Early First Grade
What do first graders love? Much like kindergarteners, playing with friends and family is still pivotal to kids at this age (typically six or seven years old). But throughout the year, first graders will increasingly grow into the world and try new things, challenge themselves, begin team sports and compete!
In the classroom, early first graders will capitalize on their expertise of short vowel words and will begin to tackle slightly more difficult words. Phonetically, these words will include blends, magic e, open vowel, y ending and glued sounds -all, -am and -an. They will continue to learn a growing list of sight words and master them for automatic recognition.
Quick stats listed for each book includes highly phonetic (words with short vowels, digraphs, blends, magic e, y ending, open vowel and glued sounds -am, -an, -all), sight words and challenge words (words with phonics not yet explicitly taught at this level, such as vowel teams, r-controlled vowels and other glued sounds and word families).
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Similar to the Red set recommended for kindergarten, the Green set of Primary Phonics includes ten books, which reinforce the -s ending digraph learned in kindergarten and extend phonics learning with words that include beginning and ending blends.
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Primary Phonics #3 includes 10 books: Slide, The Plane Trip, Spot, The Prints, The Dream, The Best Gift, Mittens, The Sea Gull, The Lost Duck and Max and the Fox
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Each of the Primary Phonics books focuses on short vowel words, mostly with CVC (consonant-vowel-consonant) words and with some blends. There are also an increasing number of sight words. At the end of each book, there is a helpful page which lists all words in the book. The back of that page offers discussion questions and ways to extend thinking.
Young readers will love the relatable themes of this series. In Ren in a Mess, Ren can’t seem to keep her room clean. In the other books by Suzanne Marchers in this series, the main characters are all roughly first grade in age, which will of course resonate with readers. Young readers will also appreciate the large size of these books and the full color illustrations.
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The main character compares herself to others and is understandably upset when she fails. But instead of giving up, and thanks to a supportive friend, she perseveres. And through this perseverance, she succeeds! This message is incredibly crucial for young kids (we’re big believers in “grit”). Gymnastics or otherwise, kids have undeniably faced a situation in which they failed or succeeded, and chances are that if they succeeded it was not always on the first try.
Quick stats: 68 words total, 38 unique. 16 highly decodable words; 16 sight words; 6 challenge words (says, again, give, oh, don’t, eat).
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Parents may appreciate reading these two books or listening to a Ted Talk on the importance of grit.
Grit by Angela Duckworth
Mindset: The Psychology of Success by Carol Dweck
Ted Talk by Angela Duckworth
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Cat devises creative plans to catch snacks and is not met with much luck until the very end. Readers will be motivated to keep reading to the very end to see if Cat has any luck, and fortunately, the story ends happily (and without any collateral carnage).
The plot lends itself well to thinking about cause and effect and follow-up questions to ensure young readers understood the text. For instance, what happened when the cat tried to set a mouse trap? Or fish? And why were these attempts unsuccessful?
Quick stats: 95 words total, 24 unique. 16 highly decodable, 4 sight and 4 challenge words (wants, chow, meow, ugh). Many words rhyme.
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The ball splashes into the water and is then picked up by a bird; the bird then drops it into the ocean where a whale scoops it up. The whale then spouts it back onto land, only for a lion to gulp it up!
Chasing the ball, the pups hilariously take a hot air balloon, a boat and a convertible. Readers will find themselves laughing and entertained at this “planes, trains and automobiles” story.
Quick stats: 54 words total, 18 unique. 8 highly decodable, 6 sight, 4 challenge words (bird, going, lion, wants).
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The bibliophilic pig reads so much, in fact, he finds there are no books left to read! In the end, Pig solves this problem by writing a book—and not just any book, but this very one! This story is a wonderful example of promoting problem solving and literacy.
This book is a great one to read before going to the library. It’s also a great retort to any reader who says there are no books to read—write one! Staple pages together or buy a small journal.
Quick stats: 71 total words, 34 unique. 13 highly decodable, 12 sight, 9 challenge words (small, school, read(s), book(s), looked, even, find).
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By the time he is sufficiently muddy, Bud remembers the race continued and was not the first to cross the finish line. Thankfully, Bud was ok with that outcome as he had fun.
This book tells a story from start to finish (pun intended) and will entertain young readers with the suspense of the race.
In terms of comprehension, readers can benefit from thinking about cause and effect as it relates to the mud pit stop as well as sequencing events.
Quick stats: 107 words total, 57 unique. 23 highly decodable, 21 sight, 13 challenge words (cars, want, zoom, cannot, high, ready, someone, start, three, vroom, vroomed, way, zoomed).
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Young readers will relate to the themes of friendship, perseverance, emotions and empathy. In the book For Otto, for example, Otto feels sad and lonely when no friends have reached out to him. By the end, however, a friend asks him to fly a kite. There is a sense of relief at the happy resolution.
Quick stats: 41 unique words. 23 highly decodable, 11 sight words, 7 challenge (feel, pie, poor, wait, even, oops, wants).
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In this story, lots of other kids have pets who can sing, jump, catch and perform tricks. Flubby cannot do any of them. But in the end when there is a loud clap of thunder and Flubby’s owner is scared, she realizes that Flubby is in fact a good pet. She needs Flubby and Flubby needs her. This is a heartwarming story about the importance of interconnectedness and the fact that everything has value in different ways.
Quick stats: 115 words total, 43 unique. 23 highly decodable, 12 sight, 8 challenge words (ka-boom, needs, boat, good, meow, uh-oh, wheels, yawn).
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Part of what makes this book a wonderful choice for readers is the back section of the book which includes a plethora of activities. One page is solely dedicated to the comprehension skill of cause and effect, and another page asks readers to sequence events from beginning to end. There is an additional page of dog facts and a highly entertaining page of dog jokes. Readers may recognize the humor of author Dav Pilkey, who also wrote the Captain Underpants books and the Dog Man and Cat Kid series, among others.
Quick stats: 103 total words, 38 unique. 16 highly decodable words, 12 sight, 9 challenge words (little, going, walk, puddles, another, clean, dirty, eat, play, want).
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Though birds are not known to “moo,” the protagonist bird of this story does, and the author’s message to us is that this is just fine! Young readers will undoubtedly feel empathy for Moo Bird right from the start. Moo Bird is the only bird who does not tweet and is at times mocked by other animals. Feeling ostracized, Moo Bird is just about to give up on finding an identity until Moo Dog comes along! This story underscores the important concept that it is okay to be different.
Quick stats: 86 total words, 43 unique. 14 highly decodable, 13 sight, 16 challenge words (moo, tweet, cow(s), birds, find, sorry, yeah, barn, boy, guy, huh, okay, oops, sort, wrong).
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Readers will go through a slew of emotions – from being afraid for Pat to laughing at how Mike saves the day, then worried for Mike to finally and eventually, a sense of relief. This suspenseful story provides an opportunity for readers to feel empathic for both Pat and Mike.
Quick stats: 67 total words, 31 unique. 17 highly decodable, 10 sight, 4 challenge words (needs, shark, coming, something).
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The text within Green Eggs in Ham is incredibly accessible to young readers, lush with beginning sight words and monosyllabic sight words. Readers will come to appreciate the persistence of Sam-I-Am who, by the end, is successful in convincing the man to try his green eggs and ham. At 62 pages, this book is long for young readers and can be read over several nights or alternatively read with a parent.
For a fun follow-up activity, try making this green eggs and ham recipe.
Quick stats: 810 total words, 50 unique. 20 highly decodable, 15 sight, 15 challenge words (eat, green, train, anywhere, house, mouse, car, dark, tree, goat, train, boat, good, thank, light).
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The other three books in the series follow one of Dr. Seuss’s beloved characters (Lorax, Grinch, Cat) as they cook up a storm for their friends. The rhyming words and playful pictures help to draw in and captivate the reader. Readers may need help in decoding some of the multi-syllabic words such as “anywhere” and “careful.”
Also recommended as a fun follow-up activity to Green Eggs and Ham, try making this green eggs and ham recipe. Otherwise, bake a favorite treat and deliver to friends just as the Grinch did!
Quick stats for Cooking with the Grinch: 128 total words, 66 unique. 26 highly decodable, 29 sight, 11 challenge words (treats, Cindy-Lou, oh, start, Christmas, eat, door, goes, town, don’t, cooks, hears).
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From a bee on the baseball field to a lost cleat on the soccer field, each book includes some suspense related to each sport.
Each book in the series also includes a useful page at the end which highlights vocabulary words.
Quick stats: 83 words total, 40 unique. 15 highly decodable, 12 sight, 13 challenge words (again, baseball, batter, bee, first, gone, oh, outfield, ready, really, team, wait).
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The big reveal at the end of Pig has a Plan turns out to be that Pig’s friends were busy setting up a birthday party for Pig!
Readers will delight in the humor along the way. Pig even resorts to snorkeling in a mud puddle to get some peace and quiet. The plot gives the opportunity to talk about cause and effect. Why couldn’t pig nap when rat mixed or hen was sawing? And why were the animals doing those individual jobs?
Holiday House has some fun follow-up activities here: holidayhouse.com/I-Like-to-Read/
Quick stats: 50 words total, 27 unique. 18 highly decodable, 4, sight words, 5 challenge (cow, cannot, birthday, saw, wants).
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Throughout this box set, Puppy Mudge is lovable but persistent. He finds a way to cajole Henry into giving him snacks, to play outside, and to track down his lost blanket. Each book has a simple theme with lively illustrations that show off Henry and Mudge’s unique personalities and vivid expressions.
Consider reading a Henry and Mudge book before or after this series to compare and contrast the characters and how they have evolved.
Quick stats for Puppy Mudge Has a Snack: 97 total words, 38 unique. 31 highly decodable and sight words, 7 challenge words (crackers, drools, head, Mudge, Henry).
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By the third part of this book, Max is about to lose his cool until he comes up with a very crafty solution in protest. Readers may also like that this book is divided into three sections and feels like a chapter book.
Quick stats: 273 total words, 89 unique. 71 combined highly decodable and sight words, 18 challenge words (blue, book, going, green, hippo, leave, shoo, unicorn, again, baby, embarrassed, read(s), riding, sleep, tail, under, wait).
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Soccer players (and parent coaches) will likely also find familiar a part of the book when the coaches shout to the team to spread out!
The words in this book rhyme from page to page, which helps to build phonemic awareness. There are several trickier words and soccer terminology that readers will need to carefully sound out.
Quick stats: 128 words total, 75 unique. 61 highly decodable, 14 other words (dribble, soccer, spread, tweet, again, bye, coach, coaches, done, goal, goalie, hey, shout, shouts).
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This story offers a wonderful way to discuss the comprehension component of cause and effect. Why did the boy’s gigantic ice cream cake turn to ice cream soup by the end? The text also includes playful rhymes.
Quick stats: 236 total words, 87 unique. 68 total highly decodable and sight words, 20 challenge words (pour, scoop(s), room, blue, cream, know, something, don’t, everywhere, first, four, goop, green, need, seen, soup, spoon, three, yellow).
