COVER to COVER 11 BOOK
Book 11 Skills
Beginning Readers 48
Royce and Floyd Make a Choice
Floyd Joyce Dad Royce
Royce and Floyd wanted to play, but they didn’t know what to do. Their dad and stepmom, Joyce, watched. “We have to make a choice,” Floyd said. “It will be time to eat soon.”
Royce and Floyd looked in their toy box. “I’d like to play with this green truck,” Floyd said. “A boy in my class gave it to me. We can use the hoist to lift things up. Watch this!”
BEEP BEEP! BUZZ BUZZ!
“That’s a cool toy,” said Royce, “but it makes a lot of noise.”
“I know!” said Floyd. “Let’s play this game. I’ll choose this pawn, and you can have this one. We’ll make them hop from space to space.”
Royce smiled wide. “I hate to spoil your plan, but this game is too easy!”
Royce pointed to the jump rope that was coiled on the rug. She grabbed it and flipped it as she skipped over and over. “This is what I call fun! Let’s see who can jump the fastest.”
Floyd took his jump rope out of the box. Each time he jumped, he kept tripping. “This is not very fun. I can’t seem to avoid my feet.”
“Time’s up,” Dad said. “What do you both choose?”
“Let’s flip a coin,” Floyd said. “If I win the toss, we’ll go out to shoot hoops and see who gets the most points.”
Floyd flipped the coin, but he lost.
“You won, Royce!” he said. “What are we going to do?”
Just then, a song played. Royce stood up and danced with joy. “Let’s have a dance-a-thon! Watch my dance moves!”
“Can I join you?” Floyd asked. Royce grabbed his hand. “Yes, you can, but only if you can keep up with me!”
Royce and Floyd enjoyed making up their own dances.
“We crown you both king and queen of the dance-a-thon,” Joyce said. Floyd spoke in a royal voice. “You may all join the queen and me at the royal ball!”
Royce giggled. “Looks like we made a good choice,” she said. Floyd smiled. “It was the best choice.”
Lurking in the Burrows
Alberto Irving
One day, Irving and Alberto went outside to play.
“Look,” Alberto said. “I see a hole. What’s lurking in there?”
“I bet it’s a burrow,” Irving said. “Animals use burrows as homes or as a place to keep dry and warm. They can also hide to stay safe.”
“Let’s act like them!” Alberto said.
“I’ll be a burrowing owl,” said Alberto, as he flapped his hands.
“A bird that doesn’t live in a tree?” Irving asked.
“Yes! This owl lives in burrows made by other animals. Did you know it’s the only owl that nests underground? And it has its own chirping sound,” Alberto said.
“Wow! That’s cool, but we shouldn’t get too close to the owls,” Irving said.
“There’s a rabbit with its kits,” Alberto said.
“That’s what baby rabbits are called.”
“They’re the smallest rabbits I’ve ever seen,”
Irving said. “The mom rabbit must have dug a lot of dirt to make that burrow.”
“I’d love to be a rabbit,” said Alberto. “I would hop and jump all day. But when it’s dark, I’d stay in my burrow.”
“I see a molehill,” said Alberto. “Moles hollow out burrows with their claws.”
“I don’t want to be a mole,” said Irving. “Moles can’t see very well.”
“But they can feel things when they smell with their snouts,” said Alberto as he sniffed with his nose.
“Would you like to be a skunk?” Alberto asked. “Skunks burrow under homes, decks, or sheds. Some skunk burrows are two feet deep!” Irving pinched his nose. “No way. Then you couldn’t get too close to me. I would spray you with a bad scent!”
Irving lifted up a leaf. “We can be like ants in a burrow. Some ants dig holes with lots of rooms.”
Alberto crawled on the ground. “Ants are strong. They walk fast to bring food from one place to the next.”
“The food is bigger than them!” said Irving.
“I see foxes in a den!” Alberto said.
“Me too!” shouted Irving. “Baby foxes are also called kits, just like rabbits.”
“But rabbits are not the same as foxes,” said Alberto. “Foxes hunt, and they are sly.” “Come on,” Irving said. “The animals are in their homes, and we have to go home too.”
Irving and Alberto went back home.
They found some books to read.
“Let’s burrow under this blanket,” Irving said. “We can act like the animals in their burrows.”
“The
next time we see a burrow, a den, or a hole in the ground, we have to watch out,” Alberto said. “There may be an animal lurking inside!”
Beginning Readers 50 Sea Turtles on the Shore
Each summer, I board a boat and head for the shore. This is my sister Cora’s first visit. While on board, we read our books about sea turtles and how they swim for miles and miles to lay their eggs. We are going to the beach where they were born. The turtles come back to choose a spot for their nests. We are so lucky we get to witness it.
“Getting on land must be a chore for a sea turtle,” Cora says.
“It is,” I say. “Before the sea turtle lays her eggs, she looks for the best spot. Once she’s found it, she digs a big hole in the sand with her flippers. Then she will put her body over the hole and drop a lot of eggs.”
“What will she do now, Noris?” asks Cora. “Well, after the sea turtle has laid all her eggs, she will push more sand into the hole to keep the eggs safe,” I say.
“Then what?” asks Cora. “She turns and goes back to the sea,” I say, “but she won’t see any eggs hatch.”
Cora sniffles. “Oh, that’s very sad.”
Once the turtle lays the eggs, Cora and I block off the nest. We mark the spaces with poles and tape. Next, we put a mesh grid on top to keep the nest safe. This is so no one will step on it and so no animal will eat the eggs.
“How long will the eggs sit in the sand?” Cora asks.
“About two months,” I say. “When the hatchlings are ready, the eggs will crack. Then the little hatchlings will peek out of the nest and crawl on the sand.”
Cora points to a nest. “Look at the sea turtles move, Noris! They’re pushing with their small flippers. They’re about to go to the sea!”
“When they swim, they look like they’re soaring!” I exclaim.
The little turtles crawl as fast as they can.
Many will make it and swim away, but I didn’t want to tell Cora that some aren’t so lucky.
Birds, crabs, and other animals like fish or sharks will catch some of the hatchlings.
“When the hatchlings grow big, they will come back to this same beach where they were born to lay their own eggs,” I say. “Will we help keep those nests safe too?” Cora asks.
I hug my sister. “Yes, we will. That’s our job!” We can’t wait to come back again.
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Reading Partners Cover to Cover BR Book 11
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COVER to COVER
About this book
The Cover to Cover series by Reading Partners was created for readers of all levels with a focus on instructional practices rooted in the science of reading. The stories include a commitment to diverse and affirming characters. Book 11 is for readers continuing to learn to read and spell words, moving into more advanced phonics and spelling patterns.
About Reading Partners
Reading Partners is a national early literacy nonprofit that partners with schools, community-based organizations, local volunteers, and families to provide individualized tutoring and other evidence-based literacy support for students who are striving to read at grade level. The Reading Partners team recognizes that learning to read is a civil right, and we promote educational equity within marginalized communities by helping students develop lifelong literacy skills and confidence to actualize their limitless potential. We envision a future where every reader has the skills they need to read a book from cover to cover and then reach for another!
11 BOOK
