By Bill Conley
America’s Favorite Children’s Storyteller
Moral
of the Story:
Every great reader begins one word
at a time. Words are friends you keep forever.
The more words you learn, the more stories you can tell. Practice turns letters
into magic. Don’t rush, learn with joy and curiosity. Reading builds
confidence, courage, and wonder. Each word opens a new door in your
imagination. Never stop learning, because learning is a lifelong adventure.
It was a bright, cheerful morning in
Whispering Woods School, and the smell of pine drifted through the open
windows.
The sound of tiny paws and claws filled the classroom as Mrs. Owl adjusted her
spectacles and looked out over her eager students.
“Good morning, class,” she hooted.
“Today, we begin a marvelous adventure, the magic of words!”
The animals perked up. Max the
Mouse, sitting neatly at his desk, twitched his whiskers with excitement.
“Magic?” he squeaked. “Real magic, Mrs. Owl?”
“Oh yes,” said Mrs. Owl. “Words are
the greatest magic of all. Once you know them, you can read everything!”
The classroom buzzed with joy. Penny
the Puppy wagged her tail, Lulu the Lamb clapped her hooves, and Benny
the Bunny thumped his foot in delight.
Mrs. Owl turned to the chalkboard
and began to write, her feather gliding softly across the slate.
“At the top,” she said, “we begin
with the First 100 Words. These are the most important words you’ll ever
learn, because they are everywhere!”
She tapped the board gently.
“Repeat after me, class!”
Mrs.
Owl’s First 100 Words
(She spoke them slowly, and the
class echoed each one with joy.)
See. Run. Fun. Play. Go. Look. Come.
Me. My. You. We. Us. It. In. On.
Up. Down. Big. Red. Hot. Sun.
Dog. Cat. Duck. Cow. Pig. Hen.
Can. Do. Make. Go. Find. Jump.
To. Two. For. The. A. At.
Good. Yes. No. Not. Said. One.
This. That. Here. There. Away. Day.
Blue. Green. Little. Funny. New.
I. He. She. They. Them. You.
Get. Make. Help. Ride. Walk. Play.
Ball. Tree. Car. Home. Book. Toy.
Come. Now. Soon. Up. Away. Down.
Oh. Look. See. Go. Find. Run.
Mrs. Owl paused. “Excellent! Now
you’ve met the words that live in almost every book you’ll ever read.”
Max raised his paw. “That’s a lot of
words, Mrs. Owl!”
She smiled kindly. “It is, Max. But
don’t worry. You don’t have to learn them all at once. Reading is like climbing
a ladder, one step at a time.”
“Can we try a few?” asked Penny the
Puppy, bouncing in her seat.
“Of course!” Mrs. Owl said and
began writing short sentences on the board.
See the sun.
The cat can run.
We can play.
Go up. Go down.
I can read.
The class read each one together. At
first, their voices wobbled and stumbled, but soon they grew stronger, prouder,
and more confident.
By the end of the lesson, Max the
Mouse could read almost a whole line without help.
His tiny chest puffed with pride.
“Mrs. Owl,” he said softly, “I think
I can read now.”
Mrs. Owl smiled warmly. “You can,
Max. You’ve just begun your journey, and
the best part is, there’s no end to it.”
That afternoon, as the little
animals packed up their books and crayons, Mrs. Owl wrote on the board in big,
friendly letters:
Read. Learn. Dream.
Max turned to look once more before
heading out the door.
He whispered each word slowly:
“Read. Learn. Dream.”
And he did, all the way home.
Poem:
A word is small, but bright and
true,
It lights the path ahead of you.
Each sound you learn, each page you see,
It will grow your heart and set you free.
Read each day and take your time,
Your voice, your thoughts, your words will rhyme.
One word, then two, then ten, then more,
And soon you’ll open every door.
Questions
for Discussion:
1.
Why did Mrs. Owl call words “magic”?
2.
How did Max the Mouse feel after
learning some of his first 100 words?
3.
What does the story teach you about
learning new things?
Added Section: “See Owl Teach”
(Appears after the main story, as a classroom reading
practice page, where Mrs. Owl introduces her students to sight words.)
See Owl.
See Owl sit.
Owl can see.
Owl can see her class.
See Pup.
See Pup run.
Run, Pup, run!
See Cat.
See Cat jump.
Jump, Cat, jump!
Owl can see Pup.
Owl can see Cat.
See Pup and Cat play.
Owl can say,
“See.”
Owl can say, “Run.”
Owl can say, “Jump.”
Pup can see.
Cat can see.
Pup can run.
Cat can run.
“Good!” says Owl.
“You can see.
You can run.
You can play.”
Pup can sit.
Cat can sit.
Owl can read.
Pup can read.
Cat can read.
See Pup read.
See Cat read.
“Good, good, good!” says Owl.
Owl is glad.
Pup is glad.
Cat is glad.
See Pup and Cat
play.
See Owl smile.
Fun, fun, fun!
Poem:
See it,
say it, read it too,
Every word is fun for you.
Step by step, just take your time,
Soon you’ll read each little line.
Additional references for beginning
readers.
1. The “Dick and Jane” Readers
(1930s–1970s)
These are exactly what you’re thinking of, the books
that used short, repetitive sentences with simple vocabulary like “See Spot run.”
They were created by Zerna Sharp
and written by William S. Gray,
published by Scott, Foresman and Company.
Main characters:
·
Dick (the big
brother)
·
Jane (the sister)
·
Sally (the little
sister)
·
Spot (the dog)
·
Puff (the cat)
·
Mother and Father
Famous lines:
·
“See Spot run.
Run, Spot, run!”
·
“Look, Jane.
Look, look. See Dick run.”
·
“Oh, see. See
Puff jump.”
Purpose:
They used controlled vocabulary—simple,
repetitive words that gradually built reading fluency.
They taught early sight words like see, run,
jump, look, come, play, big, little.
2. The
“Alice and Jerry” Books (1930s–1960s)
Another big
series used in schools before and alongside Dick and Jane.
Written by Mabel O’Donnell,
illustrated by Florence and Margaret
Hoopes.
Main characters:
·
Alice
·
Jerry
·
Jip (their dog)
Example titles:
·
Here and Now
·
Skip Along
·
Day In and Day Out
Sample style:
·
“See Jerry jump.
Jump, Jerry, jump.”
·
“Alice can run.
Jip can run too.”
These had the
same slow rhythm and short sentences — a friendly, comforting tone that made
reading predictable and fun.
3. The “Janet and John” Series (British,
1940s–1960s)
If you ever saw
UK imports, you might recall these as well — the British equivalent of Dick and
Jane.
Example lines:
·
“Run, John, run.”
·
“See Janet play.”
·
“Look, look, the
dog can run.”
4. The “Fun with Tom and Betty” or “Elf Books /
Wonder Books” (1950s–1960s)
Lesser known,
but these came from Golden Press and similar publishers. They used the same
“look and say” reading method.
Common Traits Across Them All:
·
Short, repetitive
sentences (2–5 words)
·
Every word was
phonetically simple or a sight word
·
Clear, warm
illustrations
·
Focused on
family, pets, play, and home life
·
Used “controlled
vocabulary lists” (fewer than 200 unique words in each book)
The “Dick
and Jane” 100 Core Words List
(All one-syllable or early phonetic words — easy to
sound out, recall, and use in repetition.)
A–C
a, and, away, big, blue, can, come, down, funny, for
D–H
find, go, help, here, I, in, is, it, jump, little, look
J–M
make, me, my, not, one, play, red, run, said, see
N–R
the, three, to, two, up, we, where, yellow, you, yes
S–Z
said, run, look, come, make, find, funny, go, down, help
Family Words:
father, mother, baby, brother, sister
Animal Words:
dog, cat, Spot, Puff, pony, duck, bunny
Everyday Words:
ball, house, car, tree, toy, jump, hill, book, day, sun
Emotion / Action Words:
fun, good, go, look, come, play, run, see, find, ride
Connector Words (for rhythm):
oh, see, look, come, here, now, down, up, away, go
Example Sentences (Original 1950s
Rhythm):
·
See Spot run.
·
Run, Spot, run!
·
See Dick run.
·
Look, Jane. Look,
look.
·
Come, Mother.
Come and see.
·
Funny, funny
Puff.
These were
designed to help children:
1. Recognize sight
words instantly (without
sounding out)
2. Feel successful by finishing pages quickly
3. Develop rhythm and
confidence in reading aloud
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