1st grade · English Language Arts · Unit 7 of 17
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!
Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS) teks student expectation: 1.8(B); 1.8(C); 1.8(D) · the characters, setting and events of 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 Texas
In the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS), this is unit 7 of 17 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.
- 1st grade guide for Texas parents
- Printable 1st grade English Language Arts sheet
- Texas report cards explained
Source: Texas Education Agency (TEA)
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 sat next to Noah?
Noah rode the bus to school.
He sat next to his friend Ana.
They sang a song all the way.
The bus stopped, and they hopped off.
- 👧Ana
- 🐶his dog
- 🚌the bus driver
👧 Ana
Hint: Look at line two. Noah sat next to his friend…
Question 2
How did Noah get to school?
Noah rode the bus to school.
He sat next to his friend Ana.
They sang a song all the way.
The bus stopped, and they hopped off.
- 🚌on the bus
- 🐴on a horse
- ⛵on a boat
🚌 on the bus
Hint: The first line tells how Noah got to school.
Question 3
What happened first?
Noah rode the bus to school.
He sat next to his friend Ana.
They sang a song all the way.
The bus stopped, and they hopped off.
- 🏫They hopped off the bus.
- 🎶They sang a song.
- 🚌Noah rode the bus.
🚌 Noah rode the bus.
Hint: Look at the top of the story to see how it starts.
Question 4
Tap what happened, from first to last.
Noah rode the bus to school.
He sat next to his friend Ana.
They sang a song all the way.
The bus stopped, and they hopped off.
- 🎶They sang a song.
- 🏫They hopped off the bus.
- 🚌Noah rode the bus.
Noah rode the bus. → They sang a song. → They hopped off the bus.
Hint: Read the story again from the top. What happened first?
Question 5
Who found the mitten?
Zoe played in the snow.
She lost her red mitten.
Her dog, Pip, dug in the snow and found it!
Zoe gave Pip a big hug.
- 🐱a cat
- 🐶Pip the dog
- 👧Zoe
🐶 Pip the dog
Hint: Look at line three. Who dug in the snow?
Question 6
Where did Zoe play?
Zoe played in the snow.
She lost her red mitten.
Her dog, Pip, dug in the snow and found it!
Zoe gave Pip a big hug.
- 🏖️at the beach
- 🏊in a pool
- ❄️in the snow
❄️ in the snow
Hint: The first line tells where Zoe played.