on fast and soon the two had a nice deep hole.

(The audience applauds as Act 1 ends.)

Walter Walrus Was that it? Was that all? What is… Harry Hat Man Sh! That was just Act 1. Wait, Act 2 should be starting shortly. Annie Apple Don’t you like the play so far, Walter Walrus? Walter Well, I wouldn’t say I like it. But I will wait for Act 2. Annie Apple Oh Walter, don’t be so awful! Talking Tess Let me tell you what happens next in the play Yo-yo Man. Pop, who is really Peter Puppy, gets caught inside Firefighter Fred’s fence because Fred… Yo-yo Man Please don’t tell me, Talking Tess. You will spoil it for me. Harry Hat Man Ssshh! They are starting the last act.

Act 2 Narrator Firefighter Fred has a fence all around his yard. One day as Fred was coming out of the gate, Pop slipped inside the fence. Fred did not notice as he was talking to his neighbor Vicky Violet. She had taken her vase of violets outside to get some sun. Vicky Very nice day, isn’t it. Fred A fine day! A fine day for fishing! I am going on a fishing trip and won’t be back until Friday. Vicky Have a very fine time, Fred. Narrator Firefighter Fred locked the gate and headed down the road. Vicky Violet went inside to


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practice her violin. Pop had been sniffing around in the yard for bones. Pop Wait a minute. Did I hear Firefighter Fred say he would be away until Friday? Uh-oh, that’s almost a week! I was so busy following my nose that I didn’t even notice. Doggone, what am I going to do! Now here I am caught inside Fred’s fence until Friday. Narrator At about that time, Polly Puppy came prancing down the sidewalk. Polly Hi, Pop. Find any good bones lately? Pop Oh, Polly, I am caught inside this fence and Firefighter Fred won’t be home for days. What am I going to do? Narrator Polly remembered what Pop had taught her. So what do you think Pop and Polly did? Polly You dig on that side of the fence, Pop, and I’ll dig on this side. Pretty soon we’ll have a hole for you to slip under the fence. Narrator So that is what they did. Polly and Pop dug really hard and soon Pop was free! Pop You learned your digging lesson well, Polly! Polly Oh, Pop! I had a good teacher!

(The audience applauds loudly.)

Annie Apple Why, Walter, you are applauding loudest of all! Walter Walrus (clapping even louder with his flippers) Well, I do have two pretty big clappers here! Annie Apple & Walter Walrus (both applauding loudly) Awesome! Hooray for the author. Awesome!


1 Unit 23

Snorkeling Characters Heather Seth Mom Octopus Fish Dad Grandmother

The words in italics below are Heather telling us about her family’s snorkeling experience sometime after it happened. (These words could be divided between 6 different children ‘being’ Heather.) The words in regular print are what her family said when it was actually happening.

Story Words: yeah pajamas definitely coral reef Words to Decode: snorkel package internet

butter f ly super p last ic probably octopus

My grandmother lives in another city, but she sends special presents for our whole family sometimes. Not long ago, she sent us the best present ever. It all started one day when my older brother Seth and I were playing a card game on the floor.

Heather Hooray, I just scored again. Seth I don’t care. This game is so boring it makes me snore, zzzzzzz! Heather You think everything is boring! Just then the door bell rang. Mom went to the door and came back with a package. Heather What is it, Mom? Mom It’s a package from your grandmother.


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Heather All right! Grandma sends the greatest gifts. Seth It is probably something boring like that light-up globe she sent us. Mom Seth! You know you adored that globe. Seth Yeah, but that was before Heather broke the light ! Mom Here, let’s see what Grandma sent this time. Mom set the package down beside us. Dad came in the room to see what it was. My brother and I tore into it. Soon we had poured out four curved plastic tubes and four diving masks on the floor. Seth held up one of the tubes. Seth What is this thing? Dad The tubes are called snorkels. You use them with the diving mask to explore underwater. You breathe through the tube like this, so you can keep your face under water while you watch the fish and other sea animals. Heather That sounds like fun! Seth Boring! That evening I wore the snorkel and mask in the bathtub. There was not much to explore in there, but it was still fun. Mom and Dad told us they were planning a snorkeling trip to the shore. Then one weekend Mom showed Seth and me a website on the internet that had all kinds of fish on it. Mom See, you just click on a sea animal and it talks to you and tells you all about itself. Seth Oh, boy that sounds so… BORING! Heather I am just going to ignore you, Mr. Boring. Let me click on this octopus right there. (Click.)

Octopus Hi, I am an octopus. I shoot ink into the water to help get away from animals that chase me. Heather Cool. Let’s try this fish over here. (Click.)


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Fish I am a green parrot fish. I make myself new pajamas every night. Seth Huh? Heather That’s really cool ! Mom Speaking of pajamas, you two need to get yours on and get some sleep. In the morning, we leave for the shore to go snorkeling ! Heather Ahhhh, Wow!

Seth Oooooh, could be… boring! The next morning the four of us started out in the car with our snorkels and masks and fins in the trunk. Heather I can’t wait to go snorkeling. What do we do when we get there? Dad After we park the car, we get in a small boat and… Mom …and put on our sun screen, of course. Dad Yes, of course, we put on our sun screen to keep us from getting sore with sunburn. Then we take the small boat out to a coral reef. Seth What is a coral reef? Mom Oh, remember that from the book Dad showed you? The coral reef is made by tiny animals that all live together in the hard, rock-like shapes. Dad That’s right! All kinds of pretty sea animals live around the reef. But remember to look and not touch because lots of those pretty things can sting you. Seth Oh, great! Not only do we have to look at boring fish but maybe they will sting us too!


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We were soon in the water with our snorkels and masks. We couldn’t talk much since we had our heads underwater almost all the time. But on the way home, we called Grandma on Mom’s cell phone. She put on the speaker so we could all talk. Heather Grandma, we are on our way home from snorkeling with all the gear you sent us. Grandmother Sounds like fun! Tell me all about it.

Heather I saw a school of pretty yellow butterfly fish. I counted fourteen of them before they swam away. Seth And I saw a bunch of those orange fish with white stripes. What do you call them? Heather Clown fish?

Seth Yeah, a bunch of clown fish. One came right up to my face and kissed my mask! Grandmother No, really? What else did you see? Dad Tell her about the horse. Seth Oh yes! And I saw a real, live sea horse! It darted around in little high-speed starts and stops, and then suddenly there were four more! Heather And I saw the sea horses, too! Grandmother That was lucky! So, what do you kids think of snorkeling now? Heather I think it’s super! Seth Hmmmm, how can I say it… snorkeling on a coral reef is definitely…NOT BORING! Thanks a bunch, Grandma! The Whole Family THANK YOU, GRANDMA!


1 Unit 24

Arthur Ar’s Bad New Tricks

Characters Teacher Arthur Ar 1 & 2 Chorus 1 & 2 All Mr. A Mr. I

Story Words: capturing captures apple Words to Decode: hardly whenever

Teacher: You know Arthur Ar is always up to tricks. Capturing vowels is how he gets his kicks. But here’s something else that you should know. Sometimes… when Arthur Ar is on the go, just stealing one vowel is hardly enough. He captures TWO vowels with a huff and a puff.

Trick I: Arthur Ar Needs Air

Arthur Ar (1): Air! Air! I need more air!

I will rest on a chair to get more air. I need more air to climb the stair, whenever I capture Vowel Men as a pair.

Chorus (1): Mr. A and Mr. I are pulling their hair.


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Mr. A & Mr. I: We’re stuck in his net. It’s just not fair! Chorus (1): But all Arthur Ar says is… Arthur Ar (1): Air, air, air! Air, air, air!

They are breaking my net; it’ll soon need repair!

Trick 2: Beware of Arthur Ar!

Chorus 2: Beware, take care and please prepare for Arthur Ar is causing quite a scare. He has one sack for an apple, as you can see, and in another, he has snared Magic e!

Arthur Ar (2): So what if people stop and stare! I don’t care. I don’t care. I will not share. Not an a nor an e will I choose to spare. All I have to say is, ‘Air, give me air!’

All: Now we know all about Arthur Ar’s new tricks. Stealing TWO vowels is how he gets MORE kicks! So when we spell words with the sound of “air,” we know who has captured two vowels as a pair!

And when we see Arthur with an i or an e, we won’t dare to stare, not you, and not me! But before he can speak, it is only fair, that WE’LL be the first ones to call out, “Air!”


1 Unit 25

Deer Forest Characters Narrators 1, 2, 3 Jacob Emma Taylor Dad Mom

Mother Bear Bucky Deer Dodie Deer

Skippy Skunk Riley Raccoon

Story Words: sign settle yourselves exciting group Words to Decode: picnic suddenly coffee season

provide ant lers surpr i se

Scene 1: The Greer home

Jacob & Emma Yippee! Hooray ! Whoopee ! Narrator 1 Taylor Greer woke-up to the sound of her brother and sister screaming. Holding her hands over her ears, she ran to the kitchen where the blast of noise was coming from. She nearly bumped into her brother Jacob who was jumping up and down and cheering! Taylor What is this all about? Emma Today is the day for our Deer Forest picnic! Taylor No wonder everyone is so cheerful ! Narrator 1 Dad rubbed his beard as he sipped his coffee. Dad Yep, it is pretty exciting, opening day at Deer Forest Park for the season. I think it is the best day to go—before the animals get fearful of all the people in the park. And since the leaves are not all out yet, we can see them more clearly.

Jacob, Emma & Taylor Hooray for Deer Forest!

Mom That was an earful! Settle down and steer yourselves back to your rooms to get dressed. It’s nearly time to go.


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Scene 2: Deer Forest Park

Narrator 2 In a small clearing in Deer Forest a group of animals were having a morning meeting. There were two deer, a skunk, a raccoon, a bear and her two cubs. The mother bear was quite tearful. Mother Bear Last year on opening day, one family of screaming children nearly scared my cubs silly! Bucky Deer Was it that family with the father who has a bushy beard? Mother Bear That’s the one ! They always seem to appear on opening day. Dodie Deer Yes, they show up yearly before the leaves have come out to provide us with good hiding places. Last year those children chased my little fawns Dotty and Spotty around the lake. My fawns were tearful and shaking like leaves for hours. Skippy Skunk I say we give those people a scare that will make sure they never come back. Riley Raccoon I like that idea, but how do we do it? Skippy Skunk Well, all I have to do is appear and flash my striped tail and most people run for the hills. I am sure that the rest of you can think of some way to put a little fear into that nosey, noisy family. Narrator 2 Soon enough all the animals started throwing out ideas. It wasn’t long before they had a plan. They were sure the Greer family would think twice about appearing in Deer Forest again.

Scene 3: Along the road through Deer Forest

Bucky Deer Okay, Dodie. Here comes their car. They just passed that Beware of the deer sign. That should make them worry. Then I


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am going to run along beside their car and wave my antlers as a threat.

Dodie Deer That should give them a scare ! Bucky Deer Here I go! Narrator 2 The Greer family, from inside their car, see the buck right away. Jacob LOOK! Wow! That is a huge deer.

Dad Yep! That’s a four point buck! Emma What does that mean? Dad A buck is a male and four is the number of points this one has on each antler. The older and bigger they get the more points. Jacob Look, it is waving its antlers.

Bucky Deer That ought to put a fright in them! Taylor I think it is waving ‘hello’ to welcome us to Deer Forest. Mom I think you’re right, dear. I mean you are right about the deer, dear. Oh, you know what I mean.

Taylor, Jacob & Emily Hello, deer. Hello, hi, ya, hello! Bucky I guess I’ve scared them enough. They are all screaming. My ears can’t take much more. I’ll just veer off now into the woods. They will have some more surprises up ahead at the picnic grounds.

Taylor, Jacob & Emily Good bye, deer! So long! See you later!


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Scene 4: Deer Forest picnic grounds

Narrator 3 Soon the Greer’s were unloading their picnic lunch from the rear of their car. They had already left a few things on the picnic table. Riley Raccoon Okay, here’s my chance. I am going to grab some of their food and take off with it. That should scare them off. If someone took my food, I wouldn’t come back.

Emma Look, everybody. A raccoon! Jacob Where? Oh, it’s prowling around on the picnic table. Mom Aw, it must be hungry, the poor dear. Emma It’s not a deer, Mom. It’s a raccoon.

Mom Yes, dear… Oh! Well, you know what I meant. Taylor Look, it’s taking a sandwich in its little paws. We’ll be happy to share our picnic with you, little raccoon. You can even invite some of you friends. Riley Raccoon Okay, I guess I have spread enough fear around here. Speaking of spread, this sandwich spread smells pretty good, but I’ll be sure and wash it off—too many human germs, yuck. Jacob There he goes. Bye, bye, little friendly raccoon.

Taylor, Jacob & Emma Good-bye, raccoon! So long! Hurry back anytime! Riley Racoon (from farther on in the forest) Heh, heh! Leave ‘em screaming, I always say. Wait until they see Skippy and Mother Bear. I don’t think we’ll be seeing this bunch any more. Now, which way is my washing creek? Oh, I can hear the water now that their screaming has stopped ! Narrator 3 Meanwhile back at the picnic table, the Greer family is sitting and enjoying their lunch.


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Skippy Skunk (from behind a tree) Now, it’s my turn to put a scare into these large, furless animals. Just a few swishes of my tail should do it. Taylor Hey, everybody, over by that oak tree. I think it’s a skunk. Mom (whispering) Yes, it is a skunk. Now everyone stay very still and quiet and it won’t spray us. We can just watch and see what the cute little dear…I mean, what the cute little fellow will do. Dad Look it’s swishing its tail and…oh, now off he goes. Emma It’s waving good-bye with its tail. Jacob, Emma & Taylor (whispering) Good-bye, sweet little skunk. Bye-bye.

Scene 5: Later near the park exit

Narrator 3 As Dad slowly steers toward the park exit, Mother Bear is waiting for her turn. Mother Bear I think I am about to make sure the bearded one’s family stays away for good. Narrator Just as the family car rounds the curve, she rears up on her hind legs and begins to roar! Mother Bear Raaaah! Raaaah! Raaaaaaaaaah !!! Jacob Oh, listen, the big bear is saying, “Please come back again soon!!! Emma, Taylor & Jacob See you next year, bear!


1 Unit 26

The Prefix Fix

Characters Golden Girl Annie Apple Oscar Orange Fix-it Max

Annie Apple Eddy Elephant Orvil Or

Clever Cat Mr. O Everyone

Story Words: probably salty Words to Decode: problem super grandsons

supposed

Golden Girl You probably know that when something is broken in Letterland, Fix-It Max does his best to fix it. He has helped me fix my go-cart more than once. But did you know that Fix-it Max sometimes helps other Letterlanders with something he calls a ‘Prefix Fix’? Here is what happened one day among friends at his Fix-it Shop when Annie Apple said….

Annie Apple Sometimes Walter Walrus is unfriendly to me and splashes me with cold, salty water! Oscar Orange Yeah, he splashes me, too. He is most unkind sometimes.

Fix-it Max Hmmm, okay. Let’s fix that problem with a Prefix Fix. We’ll just take the un- off of unfriendly and unkind and make Walter Walrus…

Everyone …friendly and kind! Oscar Orange That is super. Now Annie and I will stay unharmed whenever he’s next to me.


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Eddy Elephant I don’t like to disagree, but has any one told Walter Walrus about this plan? Orvil Or I have a problem for you, Fix-it Max. Last week a crack appeared in the bottom of my boat.

Fix-it Max Oh, that is an easy one. Just add dis- before appeared, and your crack will...

Everyone …have disappeared! Orvil Or Well done, Max. I will return to the shore. Now that the crack has disappeared I can refill my boat with oranges. Oscar Orange That is all very well. It made Orvil Or happy, but it makes me unhappy! Fix-it Max Oh, sorry, Oscar Orange! I guess that Prefix Fix was a bit unhelpful for you and the other oranges. Clever Cat Maybe a Prefix Fix can help me. I counted my crayons to see if I had all the colors. I am supposed to have twelve, but I only counted eleven. I want to replace the missing color, but I can’t tell which color is missing.

Fix-it Max When you count, and it does not come out right, it is a good idea to count again, or … Everyone …recount.

Clever Cat Yes, I will recount. Maybe I left one out.

Everyone So Clever Cat carefully recounted her crayons, putting her paw on each one.

Clever Cat . . .ten, eleven, twelve. Yes, they are all here! Golden Girl Good for you, Clever Cat! When something doesn’t work the first time, I guess we should just retry it. Mr. O Okay, Max. Maybe you can help me with a Prefix Fix. You know I have two grandsons, the Boot Twin and the Foot


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Twin. They both are very eager to go to school and they think it is unfair that they are not quite old enough yet. What can I do? Fix-it Max If they are too young for school, maybe they could go where children go before they go to school. It is called…

Everyone …a preschool. Mr. O Oh, yes. Thank you. I will take the twins to preschool. I can see that pre is a very helpful prefix. By the way, the prefix pre is in the word prefix. Why is that?

Fix-it Max It’s because a prefix comes before the base word. Golden Girl Yes, that is how the Prefix Fix works!

Can you retell this story using these five words with prefixes: unfriendly, unkind, disappeared, recount, and preschool?


1 Unit 27

The Life of a Firefighter

Characters Firefighter Fred Vicky Violet Narrator

Chorus Sleepy Sammy

Story Words: neighbor several busy table Words to Decode: husband hectic relax oven

already sharpen grandfather finish

Narrator One day Firefighter Fred was getting ready for a party at his house. His neighbor Vicky Violet was helping him. Vicky Violet It is very kind of you to have a party for all the firefighters. And it’s such a nice sunny day for it. Sleepy Sammy Zzzzzzzz. Vicky Violet What is that sound? Firefighter Fred It’s Sammy Snake in the other room. He came to help too, but he has been so busy in words lately, that he can’t seem to stay awake. Vicky Violet Oh, he has a funny way of snoring. So, is Firefighter Frank going to be coming? Firefighter Fred Oh, yes, and so is his wife. She is a firefighter, too. Vicky Violet I didn’t know we had a woman who is a firefighter in Letterland. Firefighter Fred Not just one woman, we have several women who are firefighters. I thought you met some of the women when we came to the Letterland School. Vicky Violet I think I was absent that day with a virus. But if all the firefighters come to your party, that will be a lot of people!


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Firefighter Fred Oh, yes, and it is not just the firefighters. They are bringing their wives… and husbands… and children! Vicky Violet It seems like you have a very busy life being a firefighter. Why are you taking the time to have a party for the all those people? Firefighter Fred You are right. I do have a busy life. But all of the firefighters have busy lives. In fact, I think you could say our lives are quite hectic.

Vicky Violet What does hectic mean? Firefighter Fred It means you are always running here and there and you just have too much to do. That’s why I wanted to have a party for the other firefighters – so they could relax and have a good time. Chorus Fred is giving a party for the firefighters’ sake,

with help from Vicky Violet and Sleepy Sammy Snake. There’s lots of work to do on this sunny afternoon, because all the firefighters will be there soon.

Vicky Violet That is very, very kind of you, Firefighter Fred. Now, what is that good smell? Do you have a loaf of bread in the oven? Narrator Just then Firefighter Fred’s beeper went off. Firefighter Fred Oh, I have to leave to put out a fire. I hope my bread doesn’t burn. Vicky, there is not just one loaf of bread in the oven but several… (his voice trails off as he runs out the door).

Vicky Violet Don’t worry. I will get Sammy Snake to help. We will take care of your bread.

Sleepy Sammy Zzzzzzzzzz! Vicky Violet Time to wake up, Sammy. We have work to do! Chorus Firefighter Fred was full of dread.

He was off to the fire, but as he said, all he could think of was burning the bread.


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Narrator Together Vicky Violet with her Vase Prop e and Sleepy Sammy got the bread out of the oven just in time. There were six…

of bread and they smelled yummy. Before long, Firefighter Fred was back, and busy getting ready for the party again. Firefighter Fred Everyone will need a fork and a knife. I already have 24 forks laid out. But I need to sharpen 24… Narrator Just then Firefighter Fred’s beeper went off again. Firefighter Fred I must leave. I’ve got to put out another fire. Now I will never get to sharpen all those… (his voice trails off). Chorus Firefighter Fred has saved lots of lives,

but all he could think about was 24 knives.

Sleepy Sammy Zzzzzzzz! Vicky Violet Wake up, Sammy Snake. (She calls out the door.) Don’t worry, Fred. Sleepy Sammy and I will sharpen the 24…

…all by ourselves.

Narrator It was a lot of work. Firefighter Fred had an old-time sharpening wheel. Sammy turned the wheel with the end of his strong tail. Vicky held the knives just so, like her grandfather had taught her. Sammy slept half of the time, but by the time Fred returned, Vicky and Sammy had 24 sharp knives laid out with the forks. Fred was very thankful for all the help from Vicky Violet and Sleepy Sammy. Firefighter Fred I am sorry you two had to do all this by yourselves, but it sure helps me out. Now, I must finish some painting in the kitchen.

kni

loa


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I already painted one new shelf, but it looks funny with the others unpainted. I will get start…

Narrator Just then Fred’s beeper went off again! Firefighter Fred Well, I must leave again. I guess I will never get to paint those… (His voice trails off again as he runs out.) Chorus The firefighters know Fred is brave like themselves.

But right now he just wants to paint his shelves.

Vickie Violet Wake up, Sammy. We’ve got painting to do! Narrator And even though Sammy kept falling asleep, he and Vicky did get to paint all those …

in Fred’s kitchen. When Fred game back he was so grateful. Firefighter Fred (looking at the newly painted shelves with his back to Vicky and Sammy) These shelves look great. You two have done everything, so now we can all enjoy the party. Oh…, What’s that funny sound? Vicky Violet & Sammy Snake Vvvvvvv, Zzzzzzzz, Vvvvvvv, Zzzzzzzz, Vvvvvvv, Zzzzzzzz! Narrator Fred turned around and found Vicky Violet and Sammy Snake fast asleep at his kitchen table.

Firefighter Fred Oh, my! I guess not everyone is used to the hectic life of a firefighter. Chorus Vicky and Sammy (and Vase Prop e)

helped with the party as you can see. They saved all the loaves of bread from burning.

They sharpened the knives on a wheel Sam kept turning.

And after they painted all the firefighter’s shelves, were they just too tired for the party themselves?

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5 Unit 27

Sammy Snake (waking up and stretching) Now, that was a good nap! Wake up, Vicky Violet. It’s party time! Vicky Violet Oh, (yawn), um…, uh…, oh yes! I can’t wait to meet all the women firefighters and the men, too. I’m very happy that it’s time for the party.

Firefighter Fred Without you two, there wouldn’t be a party! Thank you for all your hard work. Vicky Violet & Sammy Snake You are welcome, Firefighter Fred. Thank you, for putting out all those fires in a flash!


1 Unit 28

Eddy Elephant, Exercise Expert

Characters Eddy Elephant Everyone Bouncy Ben Talking Tess

Harry Hat Man Narrator Story Words: telephone active especially tongue Words to Decode: exercise basketbal l exact ly remind

educate ter r i f ic f ingers excel lent remember

Narrator Eddy Elephant loves to exercise. In fact, he is an exercise expert. He helps other Letterlanders make sure they are getting lots of good exercise. Everyone Here comes Bouncy Ben bouncing his blue ball. Boing…, boing…, boing! Bouncy Ben Hi, Eddy Elephant. My six brothers and I like to go bowling. Do you think that is good exercise? Eddy Elephant Going bowling with your brothers is a great thing to do. It’s fun, and you get to enjoy being with your brothers. Bouncy Ben But is it good exercise?

Eddy Elephant Well, you should do other things that are more active to get enough exercise. Playing basketball with your brothers would be great. Just bouncing your ball is a good thing, too, especially if you do something extra. Try stepping really high, lifting your legs up as well while you are bouncing your ball.


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Bouncy Ben (high stepping as he bounces his ball) Like this? Eddy Elephant Exactly! Everyone There goes Bouncy Ben high-stepping down the road while he bounces his ball. Boing…, boing…, boing…, boing! Eddy Elephant Now, I will get back to my exercise bike. Whizz, whizz. Eh, (puff), eh, (puff), eh, (puff), eh. Wow, I am really spinning now. Everyone Here comes Talking Tess talking on her telephone. Talking, talking, talking! Talking Tess (taking her phone from her ear) Hello, Eddy. Seeing you on your exercise bike reminds me…I have a question about exercise. Eddy Elephant (still panting from riding his exercise bike) Yes… Talking Tess… I’ll be glad… to educate you about… exercising. Talking Tess My question is this. Is talking a good way to exercise? Eddy Elephant Talking is a good thing to do. But to get good exercise you need to be moving more than just your lips, your teeth and your tongue. Talking Tess How about texting? I am terrific at texting and I do move my fingers a lot when I text. Eddy Elephant Yes, but you need to move your whole body, not just your fingers. There must be something else you enjoy doing. Talking Tess I do like to tap dance. Is that good exercise? Eddy Elephant Yes, tap dancing is very good exercise! Talking Tess Terrific! I will start tap dancing right now. Thank you, Eddy Elephant. Everyone There goes Talking Tess, tap dancing down the road. Tapping, tapping, tap-tap-tapping! Eddy Elephant Look at that, Tess is still talking as she goes tapping down the road! Well, I had better get back to riding my bike. (Harry Hat Man starts humming.) But what’s that I hear?


3 Unit 28

Everyone It’s Harry Hat Man coming down the road. He is humming, humming, hum-hum-humming.

Harry Hat Man Hum, hummmm, hummm! Hello, Eddy Elephant. Could you tell me, is humming a good way to exercise? Eddy Elephant Humming is an excellent thing to do, but it really doesn’t count as exercise. Harry Hat Man How about hugging? I like to hug my family and my friends. Is hugging good exercise? Eddy Elephant Not really, but Harry Hat Man, you are always hopping everywhere you go. Hopping is excellent exercise.

Harry Hat Man Hopping, why of course! What if I hum while I hop? Eddy Elephant Yes, do hum too, if you like, Harry Hat Man. Just remember to keep hopping while you hum. Everyone There goes Harry Hat Man, humming and hopping down the road. Hum, hop, hop! Hum, hop, hop! Hum, hop, hop, hummmmmm…

Narrator It wasn’t long before everyone in Letterland was following Eddy Elephant’s expert example. Everyone was exercising and feeling extra healthy!


1 Unit 29

Best Friends Characters Storytellers 1, 2 & 3 Peter & Patsy Puppy

Bouncy Ben & Barbara Noisy Nick & Nicola Golden Girl & Granny

Story Words: brilliant favorite Words to Decode: visit remember returning completely

hammering paper goodness

Storyteller 1 One day Peter Puppy and his best friend, Patsy Puppy, made plans to go visit some of the other Best Friends in Letterland. Storyteller 2 They skipped off to make their first visit. As they came close, someone sobbed.

Bouncy Ben I’ve…(sob) been robbed! My best… (sniff) big…(sniff) blue ball has disappeared! Storyteller 1 I bet you know who was sobbing.

Everyone Bouncy Ben! Patsy Poor Bouncy Ben, are you sure your ball was taken? Maybe you have just lost it. Peter Yes, maybe it’s right around here somewhere. Storyteller 3 Just then they all heard a bouncing sound. They looked up and there was Bouncy Ben’s best friend bouncing a big blue ball. It was…

Everyone Bouncy Barbara! Ben There’s my best big blue ball! Storyteller 2 Bouncy Ben rubbed his eyes and dried his tears.


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Bouncy Barbara Yes, remember, you loaned it to me this morning. I was just returning it.

Ben Brilliant! I completely forgot! Of course I am always glad to share with my best friend! Storyteller 1 Peter and Patsy said goodbye to Barbara and Ben. They hadn’t gone far when they heard lots of loud hammering and banging noises. I bet you can guess which best friends they popped in to see next.

Everyone Noisy Nick and Noisy Nicola! Peter Puppy Hello, Nick and Nicola. That’s a pretty nice fort you are building there. Patsy Puppy How did you build it? Noisy Nicola Noisy Nick came running over to my house this morning. He had this great idea about building a fort. First we planned our fort on paper.

Noisy Nick Then we sawed some boards. Nicola Then came our favorite part. Nick & Nicola We started nailing the boards together! What a nifty noise! Peter Puppy I know you two are enjoying that. We just dropped by to say hello. We’ll let you get back to working on your fort. Storyteller 1 Patsy and Peter skipped quickly down the road.

Patsy Wow, that banging was really loud! Peter Puppy I know. It was one time in my life when I was glad that my ears were flopped down instead of sticking up! Storyteller 2 Patsy and Peter had not gone far when they came to a garden wall. They stopped when they heard voices over the wall. One was the voice of a young girl. Golden Girl Oh, please Granny, let’s play a game.


3 Unit 29

Storyteller 1 …begged the young girl. Which best friends do you think were on the other side of the garden wall? Everyone Golden Girl and Golden Granny! Storyteller 1 Yes, and as soon as Golden Granny saw Peter and Patsy she asked them in. Golden Granny Please come in through the garden gate. We are always glad to have guests.

Golden Girl Great! Now we have more good friends to play a game with us! What game shall we play? Granny Goodness, I guess a game of tag would be good fun! I’ll be it first.

Storyteller 2 Peter and Patsy wagged their tails to show they liked the idea. Storyteller 3 So, they all jogged about the garden playing tag. Golden Granny tagged Peter Puppy. Then he tagged Golden Girl and she tagged Patsy. Then they all fell down laughing.

Golden Girl Golly, that was great fun! Storyteller 3 Golden Girl hugged Golden Granny. Then she hugged Patsy and Peter as they walked out the garden gate. Patsy You will always be my best friend, Peter, but isn’t it great to have so many other friends in Letterland, as well?

Peter Yes, it is just perfect! Story teller 3 Peter and Patsy were so happy that they hopped and skipped and jumped all the way home.


1 Unit 30

The Giants and the Ants

Characters Giant All Giant Full Ants 1-10 Talking Tess Jumping Jim

Eddy Elephant Kicking King Walter Walrus

Story Words: giant avenue cough whoa castle wobbling Words to Decode: important excuse tidy sidewalk

One day the two Letterland Giants, Giant All and Giant Full, met at the corner of Lighthouse Lane and Apple Avenue. They began to brag to each other about who was the biggest and strongest giant in all the land.

They didn’t see us busy ants, some of the smallest animals in Letterland. But now and then as we carried food to our ant hill, we stopped to listen to those giants bragging.

Giant Full I am very tall. No one in Letterland is taller than me!

Giant All Oh, no. I am taller than you for I can step over the wall! I am the tallest in all of Letterland.

Now, look, there comes Jumping Jim and Talking Tess hurrying down the lane.

They must be on their way to an important meeting!

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2 Unit 30

Talking Tess I couldn’t help hear you talking, Giant All and Giant Full. Don’t be too sure that either of you is the tallest of all. Jumping Jim That’s right. Talking Tess and I make ourselves very tall when we start an important word. We are so tall that our heads are lost in the clouds! I think we are the tallest in all of Letterland.

I guess they told those giants a thing or two. Now look at Jim and Tess just hurrying down the street.

Yes, and we had better be hurrying too and get these crumbs to the ant hill, or the ant queen will be after us.

Giant All I may not be the tallest but I am strong. Watch me pick up this huge log.

Look at that Giant All, would you, he’s lifting that log all the way past his knees… past his waist… past his chest…

You think he will get it over his head? Uh-oh, nope there it goes. Watch out!

Giant All Cough… cough…you see,…puff, puff….I am the strongest…whew! Giant Full You make me laugh! You are not stronger than me for I am always full of power. I am powerful!

Would you look at that! Giant Full’s got an even bigger chunk of that

tree trunk.

And he’s lifting it higher and higher. Oh, oh, he’s got it over his head.

Man, that Giant Full is one strong giant! Come on let’s get going.

Giant Full You see… huff… I am… puff… the strongest in all of Letterland.

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Look, there comes Eddy Elephant. What’s he doing with those two huge chunks of tree trunk?

He’s picked one up with his trunk and tossed it on his back like it was nothing.

Now, he’s got the other chunk. There it goes, right up on that big back. He is strong! Well we better get a move on.

I bet that Eddy Elephant could carry a bunch of crumbs!

Eddy Elephant Excuse me, Giant All and Giant Full. I was just trying to tidy up the sidewalk a bit. I’ll just get a few more logs and get out of your way. See you later. Giant Full Well, okay, Eddy Elephant may be the strongest in Letterland but surely I am the noisiest. When I shout out my name it is so awfully loud that it can be harmful to your hearing. Listen to this: Full… Full…Full! Giant All Oh, is that all the noise you can make? I am noisier than that! Whenever I take an apple, I shout my name so loud that all the apple trees shake in fear. ALL…ALL…ALL!

Wow! Those giants are loud! (Then a noise of drums…)

Whoa! Now what is that racket? It is even louder than the giants!

Oh, that is Noisy Nick playing his drums. He does it every day about this time. That boy can make some noise!

That hurts even my tiny ears. I am glad I don’t have those big giant ears. Let’s take our crumbs and get away from that noise.

Giant All What is that awful noise? Giant Full Oh, that’s Noisy Nick’s drums. I guess you and I aren’t the loudest, either. Giant Full What did you say? I think I am losing my hearing. Oh, well never mind.

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4 Unit 30

Why is that giant rubbing his ears and sticking his fingers in them?

I don’t know. Giants are always doing crazy stuff!

Giant All There must be something else that I can brag about… I’ve got an idea!

Now look at that other Giant. He just picked up that apple and kicked it with his giant foot.

Dang! I was going to carry off that apple!

Yeah, right. You and an army of ants! Would you look at that, he kicked that apple clean over the apple tree!

Giant All Look at that apple… there it goes, all the way over the apple tree! I can kick higher and farther than you, Giant Full. I can kick the highest and farthest of everyone in Letterland! Giant Full Huh, what did you say, I can’t hear… oh I see, you think you can kick pretty far, huh?

Now look at this giant. He’s got a stone as big as his head.

Man, he kicked it right over that house on the corner.

Giant Full Now, who do you say can kick higher and farther? I can kick the farthest and the—

Whoa! A black and white ball just went whizzing right by Giant Full’s face.

Look at their giant mouths hanging open. They don’t know seem to know what it was!

That ball is gone! It cleared the tree, the house and the Letterland Castle.

Giant Full What was that!??

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5 Unit 30

Well, here comes Kicking King. That explains it.

Kicking King Have either of you tall fellows seen my ball? I was just practicing my kicking.

Those giants are still standing there with their mouths open. Now that one is pointing towards the castle.

Giant All It went that away. Kicking King Thank you. I better hurry and get it.

We better be hurrying along, too.

Giant All (to himself) There must be some way I can show up Giant Full. Hmmm!

Here we are coming back an hour later with another crumby load and those Giants are still at it.

What is Giant All doing? He’s getting that big tub of water.

He’s sneaking up on Giant Full, who’s rubbing his ears for some reason.

Whoooosh! There it goes. Oh, that Giant Full is soaking!

Giant Full(with anger) Why did you do that? Giant All Now you can be THE MOST of something. You can be the wettest, drippingest, soakingest in all of in Letterland.

Now, you know, Giant Full isn’t going to just let that go.

You are right. He’s looking around for something… Oh, he’s grabbing Sammy Snake’s plastic kiddy swimming pool. Uh-oh.

Uh-oh, again! There goes Giant Full, getting water all over Giant All!

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6 Unit 30

Giant Full Now you are wetter than me. You can be the wettest of all in Letterland!

Who’s that wobbling down the avenue?

It’s Walter Walrus holding a sign. I can’t read it without my glasses.

It says “Water.” I think it is a new sign for the Letterland Park to tell people where they can get drinking water.

Giant All No, I say you are wettest! Giant Full Let’s ask a walrus. They know about wet. Look at us, Walter Walrus. Who is the wettest?

Walter Walrus Sorry, fellows. I am always the wettest. Just look at my sign, “Water.” No one can be wetter than me because I am always in water. Get it?

Oh, I think those giants have given up. Looks like they are both headed home to dry off.

Okay, show’s over. I guess we better get moving, too.

Hey! I think my crumb is bigger than your crumb…

Don’t start that stuff! Come on, let’s march on home before it rains.

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1 Unit 31

When the Lights Went Out Characters Quarrelsome Queen Talking Tess Kicking King Narrator

Harry Hat Man Patsy Puppy Peter Puppy Everyone

Story Words: castle horrible beautiful ruined candles Words to Decode: ter r i f ic present cover problem

Majesty company commands

Narrator It was a dark and stormy night! In spite of the weather almost all the Letterlanders were at the castle for a birthday party. Talking Tess Terrific to see you, Patsy Puppy. We haven’t had a chance to talk since Tuesday. I love your pretty purse. Patsy Puppy Thank you, Tess. It was a present from Peter Puppy. I’ve been looking for him at the party. Have you seen him? Tess Yes, isn’t that him over by the pink punch bowl? Everyone (all say the word “thunder” over and over with deep voices)

Harry Hat Man There’s that horrible noise again! Tess (rushes over to Harry) There, there, it’s only the thunder, Harry. Kicking King Everyone listen please. As you all know, it’s Quarrelsome Queen’s birthday. Everyone Hooray for Quarrelsome Queen! Hooray for birthdays! Harry (holding his hands to his ears) Ouch, that’s loud! Tess There, there, it’s only… uh, everyone. Queen What’s all the fuss about? Why is everyone shouting? King They’re wishing you happy birthday… Ah, let’s all sing Happy Birthday to Quarrelsome Queen. Harry Do we have to?


2 Unit 31

Everyone(all sing) Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday... Tess Just cover your ears, Harry Hat Man. Everyone Happy birthday, dear…(stop song and make louder thunder noises).

Narrator At this point the lights in the castle blink on and off. Then it goes pitch dark. Everyone Ooooh, noooo! No, nooo! Queen (sounding angry) Why did someone turn off the lights? Is this one of Jumping Jim’s jokes? Doesn’t he know it’s my birthday? King I don’t think it was Jumping Jim, my dear. I think lightning has caused the problem. Queen Aren’t you going to do something? I can’t see my royal hand in front of my face. How’s anyone going to see my long beautiful hair? At least call someone! Where’s Talking Tess when I need her? Tess I’m right here, your Majesty. I’ll call the power company…, that’s if their tall tower hasn’t been struck by lightning. Queen They shouldn’t let the power go out on the queen’s birthday! Oh, who’s there? What? Who just bumped into me? You’ve made the sleeve of my beautiful dress all wet! Peter Puppy Oh, I am so sorry, Quarrelsome Queen. I must have spilled pink punch on you. I didn’t see you there. Quarrelsome Queen Well, of course, you couldn’t see me! We’re all in the dark! This is quite…quite… Tess My call has gone through, but I can’t hear. Too much noise! Queen Quiet, everyone! The Queen commands you to be quiet! Everyone Shh! Sssshhh! SH! Harry Thank goodness! Tess Hello? Hello? Tell me that again…They’re working on the power lines… Shouldn’t be too long…just a few hours? Okay, thank you. Queen Don’t tell me. Did he say it would be a few hours??? Oh no… My birthday party is ruined!


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Clever Cat Maybe not. I have the candles for the birthday cake. Lucy Lamp Light, could you please light the candles for us? Narrator So, Lucy Lamp Light lit all the candles. They cast just enough light for everyone to sing Happy Birthday to the Queen! Everyone Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you. Happy Birthday, Quarrelsome Queen. Happy birthday to you! Narrator Clever Cat’s candles and Lucy’s lovely light shone and made a happy glow on everyone’s faces—even the Queen’s. King Let’s have a cheer for Quarrelsome Queen’s birthday! Everyone Hip, Hip hooray! Hip, hip…

Harry Hat Man (Hands to ears again.) Oh no. Here we go again!


1 Unit 32

A Perfect Picnic

Characters

and Narrator (Several children could read this part in unison.)

Story Words: sample pudding interested table practice collection noisily gentle Words to Decode: perfect cupcakes super mant i s

escape ar r ived

Narrator One day Peter Puppy and some of his Letterland Friends were getting a picnic ready for a very special guest. Peter Puppy We have to make everything just perfect for our special guest or she may get upset. I hope she likes the pudding that I made for her. She can be pretty picky. Where shall I put it on the table? Clever Cat You could put it right here close to my cupcakes, Peter Puppy.

Peter Puppy Perfect! And here comes Sammy Snake. I wonder what he is bringing? Sammy Snake Is the sss-special guest here yet? I brought sss-some sss-super sss-sandwiches. Would you like to sss-sample them, Peter Puppy? I’m not at all sss-selfish about sharing them. I’ll set them right here where our guest can ssss-see them as sss-soon as she gets here.

Peter Puppy Oh, Sammy Snake, those are super sandwiches! Oh, but look! A large insect has landed on one of them. Our special guest may take it as an insult if she sees that!


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Sammy Snake Let’s get Impy Ink over here. He is very interested in insects. He will know what to do. Impy Ink Yes, that is a very interesting insect. It is a mantis. It is sometimes called a praying mantis. See how it looks like it is praying? Peter Puppy Yes, I must admit that is all very interesting, but… please could you pull the mantis off of the sandwiches before our special guest gets here! She would be very upset. Impy Ink The mantis is one of the most helpful insects, you know. It eats lots of other insects that harm farmers’ crops, and it is also….

Peter Puppy Please! Impy Ink, just get it off the sandwich! Impy Ink If you insist, I will let it go in the tall grass... There, no more insect on the sandwich.

Peter Puppy Ah! Thank you, Impy Ink. Now, here is Noisy Nick. I hope he’s not going to be too noisy around our special guest. I know that she likes peace and quiet. Noisy Nick Now, that’s a nice looking picnic meal. I brought some nice nuts that I got from my nut tree just before noon. Peter Puppy Please place them here by the punch bowl, Noisy Nick. And when our special guest comes, please…

Noisy Nick Oh, don’t worry! I am planning to play a nice number on my drum. I just need to practice it right now… (He begins banging on his drum very noisi ly).

Peter Puppy Please, Noisy Nick, you are playing too loud!

Noisy Nick What? I can’t hear you. Did you say ‘play louder’? I’d be glad to! I can make lots of nice noise for the special guest. Look there she comes. I’ll make sure she can hear me! (He bangs his drum even louder!)

Peter Puppy Oh, no, it really is her! I had better pour the punch.


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Narrator: Just then a chipmunk splashed through the punch bowl on the way to grab some nuts off of the picnic table. Also, Impy Ink came hurrying up to Peter Puppy. Impy Ink Look, Peter Puppy, since you were so interested in the praying mantis, I have brought my live insect collection to show… Narrator Just as he held up his insect collection, Impy Ink tripped over the chipmunk running off with a nice big nut. As he fell, the lid came off of his insect collection and all…the…live…insects…began to escape! It was just then that the special guest arrived! Peter Puppy Oh, Quarrelsome Queen, I am so glad you came to the picnic. I wanted everything to be perfect for you! Quarrelsome Queen Well, it is perfectly noisy! And a perfect mess on the picnic table! And these insects are perfectly pesky. So thank you, but no thank you! And now I am quite ready to return to my Quiet Room! (She leaves.) Peter Puppy Oh, poor me, my perfect plan for a picnic has turned into a perfect mess! Narrator Just then a gentle breeze began to blow, and it blew the insects away. Noisy Nick stopped drumming and began to clean up the picnic table with the help of Sammy Snake, Clever Cat and Impy Ink. Clever Cat Look, Peter Puppy. Now everything is much better. We can still have a picnic! Peter Puppy But our special guest has already left! Sammy Snake Can’t we all be ssssspecial guestssss? Peter Puppy Oh…, yes…I guess so. Yes, of course we can! We can have a perfect picnic with all our perfect pals! Narrator And so they did!


1 Unit 33

The Frog Princess Characters Narrator Jazmin Frog Chelsea Chipmunk Hamlet Frog Chorus

Story Words: parents old-fashioned laughter shriek enormous superb Words to Decode: burrow gather ing chatter exci t ing

supposed probably indeed forg ive

Narrator Once upon a time there was a lovely and very smart frog princess named Jazmin. In a few days she was to be married, but on this afternoon she was hopping about in the forest. She was just passing the burrow of Chelsea Chipmunk when her friend popped out carrying a basket for gathering nuts. When she saw Jazmin, she began to chatter away.

Chelsea Oh, Jazmin. It’s so exciting! It’s just a few days until your wedding. Aren’t you excited about your wedding? Aren’t you?........Well, aren’t you excited? Jazmin Chelsea, I have to admit that I’m not at all excited. In fact, I’m quite upset about the whole thing! I may just be absent from my own wedding.

Chelsea Oh, dear! What’s the problem, Jazmin? Jazmin The problem is that I’ve never even met the frog that I’m supposed to marry. He lives in a kingdom that is so distant that I never heard of it before. I had to use my atlas to find out where it is. Chorus: So the Princess Jazmin is due to be wed. But the thought of it gives her a pain in the head. Chelsea So why are you having a wedding if you don’t want to get married?


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Jazmin It’s my parents. Chelsea You mean the king and the queen want you to marry someone you never even met? Jazmin Oh, it’s some silly, old-fashioned idea that a frog princess has to have a frog prince for a husband. He’s the only one around. Chorus Yes, the king and the queen hunted far and wide and found a frog prince who wanted a bride. When Jazmin heard it she cried and cried. All the princess wanted to do was hide! Chelsea Well, you never know, you might like him. Jazmin Oh, he’s probably a selfish brat with skinny pretzel legs, tee, hee… Chelsea …and the brains of a pumpkin. I bet he eats insect sandwiches, ha, ha.

Jazmin Hold on there! What’s wrong with insect sandwiches? Chelsea Oh, sorry! I forgot, you like insect sandwiches. Jazmin No problem. Let’s get back to making fun of this frog prince. He probably parades around with a hundred green guards with big shiny helmets, ha, ha, hee, hee…

Chelsea …and thirty frogs blowing trumpets, hee, hee, ha, ha…

Narrator Chelsea and Jazmin burst into laughter. Just at that instant another frog came along the path. Jazmin didn’t know it, but it was the very frog that her parents wanted her to marry. Hamlet Good afternoon, my ladies. What, pray tell, do you find so funny? Chelsea What does ‘pray tell’ mean?


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Hamlet I don’t really know. It is something that a prince is supposed to say. Chelsea So, are you a prince? Hamlet Indeed, I am. I am Hamlet Longtongue, Prince of the great and distant kingdom of Bugswamp.

Jazmin Oh, no, it’s him! Chelsea Who is him? Oh, you mean your prince…your husband…the one with the pumpkin brain? Jazmin Hush, Chelsea! (She tries to whisper so Hamlet will not hear her.) We shouldn’t insult him to his face. Hamlet So, it was me you were laughing about, was it? And you are the princess I’m supposed to marry? Jazmin Well, it wasn’t really fair to make fun of you, but since I had never met you… well, anyway, I am sorry. Will you forgive me? Hamlet Well… I’ll forgive you, if you’ll let me give you one little kiss on the cheek. Chorus For teasing the frog prince, she felt a bit sad. Now that she met him, he wasn’t that bad. So just one kiss she decided to allow But marry the dude, no way, no how! Jazmin I guess one little kiss on the cheek can’t be a problem. Chorus Hamlet leaned over and kissed Jazmin’s cheek and then all of a sudden she let out a shriek. For there before her very eyes the frog became a man of enormous size. He then knelt on one knee so he could express his grateful thanks to the frog princess.


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Hamlet Oh, thank you, Jazmin! You have broken a spell put on me long ago. Now I can go home and live with people again. Chorus So Hamlet, the prince, whose real name was Herb, ran shouting through the woods “Superb! Superb!”

Herb Yahoo! Hooray! Superb, superb! I’ll never wear green or chase flies again! Chelsea Well, what do you think of that??? Jazmin ‘Hooray!’ is what I think of that. Now I don’t have to marry Hamlet—or Herb—and go off to his distant kingdom. Even a frog princess doesn’t want to live in a place called Bugswamp! Chorus So Jazmin, the Princess lives happily long after this day which she’ll often remember with laughter. And will she ever marry? She will not tell, But before she weds she’ll get to know him well!


1 Unit 34

Humans and Robots Characters Narrator Jacob Dad Mom

Roland Robot Robot Mom Robot Dad

Story Words: clumsily battery charged recharged college Words to Decode: complain tornado meanwhi le

homework computer

Act 1: The Humans Narrator One recent morning a young farm boy named Jacob finished doing his farm chores, and went back into his house for breakfast.

Jacob Hi, Dad. Wow, it’s really cold outside. It must be below zero! What’s for breakfast? Dad The usual, bacon and eggs, son. So did you finish all your chores? Jacob Yes, I did all the chores. I did all my chores and all Lucas’s chores, too! I did them all without any help, all by myself, solo. Mom Sounds like someone is missing his brother since he went away to college.

Jacob Why couldn’t Lucas go to the local college? Then he could live at home and still do his equal share of the chores. Dad You know that Lucas wants to be a pilot. The local college doesn’t teach people to fly planes. They would need some basic things to do that – like an airport nearby. But you know all that. Narrator Jacob was silent for a moment as he thought.


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Jacob I do miss Lucas, and not just because of the chores. He was always ready to play catch or just to talk. But I don’t miss his loud music, and I like having my own room. Still I wish I had a robot friend around to help with the chores.

Mom A robot friend? Why a robot friend? Jacob Robots are great at chores. They never get tired.

Dad And they never complain! Mom So what would this robot friend do? Jacob He could help me haul the feed from the silo to the horse stalls. He could help gather the hens’ eggs. And, as a bonus, he could help you plant tulips and other flowers, Mom. Dad Sounds like this robot could be very useful.

Jacob You bet, Dad! And here’s another bonus. He could help me do my homework and make me a better student! Mom Well, if you want to be good student, you had better hurry to your new bus stop.

Jacob Why did they change my bus stop? Dad I think it is because some new neighbors recently moved in just over the hill.

Jacob So, where is the new bus stop?

Mom It is right where the road crosses Evil Oak Creek. Jacob Oh, I always wondered why they call it ‘Evil Oak Creek’. Is it really evil? Dad No, it’s not evil at all, but there are some spooky looking oak trees by the creek. They got all twisted in a tornado long ago. In the dark they look like something evil. Now, get going before you miss the bus.


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Mom And don’t forget your tuna sandwich. Jacob (as he goes out the door walking stiffly) Hey, look, Mom and Dad, I’m a robot! Narrator So that was how the morning began for Jacob at his farm.

Act 2: The Robots Narrator Meanwhile in another home on the other side of the hill, a family of robots is getting ready for breakfast.

Roland Say, Dad, what’s for breakfast? Robot Dad The usual, scrap metal in motor oil.

Roland Yum! Robot Mom How was your first night in our new home, Roland?


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Roland Great, Mom. I just plugged my battery pack right into the wall and recharged all night long. Robot Dad I am glad you are all charged up for your first day at your new school. I hope you like it. Roland I hope so too. I hope I can make friends with a human.

Robot Dad Why is that? Roland Oh, you know, Dad. I never have enough chores to do and I finish my homework in about five seconds. I’d like to help out a human boy. Besides humans are fun! I could learn to play catch and just talk about things. Robot Mom Sounds great, but right now you’d better get going to the bus stop. And don’t forget your extra battery pack. Robot Dad The bus stop is just up the road by Evil Oak Creek. You can’t miss it, but you could miss the bus if you don’t hurry up. Roland No problem. I can find it with my computer map. (He runs out the door skipping clumsily.) Look Mom and Dad, I’m a human! Narrator So that was how the morning began for Roland at his new home. I wonder what happened next. What do you think?


1 Unit 35

Kitten or Rabbit ?

Characters Emma Shannon Dad Story Words: convinced gadget Words to Decode: safety dar l ing recording

Dad (Clicking sound) …Hi there. We just got this new voice recording gadget and we are going to try it out right now. Emma Hi, I’m Emma. Let me tell you about how we got our new pet. Her name happens to be Hiccup. She’s just as cute as a button. Shannon No, let me tell it. You didn’t even want Hiccup to be our pet. Emma That’s my little sister, Shannon. She always wants to talk. But I’m telling this story. And I did want Hiccup too—at least in the end.

Dad Why don’t you both tell it? You can take turns. Emma That’s our Dad. He really likes taking turns and sharing. Okay, Shannon. You go first, but that means I get the final turn. Shannon I want the final turn…

Emma I knew it! You can’t have the first turn and the final turn! Dad Okay, just let Shannon begin and you can take a turn in a minute. Okay? Shannon Uh, uh…ummm.

Emma Stop playing with your hair ribbon and talk! Shannon Um, well, I wanted a kitten, but Emma wanted a rabbit. So, when we got to the pet shop, we saw Hiccup…


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Emma Wait a minute. She wasn’t named Hiccup yet! Let’s start at the beginning. We had wanted a pet for ssssooo long. Finally, we convinced Dad that we could take care of one. Dad I thought it would be a good lesson for you to take care of a pet.

Emma Dad is really into lessons! Anyway, the day finally came. The ride to the pet shop was the longest ride in my life.

Shannon Yeah, it took foreeeeever! Dad Well, traffic was really bad. We were moving very slowly. Emma And as usual Dad had to point out everything we passed on the road! Dad It was a part of town that we don’t get to very often so I wanted you girls to take note of things. Shannon Yeah, Dad is big on taking note of things. Emma He told us about the new Rescue Unit building as we went past. They were putting on a puppet show there about safety. He asked if we wanted to stop. Shannon started screaming, “No, no, no, we can’t stop!” Shannon I was afraid that the pet shop wouldn’t be open by the time we got there.

Emma Then Dad said he had to stop for a gallon of milk! That made me start screaming “No, no!” Dad I was just kidding. I knew you both wanted to get to the pet shop. Shannon Dad is big on kidding. Emma Then all of a sudden we spotted the pet store at the bottom of the hill. It was just beyond the new tennis courts that Dad was trying to get us to look at. Shannon Emma and I started arguing because she wanted a rabbit and I wanted a kitten. Emma You said that already.


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Dad So, first we looked at the rabbits and… Emma There were some really cute ones. The label on the cage said, “Take one home, today!” Shannon But then we saw the cutest kitten. It was orange with white stripes and a little furry tail. Emma We walked up to the kitten, and just at that moment, it let out a tiny little hiccup. It was so darling that I forgot all about getting a rabbit! Shannon And that’s how we got our sweet little kitten named Hiccup. The End! Emma Okay, turn it off, Dad… Dad, turn it-- (Click.)


1 Unit 36

Dinosaurs and Dragons Characters: Evan Jaden Megan Caleb Narrators 1 & 2 Dragon Dinosaur Iris Steven Everyone Story Words: museum imagine imaginary imagination scientist weird millions dinosaur

Words to Decode: motor galoots inter rupt ing

Evan Recently our class at school had to do group reports. My group was supposed to do a report on dragons and dinosaurs. So here is what we did. Jaden First we had to talk to our teacher, Ms. Roman, about our topic and how to find out all about dragons and dinosaurs. Megan Yes, and we had to read about them in books and on the internet. One Saturday we even got our Moms to take us on a visit to a museum to see some life-sized models of dinosaurs! Caleb After that we had to write down everything we found out. The total was about nine pages! Then we had to meet with Ms. Roman and work out how to edit our report and focus on what we wanted to share. That’s when we decided to put the things that we learned into a play. And here it is!

Scene 1 Narrator 1 One bright morning, a dragon was just waking up in her cave. She was as long as a fire truck, and she had a big hump on her back like a camel. She had a huge ugly head and long sharp teeth. She had big buggy eyes on top of her head with red pupils the size of dishes. She had wings that looked too small for her. As she yawned, smoke and fire came out of her mouth.


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Everyone (Yawn with a big roar at the end.) Dragon Something woke me up! I didn’t even finish my dream! I was frightening some children by breathing fire at their feet. I didn’t get to the part where they run away in panic. But I can just imagine the sound… Everyone (Make screaming sounds and running sounds with your feet or hands.)

Dragon Ah, yes, frightening children is just one of my evil talents. (She looks at the ground near her cave.) What! This big hole wasn’t here when I went to sleep. The ground was quite level. What is going on around here? And what’s that noise coming this way? Narrator 2 The dragon heard the sound of footsteps – only these footsteps sounded as loud as thunder. Everyone (Make 3 or 4 loud footstep sounds.)

Narrator 1 As the sound got even louder the dragon saw a dinosaur walking toward her cave. It tripped as its huge foot slipped into the hole by her cave. The dinosaur was even bigger than the dragon.

Dinosaur Ouch! I almost broke my leg! That’s odd, this hole wasn’t there last time I came here. Just last week I was eating a nice salad of green plants that grew here. That’s one of my good habits, eating green plants. But now it is just a big hole here. Dragon Well, let me tell you about my habit! I have a habit of frying big galoots like you with a blast of my fire right at your navel. Dinosaur (He turns to look at the dragon.) I don’t even have a navel! I came from an egg. And just who or what are you? Dragon I am a magic, fire-breathing, flying dragon. And you had better run before I blast you all the way off the planet! Dinosaur Oh, ho! I am not afraid of you, pip squeak.

Dragon You aren’t? Why not!


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Dinosaur Because you are an imaginary beast and everyone knows that there is no such thing as a fire-breathing animal! You are not even real.

Dragon Oh, and I suppose you are claiming to be real! Let’s ask the students. Have any of you ever seen a real living dinosaur walking around? Everyone No! Of course not! No! Narrator 2 Just then the dinosaur and the dragon heard noises that neither one had ever heard before. It was the sound of a truck motor and then a honking sound. Everyone (Make the sound of a large truck and then a honk-honk.)

Narrator 1 Both of the large beasts stood with their mouths gaping open as a large truck, towing a long flat wagon pulled up. It stopped and a man and a woman jumped out of the truck. They were dressed in jeans and shirts.

Dragon Whoa! This is getting too weird! Just who are you and what do you know about this big hole in my yard? Iris We are scientists. We know all about this hole because we dug it! Dragon Well, I don’t dig it, see! So I am going to fry you and the big green galoot if you don’t….

Dinosaur (interrupting) Scientists! Great! Tell this grumpy smoking hulk that she doesn’t even exist. Steven Yes, the big dinosaur has it right. You, my dear dragon, are totally imaginary. You never ever existed. How could an animal breathe fire? All animals breathe air, like this dinosaur here.

Dragon Of course I am real. Look I have wings! I can travel through the air like a..a… Narrator 2 Just then a raven flew across the sky, squawking loudly.

Everyone Caw!Caw! Flap, flap. Caw! Caw! Caw! Iris You, dragon, are far too heavy to fly with those little wings of yours. Ravens are big birds but they are built much lighter than ground animals. I am sorry to tell you, but you are getting in the way


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of our dig here. Since you exist only in our imaginations, I command you to vanish! Narrator 1 And with that, the once huge, frightful dragon vanished into thin air.

Dinosaur Well, I am not sad to see her go! By the way, you said big animals couldn’t fly, but what about flying dinosaurs? Iris Yes, there are some dinosaurs that fly, or, we should say, there were some flying dinosaurs, but they were built light, too. They had bones that were hollow instead of solid. And they had very wide but thin wings.

Dinosaur Huh, you scientists know a lot! But now tell me, why did you dig this big hole? Steven Umm, we are digging for dinosaur bones. We travel all over the world to find the bones of dinosaurs and learn more about them – uh, uh, about you.

Dinosaur Well, I hope you don’t plan to take my bones! I am…uh, kind of still using them! Steven Ah, that brings up another thing that we scientists know. People and dinosaurs never lived at the same time. You lived millions and millions of years before people lived on earth. Iris And we are pretty sure that dinosaurs couldn’t talk. Dinosaur So, what are you trying to tell me? Iris Well, you did exist long ago. You weren’t just made up by people, like the dragon was. Steven But since you are here talking to us…you must be in our imaginations, too. But it was nice talking to you. Narrator 2 And with that, the dinosaur began to fade away until, he too vanished into thin air.

Scene 2 Narrator 1 Now our two scientists are sitting on the ground leaning against a large tree. They begin stretching and yawning. Everyone (Make yawning noises)

Steven Oh, I must have been napping. I had the strangest dream!


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Iris I must have been asleep too. I dreamed we were right here by our dinosaur dig talking to a real dinosaur! Steven Was there a dragon in your dream, too?

Iris Did we both have the same dream? That would be weird! Steven Oh, well, it was only a… (looking down). Look, Iris. Was this huge dinosaur footprint here before?

Iris It couldn’t have been. That is fresh mud!...(looking around). Look, here, Steven. Were these burn marks on this tree trunk here before?

Everyone Weird!


1 Unit 37

A Visit with Galileo Characters: Galileo Teacher Grace Jake James Emily Alexis Dave Story Words: scientist possible Galileo university celebrate control television universe

Words to Decode: discover h i s tory inventor

calculator mathemat ics Jupi ter craters changes

Teacher I think that you all have been excited to learn about outer space and stars and planets. Today we are going to celebrate your hard work on this subject. As you know, we have learned about some of the scientists that first discovered much of what we know about space. They learned a lot about space long ago before space travel was even possible. Grace (raising her hand) If they couldn’t go to outer space how did they discover things? Teacher Well you can ask our special guest that question. He should arrive in a few minutes. Would you believe me if I said that the scientist, Galileo, is going to visit awhile with us this morning? Jake No, because he was born about five hundred years ago. He couldn’t still be alive! Teacher (laughing) That’s right, Jake. The real Galileo is no longer alive, but our guest is a local man who likes to learn about people in history that he admires. Then he imitates that person and visits schools to answer questions. Oh, look, here he comes now. Children, I would like to introduce you to the famous scientist and inventor, Galileo!


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All Children (applaud)

Galileo Thank you, you are very polite children. I shall try to provide useful answers to your questions. Jake How old are you? Galileo I will let you calculate that for yourselves. You start with the number for this year, then subtract the year I was born, 1564. Or perhaps you can just estimate my age. Jake I estimate that you are not quite 500 years old. Dave That’s a lot older than my great grandmother. She’s ninety-five. Galileo Can anyone compute my exact age? Emily Can we use our calculators? Galileo Hmmm, in my day we didn’t have a device to calculate for us. Just think of it, I might have made even more discoveries and invented more things if I had! Alexis How did you decide to become a scientist and inventor? Galileo Hmmm, that is a good question. I was the oldest of six children in my family and…

Alexis You had five brothers and sisters?! Galileo Yes, I was never lonesome, that’s for sure. My father wanted me to be a doctor of medicine. But I was more interested in math. So I became a teacher of mathematics in a university in my home country of Italy. James Did you invent the telescope? Galileo Not exactly, but I suppose you could say I made the telescope better. I was the first person to use the telescope to look at remote stars and planets. James Did you say remote? Did you have a remote control way back then? Galileo Excuse me … remote …what? Teacher Oh, James means a remote control for a television.


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Galileo Tele…what, I am afraid I am a bit confused! Teacher Oh, never mind, Dr. Galileo. Let me just explain to the children that the word remote means far away. Galileo was the first to use a telescope to look at faraway stars and planets. Emily So, what did you see in your telescope? Galileo I saw things no one had ever seen before. I saw four little moons around the planet Jupiter. Before that no one had ever seen moons around any other planets. Emily I got to look at earth’s moon through a telescope once.

Galileo And what did you see? Emily Well, it didn’t look like a face, like little kids think. It looked like I expected because I had seen pictures. It had lots of mountains and craters. Galileo That’s exactly what I saw, but I was amazed. Before I discovered those craters and mountains, everyone thought the moon was as smooth as glass. Dave 2 Is it true that many people disagreed with you back then?

Galileo Yes, that is true. Many people at the time believed that the earth never moved and that the sun, the planets, stars and everything in space all moved around the earth. Dave Well, it does seem like the sun comes up in the east and sets in the west. Then it comes back up the next morning in the east. It seems like it goes around the earth. Galileo And that is how it seemed to people then, but what have you learned about that in school?


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Dave Okay, we learned the earth rotates or spins and when our side is facing the sun it is daytime. When our side turns away from the sun, the sun seems to set and then it gets dark. Galileo Your teacher has taught you well. Teacher Thank you, Dr. Galileo, they are good students. Grace Did you invent the microscope? Galileo No, but I did build a microscope by making some changes in one of my telescopes. I used it to look at tiny insects. Some friends used my microscope to illustrate a book about insects. Now, let me ask you a question. Can you describe the difference between a telescope and a microscope? Grace I think…a telescope is for looking at big things that are very far – I mean, that are very remote. A microscope is for looking at tiny things close up. James But they both help us see things better than we can with just our eyes! Galileo You have both explained that better than even I could. I think that all of you children may grow up to be great scientists and I thank you for allowing me to visit today! Everyone Thank you, Dr. Galileo! Teacher Oh, we are hoping you can stay for just a bit longer, Dr. Galileo. To conclude our study of space, we are going to have a Planet Parade around the sun. Do you have your planet costumes ready, children? Alexis Yes. Please stay, Galileo! I am going to be Neptune! Grace And I am going to be Saturn. Wait until you see my rings! Galileo Sounds like great fun! I wouldn’t miss it for the world…or even for the universe!


1 Unit 39

The Letterland Circus Characters Narrator 1 & 2 Clever Cat Munching Mike Sammy Snake Quarrelsome Queen Vicky Violet Clever Cat Orvil Or Oscar Orange Munching Mike’s Mom Peter Puppy Talking Tess Dippy Duck Talking Tess Mr. E Patsy Puppy Golden Girl Story Words: calm guitar violin adjourned tumbled probably

Words to Decode: marshmal low package

Scene 1: The Letterland Park

Narrator 1 One day several Letterlanders were at the park chatting together. Clever Cat thought there was something important that they needed to talk about, but couldn’t think of what it could be. Clever Cat Let me check my calendar. I am certain there is something important that I have forgotten. Oh, here it is in my calendar. Crumbs, the Letterland Circus is this week and no one is ready. Now what shall we do? Munching Mike We must have a meeting.

Sammy Snake Soon! Quarrelsome Queen Quickly! Vicky Violet Very quickly! Clever Cat Let’s stay cool and calm everyone. The meeting to plan this year’s Letterland Circus will now come to order. So, who wants to perform this year?

Orvil Or I, Orvil Or, would be more than happy to help organize things. Oscar Orange Yeah, just like you organize all the oranges you rob in your boat by the shore?

Munching Mike’s Mom Mind your manners, Oscar Orange!


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Peter Puppy I will print all our plans on paper so we can remember. Talking Tess I can walk on tip toe on a tight rope in my tiger costume. Dippy Duck Don’t you worry about the danger of falling? Talking Tess Tut, tut! The tightrope is only two feet off the stage floor. Mr. E I can do magic tricks with my hat. Munching Mike May I help make magic with you, Mr. E? I can wear my monster mask and be the Magic Metal Monster. Sammy Snake SSSS-sounds like a ssss-super idea! Mr. E Yes, it does. We can be partners in magic, Munching Mike. Maybe we can make some things disappear. Munching Mike My Mom says I can make marshmallows disappear faster than anyone. Right, Mom? Munching Mike’s Mom That is true, Munching Mike. One day you made a whole package of marshmallows disappear before we even left the market…and all in one mouthful! Dippy Duck Sammy Snake, don’t you want to walk on stilts for the circus? Walking on stilts is a great circus act. Sammy Snake I don’t ssss-suppose I could walk on ssss-stilts ssss-since I don’t have any feet! But I do have a ssss-surprise act. Dippy Duck Sammy, tell us, what’s your surprise? Sammy Snake If I sssss-say it now, it won’t be a ssss-surprise. Sss-so, I’ll ssss-stay ssss-silent on the ssss-subject. Clever Cat Are you putting all this down on paper, Peter Puppy? Peter Puppy Yes, I have listed who is performing and what they are doing in perfect order. Clever Cat Thank you, Peter Puppy, for taking care of that. Orvil Or And remember I can help organize.

Oscar Orange Yeah, right! You can organize your robber sack.


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Munching Mike’s Mom Oscar Orange! Remember your manners! Talking Tess Tell me, Clever Cat, do you still have that cute clown costume? Clever Cat Yes, it is closed up in a carton in my closet. Talking Tess Then you must take it out and wear it in the circus and perform for us. Clever Cat Of course, I can count while I do cartwheels.

Talking Tess Terrific! Patsy Puppy What about you Golden Girl? Perhaps you could perform with your goat? Golden Girl Goodness, I don’t know about that. My goat can be quite goofy. Just yesterday he got into Golden Granny’s garbage can and made a great big mess. But I might play a bit on my guitar. Vicky Violet I would love to play along with you on my violin.

Golden Girl Great! Patsy Puppy That sounds perfect. Golden Girl Goodness, I don’t know if it will sound perfect, but we had better start practicing. Vicky Violet We can practice under the picnic shelter. I’ll get my violin and meet you there.

Golden Girl Good. I had better check on my goofy goat on the way and make sure he is not eating up my garden. Quarrelsome Queen I think we have quite enough planned for the circus. I hope we can quickly end this meeting. I feel the need to go to my Quiet Room.

Sammy Snake Yes, let’s finish up, it is almost time for my ssss-supper. Peter Puppy I have all the plans right here on paper.


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Clever Cat Thank you, everyone. Let’s all meet in the morning before the circus and have a practice. We will practice at the normal place, the Letterland Performing Arts center. Orvil Or I will be there early to help organize everything.

Oscar Orange Oh, brother! Munching Mike’s Mom Manners, Oscar, manners! Clever Cat This meeting is now adjourned.

Scene 2: The Letterland Performing Arts Center

Narrator 2 As planned everyone met in the morning at the Performing Arts Center. They were all dressed in their circus costumes and ready for a morning run through. The real show would happen in the early afternoon.

Golden Girl Oh, Clever Cat what a cute costume! We should call you ‘Clever Clown.’ Clever Cat Thank you, Golden Girl. Are you and Vicky Violet ready to make some music? Golden Girl Yes we are, but I am a bit worried. My goat keeps getting into my garden and getting at the garbage. Golden Granny was not at home to watch him so I had to bring him with me. Vicky Violet So where is he at this very moment? Golden Girl I tied him to a tree out in front of the Center. Narrator 1 Just then Quarrelsome Queen began trying to quiet everyone.

Quarrelsome Queen Quiet! Quiet! This is your Queen speaking. Quiet, now! Narrator 2 But everyone was so excited about the circus they couldn’t seem to stop talking to each other. Talking Tess Too much talking! Narrator 2 But everyone kept talking until Sammy Snake hissed…

Sammy Snake Sssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssssss-silence!


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Narrator 1 And then in the silence, Peter Puppy rushed in the door panting hard.

Peter Puppy Puff…puff…pant…pant…I had the plans for the circus all in order... pant…on paper …puff! I printed them for everybody…puff…puff, but that greedy goat out there…pant...he grabbed the whole stack of them and gobbled them up! …puff…puff!

Golden Girl Oh, my goodness! My goat! I am so sorry! Quarrelsome Queen Never mind! The show must go on! Let’s get started. Peter Puppy But how do we know what order to go in without my perfect plan? Oh, my poor perfect plan! Quarrelsome Queen Oh, stop pouting, Peter Puppy. Let the show begin. NOW! Narrator 2 But then there was a problem. Everyone rushed into the ring at once and tried to do their act. Sammy Snake didn’t see that Talking Tess was tiptoeing across the tight rope when he came in doing his surprise act.

Sammy Snake Sssss-surprise! I am ssssomersaulting across the ring. Here I go! Talking Tess Too close, Sammy, you’re tripping me up! Narrator 1 Talking Tess tumbled to the floor. Luckily, it was only a two-foot tumble!


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Narrator 2 At about the same time, Vickie Violet began to play her violin with Golden Girl playing her guitar. Just then Clever Cat came cart-wheeling across the ring and crashed into both of them.

Narrator 1 Trying to keep the show going, Mr. E and Munching Mike, the Masked Magic Metal Monster, entered the ring. Mr. E raised his arm and said… Mr. E I will now pull a melon out of my magic hat and Magic Mike will make it disappear! Narrator 2 Mr. E reached into his hat. He seemed to be feeling around inside his hat.

Mr. E Eek! No melon! Munching Mike Oops! I already made it disappear.

Dippy Duck Stop! Don’t do any more. This is a disaster! Patsy Puppy The problem is no one knows when it’s their turn, because the goat ate Peter’s paper plan. What we need is someone who can organize the show! Orvil Or Did you say organize? Yes! I can help. I can organize this circus! Patsy Puppy How? Orvil Or Everyone line up. The first act in line performs. Then when they are done the next ones in line perform. That way no one runs over anyone else! Narrator 1 All the performers lined up as Orvil Or had said. The practice went so smoothly that Peter Puppy had to admit that it was nearly perfect. Munching Mike’s Mom So, Oscar Orange, what do you think of Orvil Or now? Oscar Orange I think I like it when Orvil Or is organizing the circus. Munching Mike’s Mom Really? Why might that be? Oscar Orange As long as he is busy organizing, he probably won’t be running off with more oranges!


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Snow Day Characters Narrators 1 & 2 Malik Malik’s Mom Jayla Tia Jose Woman Man

Story Words: radio temperature direction

Words to Decode: apartment toboggan d i f ferent

hospi ta l fantast ic uncovered e leven

Narrator 1 Malik and his mother lived in an apartment on 54th Street in a large city. Malik’s mother was an artist who often worked at home. One winter morning Malik woke up slowly and then put his bare feet on the floor.

Malik Man, it’s cold! I had better put on some socks. Narrator 2 He opened a drawer and felt around. Then he yelled toward his open bedroom door. Malik Momma, I hate to complain, but do you know where I can find some socks? Narrator 1 Malik’s mother appeared in the doorway and pointed at a laundry basket near his dresser. Momma Malik, I hate to complain, but did you put away your clean laundry like I asked you to yesterday? Malik Oh, um, yeah. Momma Breakfast in ten minutes, see you in the kitchen. Don’t forget to use your toothbrush, young man. Narrator 2 Momma headed to the kitchen and Malik went to wash up. Soon he was yelling to his mother again. Malik Momma, why won’t the water come out of the faucet? Narrator 1 Malik’s mother answered from the kitchen. Momma I think the pipes are frozen, Malik.


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Narrator 2 Malik walked to the kitchen. His elbow brushed against his mother’s easel. She often liked to paint by the light that came in the kitchen window. He didn’t notice what she had been painting. What he did notice was that his mother was stirring a bowl of hot oatmeal and raisins for him.

Malik The pipes are frozen! Then, how did you get water to make oatmeal? Momma I went outside, got some clean snow and melted it.

Malik Snow! Did it snow last night? Narrator 1 Malik ran to the window and pulled back the curtain. Then he began to jump up and down and exclaim with delight.

Malik Snow! Snow! I love snow. Look, Momma, snow! Momma I know, I know! You have always loved snow. Malik That snow looks pretty deep. Do you think school will be closed? Momma First get your toast out of the toaster. Then sit down and eat your oatmeal and your grapefruit. I’ll turn on the radio and we’ll see what we can find out. Radio Voice …and the temperature is expected to decrease through the day. Malik That means the temperature is going lower and the snow won’t melt, right, Mom? Momma Right. Radio Voice Snow is predicted all morning and the chance of heavy snow will increase for the afternoon. Malik Chance of heavy snow increasing…that means more snow, right? Momma Yes, most likely – more snow. Radio Voice Traffic problems are widespread this morning. And we have this just in from the City Schools. I know the kids have been


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waiting for this… All schools are closed today due to deep snow and very cold weather. We’ll continue with the latest report on the weather after…

Malik Hooray! No school! Momma But, Malik, you love school. Malik I do, Momma, but I love snow even more. Beautiful, slippery, slide-y, snowball-throwing, fort-building, snowman-making SNOW! Narrator 2 Just then, there was a knock on the backdoor. It was Malik’s three friends, Jayla, Jose, and Tia, who lived on the same street. Malik opened the door and all four friends exclaimed loudly as they hopped up and down.

Everyone SNOW DAY! SNOW DAY! SNOW DAY! Narrator 1 Soon Malik had gone off to get dressed in several layers of warm clothes. His mother insisted on that. She remained in the kitchen talking to his friends. She had a special group name for Malik and his three friends. Momma So, what are the Fantastic Four going to be up to today? Jayla I think the first thing we’ll do is go to the park and slide down the hill. Jose Yeah, about a thousand times. Tia Well, maybe not quite a thousand times since we also have to walk back up the hill every time! Momma Sounds like fun. Does anyone have a sled? Tia No, but we can slide down on our…uh, backsides. That’s fun. Jayla But it is kind of cold that way. Jose We might find some cardboard boxes behind a store or something. Momma I am sure you four will find a way to have fun…and be safe, too! Well, now, here’s Malik, all layered up and ready to go. Narrator 2 Soon all four friends were trudging down the snow covered sidewalk of 54th street.


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Jose Wow! Look at the cars buried in snow. They don’t even look like cars! Jayla Are you sure there are cars beneath that snow? They look like little hills of white powder. Tia How will people ever get their cars out?

Narrator 1 But Malik wasn’t looking at the cars. He was staring in a shop window.

Malik Hey, everybody, look at this cool toboggan! Narrator 2 All four friends pressed their noses against the window and stared at the long wooden toboggan. The storekeeper had just put it on display that morning.

Tia Whoa! We could all four ride on that! Malik All four at the same time.

Jayla It’s beautiful! Jose Oh, yeah, can’t you just see us flying down the hill at the park. Jayla I can see it, yes, but I don’t think we can afford it. Malik How can we earn some money? Jayla Yeah, how can we earn some money, right now? Narrator 1 Just then Tia spotted a woman not far down the street trying to clear her car of snow.

Tia That lady is trying to clear off her car with her purse! Jose But it’s not working! Jayla She’s making a bigger pile of snow beside her car. Malik That’ll make it even harder to get her car out. Jose I’ve got an idea. Listen. Narrator 2 The four put their heads together to listen to Jose’s idea. Then they all ran off in different directions. But in just a few minutes


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they all were back together and each one had a broom. They walked over to the woman trying to clear off her car. Tia Excuse me, ma’am, maybe my friends and I could help you clean off your car. Malik Then we can sweep the snow out of your way so you don’t get stuck. Jose There are four of us, so we can do a really fast job, too. Jayla And we are known as the Fantastic Four from Street 54.

Woman How kind of you to offer to help! I am in a hurry and this purse is not doing the job very well. I was worried I would have to remain at home all day, but I need to get to work at the hospital.

Jayla We’ll be careful not to scratch you car! Everyone Very, very careful! Woman Well, of course, I can really use the help. Narrator 1 Soon the children were working away. Even though the snow was deep, it was easy to sweep because it was like powder. Two of them swept off the car from top to bumper. The other two swept the piles of snow from around the car, being careful to stay out of traffic. In no time the woman’s car was ready to go. She reached in her purse and gave each of the children a few coins. Everyone Thank you, ma’am. Woman Oh, thank you. I might never have gotten out without all that expert broom work. You really are fantastic! Narrator 2 Just as the woman’s car pulled away, an older man approached the children. Man Hello, children. I saw how quickly you dug that car out, and I could use some help with my car, too. I just finished digging out the sidewalk and steps to my house and now I’m nearly exhausted. Malik Yes, sir. We’ll be glad to help you for we are…

Everyone …the Fantastic Four from Street 54! Narrator 1 Quickly the children uncovered the man’s car and he was on his way, but not before he gave each child a crisp bill.


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Narrator 2 By lunchtime the children had helped eleven people along the street dig out their cars. They counted their money and they had just enough to buy the toboggan. Narrator 1 Coming out of the store with the polished wooden toboggan, they realized they had worked so hard that they were starving. Malik Let’s go to my house and have lunch before we go riding our toboggan at the park. Jayla Yeah, then we can spend all afternoon whizzing down the hill at the park. Tia Sounds good to me.

Jose Sounds fantastic to me! Narrator 2 They each took a turn pulling the toboggan, and giving the other three a ride along the level street back to Malik’s house. Narrator 1 When they got to the house, they took the toboggan inside to show Malik’s mother and tell her all about their exciting morning. Momma You four should be really proud of yourselves for working hard and putting your money together. This is a beautiful toboggan! Malik We are proud, but right now we are mostly…

Everyone STARVING! Momma I am not surprised. Why don’t you four work together on fixing some sandwiches? I’ll take this toboggan in the other room and dry it off. Narrator 2 About the time the children finished their lunch, Malik’s mother came back carrying the toboggan. On it she had painted in bright red, the words… Narrator 1 The Fantastic Four, Friends Forever.

Everyone Fantastic! Let’s head for the hill! Hooray for SNOW!!! Narrator 2 What they didn’t know was that the next three days would be Snow Days as well. And so it was that the Fantastic Four ended up having four fantastic Snow Days!


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Jumping Jim Goes Fishing Characters Storytellers 1 & 2 Everyone Jumping Jim Firefighter Fred Story Words: scolded Words to Decode: j igsaw je l ly f i sh department

Storyteller 1 One day Jumping Jim was sitting at his table in his jigsaw puzzle house. He was juggling, of course. Just then someone knocked at his door. Everyone (Knock on something)

Storyteller 1 Jumping Jim juggled his way over to the door. Jumping Jim Hi, Firefighter Fred. Look, I juggled all the way to the door and I didn’t stumble.

Firefighter Fred That’s fantastic! But have you noticed, Jumping Jim, it’s a fair day – a fine day for fishing – not a day to sit around idle. I’m going fishing. How about joining me? Jim Yes! Great idea! I’ll be ready in a jiffy. Just let me get my jar for bait and my jacket. Storyteller 2 Soon Jim was ready and they headed for Fred’s truck. Fred Let me move my French bugle out of the front seat. I play it in our Fire Department Band, you know. Story Teller 2 They climbed into the old farmer’s truck that Fred always liked to use for fishing trips. It rattled loudly as they drove over the stones and pebbles on the bumpy road to the fish pond. Everyone Rattle, rattle, bump, bump, rattle, rattle, rattle.

Jim Look, Firefighter Fred. I’m able to keep juggling even when your old truck wobbles!


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Fred Fantastic! Look there’s my fish pond with the apple trees and maple trees all around it. And there’s my little fishing boat tied to the dock. Storyteller 2 In a few moments they were settled in Fred’s little boat. Fred I’ll just paddle us out to the middle of the pond. Everyone Paddle, paddle, splish, splash, paddle, paddle, paddle. Fred You might want to put down those juggling balls and grab the handle of that fishing pole, Jumping Jim. Jim Sure , Firefighter Fred. I love fishing almost as much as I love juggling. My uncle takes me sometimes. Someone told me you had jellyfish in your pond. Fred Someone told you a fable, Jumping Jim. There are no jellyfish here. They live in the ocean. Storyteller 1 They baited their lines and put them in the water. Then they waited for the fish. They waited a long time. Everyone Ho, hummmm. Ho, hummmm. Ho, hummmm. Jim Fred, I can see bubbles and ripples made by the fish. But I am not getting any nibbles on my line. Fred I know, Jim…. Sometimes you just have to wait. Storyteller 1 They waited even longer.

Everyone Ho, hummmm. Ho, hummmm. Ho, hummmmmmmm! Storyteller 2 By now Jumping Jim was growing tired and bored, and so he started to juggle again.

Fred Hey! Jim, all that juggling is rocking the boat! Storyteller 2 The boat began to wobble back and forth like a cradle. Before Jim could stop, the boat turned over and Jumping Jim and Firefighter Fred tumbled right into the water with a big… .

Everyone Splash! Splash! Splish splash, splish splash, splosh! Storyteller 1 Fred and Jim struggled to the bank of the pond and climbed out. Water drizzled from inside Firefighter Fred’s helmet onto his unhappy face. Water dribbled off both of them, forming big puddles around their feet.


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Fred Jumping Jim, look what you have done. I told you not to…. Storyteller 1 As Fred scolded Jumping Jim, he started to pull off his wet boots. Whoops! A big fish fell right out of his boot and flip-flopped onto the ground. Fred looked at Jumping Jim and they both started to giggle.

Fred Well, at least we got one fish! Everyone And they both laughed and laughed and laughed! Ha, ha! Ho, ho! Ha, ha, hee, hee! Ho, ho, ho!


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Graphs and Bleeps Characters Storyteller Jumping Jim Noisy Nick Golden Girl Everyone

Noisy Nicola Vicky Violet Fix-it Max Computer Voice

Story Words: penguin Teletouch turkey tongues correction data millipede Words to Decode: dif ferent favor i te

Storyteller One afternoon at the Letterland School, several students were getting ready to make a graph on a large piece of paper. The day before, they had all gone out and talked to other Letterlanders and asked them this question, “What animal do you think is the most interesting? ” They began today’s lesson talking about all of the interesting animals that different Letterlanders had chosen. Jumping Jim Okay, everyone has brought in the names of different favorite animals. Now we need to start graphing them.

Noisy Nick But look! Everybody chose a different animal… so how do we graph them? There is just one of each animal. That can’t make a very interesting graph. This is a tough problem to solve. Golden Girl Wait, I’ve just thought of something. How about putting the animals together in several groups? Then we could count the number in each group and graph the groups. Everyone Great idea, Golden Girl! Noisy Nick Yes, that’s a neat idea. Nice thinking, Golden Girl! But how do we group them? Vicky Violet I vote that we group them by how many legs they have, okay?

School


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Everyone Very good idea! Noisy Nicola Now, let’s take turns reporting all our data. I’ll put the numbers in the computer. And the computer will keep track and report on the groups. So Fix-it Max, who did you talk to?

Fix-it Max I went to see Peter Puppy. He thought the most interesting animal was a penguin. Then I went to see Talking Tess at Teletouch Tower, but she wasn’t there. So I found a telephone and tried to call her. I finally reached her by phone at six o’clock. She thinks a turkey is the most interesting animal.

Computer Voice Beep! Bleep! That is two two-legged animals. Beep, beep, bleep! Vicky Violet I talked to Red Robot. He thinks raccoons are the most interesting because they look like they have robber masks on. Dippy Duck thinks deer are the most interesting, and Firefighter Fred chose a frog. He had just bought another one for his frog tank. Computer Bleep. Blurp, blurp. That is three four-legged animals. Vicky Violet And that’s not all. Kicking King thinks kittens are the most interesting because they have rough little tongues….Oh, and Oscar Orange chose an ostrich because it’s one of the biggest birds!

Computer Bleet, blop! That is three two-legged animals, and b-beep, four four-legged animals. Everyone Good job, Computer.

Computer Beep, bleep! Thank you. Beep.


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Golden Girl I drove my go-cart over to see Harry Hat Man. He gave me a photograph of the animal he thinks is the most interesting. See, it’s Henry, his horse. Computer Five four-legged animals. Doooo-loop! Noisy Nick I went to see Mr. E and he said for him an eel was the most interesting animal. But an eel doesn’t have any legs! Can we have a group with no legs? Golden Girl I guess so, but is one animal enough for a group? Jumping Jim Here’s another one. Walter Walrus thought that a whale is the most interesting animal. Golden Girl Great, that is two animals with no legs. So we have three groups to graph.

Computer No animals with two and one half legs. Doowoop! Correction, two animals with no legs! Bllleeeeeeep! Everyone What is wrong with that computer? Vicky Violet I think it might have a virus. I bet it will start coughing and sneezing next, like I do when I have a virus. Jumping Jim Hold on. I jogged over to see Impy Ink. He thinks insects are the most interesting. Fix-it Max And they have six legs! So that is another group! Golden Girl I just remembered. Sammy Snake thinks spiders are special because they make such super webs! And guess what, spiders have eight legs!

Computer Eight legs! Two animals. Fourteen ducks, and a pair of door knobs. Dip, Drip, Dreeeeeeet. Jumping Jim And that’s not all. Lucy Lamp Light likes lots of animals but she thinks lobsters are the most interesting.


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Everyone How many leg’s do lobsters have? Jumping Jim Let me check my notes…. Lobsters have …here it is. They have ten legs! Noisy Nick So how many groups is that? Jumping Jim Wait, there is one more. Let me find it…Here it is. Munching Mike thinks the most interesting animal is a millipede!

(Everyone laughs, except Noisy Nick)

Noisy Nick Why is everyone laughing? Jumping Jim Because millipede means a thousand legs! Computer Dweep! Dot, dot…ding, dang, a boom bang. That does not compute. Dwwwoooooop…beep…beeb…beeb…bwooooooop…

Noisy Nicola It looks like the computer has just quit working!

Noisy Nick Well, that’s okay. We can do it without the computer because I have a neat, new idea. We can have a group called ‘More than four legs.’

Everyone Great idea! Nice thinking, Noisy Nick! Golden Girl I think we are ready to draw our graph. I’ll use green to start the no-legs group.

Everyone This is going to be fun! Computer Beep! Beep! Beep!

(Everyone laughs.)

See the next page to make your own graph.


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Animals the Letterlanders find most interesting

8 8 8 8

7 7 7 7

6 6 6 6

5 5 5 5

4 4 4 4

3 3 3 3

2 2 2 2

1 1 1 1

No legs Two legs Four legs More than four legs


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Operation Adventure Characters Mr. Tion Narrators 1 & 2 Jumping Jim Golden Girl Vicky Violet Munching Mike Noisy Nick Fix-it Max Quarrelsome Queen Lucy Lamp Light Story Words: treasure castle pleasure parachute mystery library energy ceiling Words to Decode: correct ly remember i l luminat ion

navigat ion d i f f icu l t discovered imagined lo l l ipops

Mr. Tion Hi, my name is Mr. Tion. I teach at the Letterland school. My students include many of your Letterland friends like Golden Girl and Fix-it Max. We wanted to tell you about a special day at our school so the children and I wrote this play about it.

****** Narrator 1 It was a beautiful spring day in Letterland, and it was also a school day. Mr. Tion knew it might be difficult to capture the attention of his students in his classroom. So he decided he needed to have a lesson that included lots of action. Mr. Tion (to himself) It is such a beautiful day and the temperature is perfect. The children will want to be outside enjoying nature. But my job is to help them get an education, to get them ready for their future. Narrator 2 So…Mr. Tion used his imagination and came up with a plan for the day that he decided to call ‘Operation Adventure’. Narrator 1 When the children arrived, Mr. Tion told them a little bit about Operation Adventure.

School


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Mr. Tion As a part of our Adventure, you will be traveling to several locations in Letterland. Jumping Jim You mean we’ll get to be outside? Mr. Tion Yes, you will be outside most of the day, and you will be hunting for treasure! Everyone Treasure!? All right! Okay! Great! Mr. Tion But before we can begin, we are going to have some tea and cookies to give you energy for your Adventure. And there is one thing you must all be able to do first. Every one of you will have to learn to spell my name, because you will need that information to help find the treasure. In addition, whoever spells my name correctly first will get the first cup of tea. Golden Girl That should be simple to guess. I think your name is spelled s-h-u-n. Mr. Tion That’s a good guess, Golden Girl, but that’s not how I spell my name. Vicky Violet Maybe it’s Bothersome Baby Brother saying ‘uh’ in your name instead of Uppy Umbrella. So, is your name spelled s-h-o-n? Mr. Tion Very good thinking, Vicky Violet, but that’s not how I spell it. Munching Mike (thoughtfully) I might know. Annie Apple says ‘uh’ sometimes when she borrows an umbrella to use as a parachute. Is it spelled s-h-a-n? Mr. Tion That makes sense, Munching Mike, but that’s not it either. Narrator 2 Suddenly Nick had a bright idea that might help everyone to spell Mr. Tion’s name correctly – and never forget how! Noisy Nick Wait a minute, I bet I know how to spell your name, Mr. Tion! I am going to whisper it in your ear. And if I spell it correctly, then I get the first cup of tea, right? Mr. Tion and Everyone Okay. Yes, that’s right. Noisy Nick Then listen for the next thing Mr. Tion says to me after I spell his name. It will be a clue that will help everyone remember how to spell his name.


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Mr. Tion and Everyone What? How can that be? Wait, I don’t understand. Noisy Nick You’ll see. Now remember, the next thing Mr. Tion says will help you spell his name. Narrator 1 Mr. Tion leaned over and Noisy Nick whispered in his ear. Noisy Nick (whispering) t-i-o-n. Narrator 2 Then Mr. Tion smiled a big smile and poured Nick a cup of tea as he said… Mr. Tion Nick is right, and here’s the…Tea I Owe Nick. Everyone Huh, how does that help us spell our teacher’s name?

Fix-it Max I get it! He said, “Tea I Owe Nick,” because Nick was the first one to spell Mr. Tion’s name. So, Mr. Tion owed him a cup of tea. Jumping Jim So, how does that help us to spell it?

Narrator 1 Fix-it Max went to the board and wrote this:

Narrator 2 Nick pointed to each letter and the last word as he said… Fix-it-Max T-I-O Nick. Narrator 1 Then he erased the last three letters to show: Narrator 2 Max pointed to the letters again as he said…

Fix-it-Max T-I-O-N. That’s how you spell Mr. Tion’s name! Everyone Tea I Owe Nick. T-I-O-N, Tion. Now we understand! Mr. Tion Great! Now, you all can spell my name, Tion. While we all have tea and cookies, I’ll tell you more about Operation Adventure.

T-I-O-Nick

T-I-O-N


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Narrator 1 Mr. Tion explained that the children would be following instructions he had written on note cards. He had placed the notes in a number of locations around the town. Each card would give them information about where to find the next card. After following the directions on the cards they would find the treasure at the end. Mr. Tion Does anyone have any questions? Golden Girl Sounds like great fun, Mr. Tion, but my question is what does spelling your name have to do with it? Mr. Tion Good question, Golden Girl. Lots of the words on the cards have t-i-o-n on the end. Knowing that t-i-o-n sounds like ‘shun’ will help you read all those words…and find the treasure! Are you ready? Here is the first note.

Note A Go to the station where they have lots of hoses and ladders.

Jumping Jim That must be the fire station. It’s only a few blocks away. We can be there in a jiffy. We’ll get to see Firefighter Fred – if he hasn’t gone fishing. Narrator 2 The children and Mr. Tion all walked to the fire station. Firefighter Fred handed them the next note himself.

Note B Go to a place where addition and subtraction are used to count money.

Munching Mike That must be the bank. Let’s get in motion. We can be there in moments. Narrator 1 On the way to the bank Munching Mike thought of another -tion word that was used at the bank.

Munching Mike (thinking) Mmmm, combination! They use a combination to unlock the big vault or safe at the bank. Noisy Nick What is a combination? Mr. Tion A combination is a group of things put together for some purpose.


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Munching Mike At the bank, they use a combination of numbers like a secret code to open the big vault. That’s where they keep mmm-money and other important things. Narrator 2 The children found the next note on the big metal door of the bank vault.

Note C If you went on vacation near this location, you might see an exciting eruption.

Vicky Violet That must mean the volcano near the valley where my house is. Maybe Mr. Tion left a note at my house. It’s not far. Narrator 1 Sure enough, the children found the next note taped to Vicky’s vase of violets.

Note D There is quite a mixture of animals at the next location. It is a fine collection of creatures from all over the world.

Noisy Nick That must be the zoo. It is so near I can hear the noise of the animals from here. Narrator 2 At the zoo, Zig Zag Zebra provided the next clue.

Note E If you had a picture at this location, you would see lots of cows and grass.

Fix-it Max That has to be the pasture near the Letterland castle. I bet we can walk there in six minutes! Narrator 1 At the pasture, the children met up with Quarrelsome Queen, looking very important. She started to say… Quarrelsome Queen It gives me great pleasure to present you with the final clue. If you can…

Everybody (as cows) MOOO! MOOO ! MOOOOO! MOOO! Noisy Nick (while cows are mooing) What a nifty noise!


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Quarrelsome Queen QUIET please, cows! Your queen is speaking! As I was trying to say, if you can find the solution to this riddle, you will be able to locate the treasure. Here is the final clue in verse.

Note F

If your ship at sea were lost

and in a storm it turned and tossed,

to help you with your navigation

you’d seek out this illumination.

Munching Mike My, my, this clue is quite a mystery. What does navigation mean? Noisy Nick I know that! Navigation is how you guide your ship. It helps you know where you are and what direction you are going in. Vicky Violet That makes sense because the verse is about a ship lost at sea, but what does ‘illumination’ mean? Mr. Tion Illumination means the shine of a bright light. Golden Girl So a light shining to help a ship to find its way. I guess we all know where to go next. Everyone Lucy Lamp Light’s lighthouse! Golden Girl That’s where the treasure must be! Let’s get going! Narrator 2 When the children and Mr. Tion arrived at the lighthouse, Lucy was waiting for them. The children knew that the Letterland Library was inside her lighthouse. They went inside and looked up to its very high ceiling far above. All along the curving wall from top to bottom were shelves and shelves of thousands of books. There were also computer stations spread around at ground level.


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Mr. Tion This is what we’ve been searching for, children. Here in this library is a great treasure. By reading these books and using these computers, you can find all the things that people have discovered and learned and imagined and all the inventions they have invented over thousands of years. And in school you have learned to use the clues to find this treasure. Everyone We did? When did we learn to find the treasure? Mr. Tion All the time you spent in school learning about sounds, and spelling and syllables, you were learning how to unlock this treasure— by learning how to read. Now you can use the treasure of knowledge in all these books and on the internet to do and to learn just about anything you want to know. Fix-it Max Yes, I have learned how to fix lots of things from these books, and I know Impy Ink got ideas for some of his best inventions from books in here. Munching Mike I have learned about mountains in this library, and where metal comes from. Golden Girl And I bet there are books in here about how to find real treasure chests full of gold coins and such, as well. Lucy Lamp Light Yes, you are right about that Golden Girl, and today I have another treasure for all of you. Narrator 1 Lucy Lamp Light opened a wooden box that looked like a small treasure chest. Inside, wrapped in sparkling gold paper, were dozens of lemon lollipops, which she shared with everyone. Mr. Tion Well, children what did you think of Operation Adventure? Everyone Let’s do it again tomorrow!


Documents

Fun Frog Facts...Jumping Jim Frogs are great jumpers. That’s why I like them. Boy called Roy I like playing a game called ‘leap frog‘ with Mr. I or sometimes with Yo-yo Man