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A Safe Sand Fort

Adding -ing and -ed 2nd-3rd Phase 5
A Safe Sand Fort
A Safe Sand Fort, page 1
1Shane and his pal Bret were playing at the beach on a sunny morning. Shane was packing wet sand into a big bucket. He was making a tall mound. Bret was mixing the thick, wet sand with a stick to make it just right.
A Safe Sand Fort, page 2
2They had planned to build the best sand fort on the whole shore. Bret grabbed the bucket and flipped it over. He gave it a little lift, and the sand came out in a perfect shape. "This fort is going to be huge!" Shane said. He was hopping with joy.
A Safe Sand Fort, page 3
3They worked fast, digging a deep moat in the sand around the fort. Then, they took turns jumping over the ditch. The waves were coming in fast. A huge wave came running up the shore. It crashed over the deep moat and washed right onto the grand sand fort.
A Safe Sand Fort, page 4
4The heavy water landed with a loud smack. In a flash, their fine fort melted back into flat, wet mud. The sea took the whole thing away. Shane looked at the flat spot where the fort had been. He was very sad. "Our perfect fort is gone," Shane said.
A Safe Sand Fort, page 5
5He felt like kicking the wet sand. He sat down by the water, looking at the mess. Bret patted his pal on the back. Then he looked up past the wet sand. He spotted a wide, flat patch of dry sand way up by the big rocks.
A Safe Sand Fort, page 6
6"Do not be sad, Shane," Bret said. "We can make a better one up there, far from the waves." Shane looked up at the rocks and grinned. They ran up the beach to the safe spot. This time, they made an even bigger fort.
A Safe Sand Fort, page 7
7They worked hard, shaping the dry sand and putting water on it to make it firm. After a while, they hunted for white shells to put on top. Shane slid his body on the damp sand to make a path to the door.
A Safe Sand Fort, page 8
8When the fort was done, Bret dusted off his hands. He was tired but very happy. The two pals stepped back to look at their work. Shane clapped his hands. Now they could spend the rest of the day resting by their new, safe fort, far from the rushing waves.
Circle or highlight all the words with an -ing or -ed ending in the story above. How many did you find?

Comprehension Questions

After reading, ask these questions to check understanding:

  1. Where were Shane and Bret playing?
  2. What happened to Shane and Bret’s first sand fort?
  3. Where did Shane and Bret build their new fort?
Keep practicing
Practice Adding -ing and -ed with 4 more free worksheets

The words from this story, on printable practice sheets:

Word sortPhrasing cardsRapid naming chartWord search
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Download Mini-Book
Full-color picture book • Print, cut & staple • No signup required
Read-aloud version (one page per sheet, for projecting)
A Safe Sand Fort illustrated mini-book cover
Cover + 8 illustrated pages

Reader Details

Phonics Skill Adding -ing and -ed
Grade Level 2nd-3rd
Phase Phase 5
Worksheets Adding -ing and -ed Worksheets

Target Words

running hopping jumping playing resting twisting mixing packing kicking printing batted planted

Sight Words

the a and to was is it she he they said have with you are of for her there one into what when out about

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About This Decodable Reader

“A Safe Sand Fort” is a free printable decodable reader designed for 2nd-3rd students practicing adding -ing and -ed phonics patterns. This mini-book uses phonetically controlled vocabulary so beginning readers can successfully sound out nearly every word in the story, building confidence and reinforcing the specific phonics skills they're learning.

The free PDF is a full-color illustrated mini-book: a cover, eight picture pages with one or two lines of story text each, and a back page listing the adding -ing and -ed words, high-frequency words, and discussion questions. Print the five sheets, cut each one in half along the dashed line, and staple — your child has a real little book to hold. A read-aloud version with one large page per sheet is also included for projecting to the whole class.

This reader is part of our collection of 193 free decodable readers organized by phonics skill and aligned with the Science of Reading. For additional practice with adding -ing and -ed patterns, try our adding -ing and -ed phonics worksheets which include word sorts, phrasing practice cards, and rapid naming charts.