COVER to COVER 9 BOOK
Book 9 Skills
Beginning Readers 39
My Very Own Painting
Joan Mom Miss Owen Oaklee
Today my mom is taking me to a painting class. I can’t wait to make my own painting! “Oaklee!” Miss Owen says. “I’m glad you’re here.”
“Thank you,” I say. “Where do I go?”
“You can stand over there, next to Joan,” she says. “Hang up your coat and grab a smock. Let’s get to painting!”
We each have a cup to soak our brushes. I check my tray of paint—red, green, white, black, and blue. The yellow is missing.
I raise my hand. “Miss Owen, could you please give me some yellow paint as a loan?” Miss Owen gasps. “Oh, yes! Here you go, but once you use paint, you can’t give it back.”
I smile. “That’s a fact.”
I groan as I think over and over again. I don’t know what to paint! Then I look at the window.
“I know!” I say. “I’ll paint the sun coming up over the hills. There will be a little boat that floats on a lake.”
“That will be nice,” Joan says.
I take my brush and dip it into the paint.
I use the yellow paint at the top. The paint seems to glow like the sun! I paint low green hills. Next, I paint stems growing in the grass.
“I don’t know if I can get this done,” I say. “Go slow and let the paint flow,” Joan says. “You’ll get it done.”
“Time’s up, class,” Miss Owen says.
I put my brush in the cup. “I’m done just in time.”
“Who wants to show their painting to the rest of us?” asks Miss Owen.
I raise my hand. “I can show mine.”
My fellow painters gaze at me.
“Oaklee, you did it!” Joan says. “Your painting is so pretty!”
“Thank you,” I say. “Yours is very pretty as well.”
I show my painting to my mom.
“Let’s hang it over the coat rack,” she says. I smile. “I don’t like to boast, but I think I did a fine job.”
Mom hugs me and says, “So do I.”
Beginning Readers 40
Austin Gets the Call
Austin liked to play lacrosse. He was tall, he was quick, and he could catch. Each day in August, Austin went to games and saw his friends playing on a team. All Austin wanted was to play with them, but there was no space on Coach Shawn’s team.
Then one day, Austin got a call. It was Coach Shawn!
“Austin, I would like to talk to you. I saw you play and can tell you have skills,” Coach Shawn said. “We have a spot on the team, and we would like you to come play with us.”
Austin’s jaw dropped. He sat up tall and smiled, but then he paused. “I haven’t been on a team. I don’t know if I’ll play well.”
“All I ask is that you do your best,” Coach Shawn said. “See you next week, and don’t be late.”
“I won’t!” Austin said. “Thank you again!”
The next day, Austin made a plan to practice. He grabbed his stick and helmet. Then he put the ball in the pocket. He ran fast to the goal and . . .
WHIP! It went into the net!
Austin worked on his skills over and over.
On game day, Austin got up at dawn and yawned. He grabbed his stick that was on the wall, but he wanted to crawl back into bed. He felt awful. “I don’t know if I will play well at all,” he said to himself.
At the game, Austin stayed calm. “I can do this,” he mumbled. Austin ran fast. “Toss it to me, Paul!” he yelled. He used his stick to snatch the ball.
Austin zigged and zagged until he reached the goal and . . .
WHIP! He got the winning goal!
Austin and his team were the champs!
The team waited in line to get their prize.
“I’m glad I called you to be on the team,
Austin,” Coach Shawn said. “You helped us win.”
Austin smiled. “Thanks, Coach. It was the best call of my life.”
Beginning Readers 43 Look at Me Zoom!
My name is Yoon. When I was little, I used to play with planes in my room. I had many books at school that showed all kinds of planes— fast ones, slow ones, and ones that go into space.
I liked to dress up and dreamed of zooming to the moon someday!
One day, I made a plane out of a box. At noon, I took the plane to the brook. When I looked up, I saw the moon. “Oh, how I wished I could go up, up, up to the moon!” I said to myself.
I needed a lot of speed to take off, so I stood by the brook. I hooked the belt over my lap.
I ran as fast as I could in the tall grass. Zoom, vroom!
I stretched as if I had wings. Then I leaped, and . . .
I rose up. “Look at me!” I yelled. “I’m going to shoot past the moon!”
I zoomed and vroomed all over the place. I rode past tall hills and peaks. Hawks glided by me. I could see my home. It looked so small from up here. I felt so free!
Soon, the plane ran out of gas. “Oh no!” I said. “My trip is going to be over too soon.” I zipped by the hawks and floated over the hills and peaks. The plane glided past my home until . . .
I landed on the grass. It was a safe landing.
“Woo hoo!” I said.
“That trip was so cool!”
I took my plane back to my room. I stood by the window and looked up.
“Someday, I’m going to go in a real plane,” I said. “That’s my goal.”
That was me when I was little. I always had big dreams. Now I’m all grown up, and my job is to go up in planes so I can zoom from place to place. It’s good to have goals. I reached my goal. Dream big, and you can reach your goals too.
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Reading Partners Cover to Cover BR Book 9
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Printed in the United States Cover to Cover Book 9 Illustrated by Amelina Jones
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 9 is for readers continuing to learn to read and spell words with digraphs and diphthongs.
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!
9 BOOK
