1st grade · English Language Arts · Unit 7 of 19
Story Time
Who, where and what happened
What your child practices
Reading short stories, then naming who is in them and where they happen, and putting the events in order. Reading the story aloud together and talking about it helps a lot!
New York State Learning Standards learning standard: 1R3 · describing the characters, setting and events in a story
How we explain it
Children can open this short lesson before they practice.
- Ask: who is in the story?
- Ask: where does it happen?
- Ask: what happened? Look back to check.
Example: Noah rode the bus to school. How did Noah get to school? Find how Noah got there. He rode the bus. Answer: on the bus
Story Time in New York
In the New York State Learning Standards, this is unit 7 of 19 in 1st grade English Language Arts, after Sentences and before Describing Words.
Gradelings describes a child's practice on this unit as Beginning, Approaching, Meeting or Exceeding (Four practice steps). That reflects practice, not a report-card mark: the teacher decides the mark.
Sample questions
A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.
Question 1
Who planted beans with Lena?
Lena and her brother planted beans in a pot.
They put the pot by the sunny window.
Every day, Lena gave the beans a little water.
Soon, tiny green leaves popped out!
- 👦her brother
- 🐱her cat
- 👩her teacher
👦 her brother
Hint: Look at the first line. Lena planted beans with her…
Question 2
Where did they put the pot?
Lena and her brother planted beans in a pot.
They put the pot by the sunny window.
Every day, Lena gave the beans a little water.
Soon, tiny green leaves popped out!
- 🛏️under the bed
- ❄️in the snow
- 🪟by the window
🪟 by the window
Hint: The second line tells where the pot went.
Question 3
What happened first?
Lena and her brother planted beans in a pot.
They put the pot by the sunny window.
Every day, Lena gave the beans a little water.
Soon, tiny green leaves popped out!
- 🌱Green leaves popped out.
- 💧Lena watered the beans.
- 🫘They planted the beans.
🫘 They planted the beans.
Hint: Look at the top of the story to see how it starts.
Question 4
Tap what happened, from first to last.
Lena and her brother planted beans in a pot.
They put the pot by the sunny window.
Every day, Lena gave the beans a little water.
Soon, tiny green leaves popped out!
- 🫘They planted the beans.
- 💧Lena watered the beans.
- 🌱Green leaves popped out.
They planted the beans. → Lena watered the beans. → Green leaves popped out.
Hint: Read the story again from the top. What happened first?
Question 5
Who made a sandcastle?
Maya made a sandcastle at the beach.
A big wave came up the sand.
Splash! The castle fell down.
Maya smiled and built a new one.
- 🦀a crab
- 👦Sam
- 👧Maya
👧 Maya
Hint: Look at the first line. Who made the castle?
Question 6
Where did Maya build the castle?
Maya made a sandcastle at the beach.
A big wave came up the sand.
Splash! The castle fell down.
Maya smiled and built a new one.
- 🏪in a store
- ❄️in the snow
- 🏖️at the beach
🏖️ at the beach
Hint: The first line tells where Maya was.