Pat sat by the tree.

“Mom wants me to work,” Pat said.

“I do not want to help her work.

I will hide by this big tree.

She will not find me.

I will hide from her.

My mom will not find me.

I will hide by this big tree!”

Form A Prim. / Student Booklet / Graded Paragraphs

I found a lost baby turtle. I took him home so he could live in my house. A friend gave me his prize rabbit. I took the rabbit home to live in my house.

I found a lost duck so I took her home too. I saw a little, cold blackbird and took him home. Then, I saw a cow who looked so sad. I took her home!

But Mom said, “No! No! Not a cow!”

Form A 1 / Student Booklet / Graded Paragraphs

“Look out, you’ll get hit!” I yelled as my dog ran across the busy road. Thud was the noise I heard, and then I saw my pup lying in the street. “Oh, no!” I shouted. I felt scared inside.

“Rex is my best friend!” I wanted to cry out. I knew that he was hurt, but he’d be all right if I could get help fast. I knew I had to be brave.

“Mom! Dad!” I yelled as I ran straight home. I tried to fight back the tears. They started rolling down my face anyway as I blasted through the door. “Rex has been hit, and he needs help now!” I cried out. “Please hurry so we can save him!”

Form B 2 / Student Booklet / Graded Paragraphs

The sunlight shined into the mouth of the cave so Mary could see easily at first, but the farther she walked, the darker it grew. Her dog, Boxer, ran off to explore on his own.

Soon it grew so dark that Mary could see nothing, but she could hear water dripping off the cave walls. She touched a wall with her hand to find it cold and damp. Mary began to grow fearful, so she lit her candle and held it high to look around.

Suddenly, the flame went out. She tried to relight the candle, but the first match went out! Finally, Mary’s shaking hand held the lighted candle high. She heard a low growl near her and saw a pair of fierce, green eyes glowing in the dark!

“Boxer!” she shouted. “Now I recognize those green eyes of yours! Let’s get out of here!”

Form A 3 / Student Booklet / Graded Paragraphs

The two dogs and the cat were growing tired from their long journey. Now they had to cross a river. It was wide and deep, so they would have to swim across.

The younger dog plunged into the icy water, barking for the others to follow him. The older dog jumped into the water. He was weak and suffering from pain, but somehow he managed to struggle to the opposite bank.

The poor cat was left all alone. He was so afraid that he ran up and down the bank wailing with fear. The younger dog swam back and forth trying to help. Finally, the cat jumped in and began swimming near his friend.

At that moment something bad happened. An old beaver dam from upstream broke. The water rushed downstream, hurling a large log toward the animals. It struck the cat and swept him helplessly away.

Form A 4 / Student Booklet / Graded Paragraphs

“Look out,” Sheila Young thought as she saw her challenger’s bicycle come too close. “Watch out or you will foul me!”

At that moment a horrifying thing happened as she was bumped by another racer at forty miles an hour. Sheila’s bicycle crashed, and she skidded to the surface of the track. From the wreck she received a nine-inch gash on her head.

The judges ruled that the race should be run again since a foul had been made. Sheila would not have enough time to get her wound stitched; still, she didn’t want to quit the race because she could only think of winning. “Just staple the cut together and bandage it,” she told the doctor. “I want to win this race!”

The doctor did as Sheila asked, and as she stood in silence while being treated, tears rolled down her face from the intense pain. Then, with a blood-stained bandage on her throbbing head, she pushed on to amaze the crowd with a sensational victory and a gold medal!

Form A 5 / Student Booklet / Graded Paragraphs

The explosion was horrible that tragic day in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1916. Thirty-two men were trapped in a tunnel 250 feet below Lake Erie. No one could enter the smoked-filled tunnel to rescues the survivors.

“Someone get Garrett Morgan to help those men down there,” shouted a man from the crowd. “Morgan and his breathing device are the only chance those men have!”

Garrett Morgan and his brother quickly came to the aid of the men trapped in the tunnel. Morgan had invented what he called a “Breathing Device,” later to be known as the gas mask. Two years before, Morgan’s invention had been tested by filling an enclosed tent with the foulest, thickest smoke possible. Placing the device over his head, a man entered this suffocating atmosphere, stayed twenty minutes, and emerged unharmed! Later, using a poisonous gas in a closed room, another test also provided the same successful results.

Although not all lived, every man was brought to the surface by the brothers. It was Morgan’s concern for safer working conditions that saved lives that day and in the years to come.

Form A 6 / Student Booklet / Graded Paragraphs