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Jay Wraps a Sled

Adding -ing and -ed 2nd-3rd Phase 5
Jay Wraps a Sled
Jay Wraps a Sled, page 1
1Snow was falling on the morning of Meg's birthday. Jay had the best gift for his friend: a long wooden sled. Now he just had to wrap it before the party. The sled was resting on the rug.
Jay Wraps a Sled, page 2
2Jay laid blue paper over it and pulled the paper tight. Rip! One pointed end poked right through. "Oh no," said Jay. He snipped a patch of paper and taped it over the hole. Then he patted it flat. Rip!
Jay Wraps a Sled, page 3
3The other pointed end poked through. Jay kept hopping around the sled, twisting the paper this way and that. He snipped and taped and patted. Scraps of paper landed all over the floor. One stuck to his wing, and he batted it away.
Jay Wraps a Sled, page 4
4The sled looked like a big blue mess. Jay looked at the clock. He was running out of time! The party was about to begin. He hunted for more paper, but he had used it all up. Jay sat down on his bed with a sigh.
Jay Wraps a Sled, page 5
5Then he spotted his big striped quilt. It was soft and wide, and it would never rip. Jay grinned. "I can stop fussing with paper," he said. "This will work much better!" He wrapped the quilt around the whole sled and tucked in the pointed ends.
Jay Wraps a Sled, page 6
6Then he tied it all up with a long red ribbon. Jay dragged the gift out the door and down the snowy path. Snow dusted the top of the quilt, but the ribbon held.
Jay Wraps a Sled, page 7
7At Meg's house, his friends were playing outside, kicking up snow and packing it into a fort. Meg came running to meet him. "Happy birthday, Meg!" said Jay. Meg pulled the ribbon, and the quilt fell open. "A sled!" she yelled, jumping up and down.
Jay Wraps a Sled, page 8
8She clapped her paws. "And a cozy quilt to keep me warm on the ride!" Meg sat on the sled with the quilt around her. Jay hopped on behind her, and away they went down the hill. Jay had not wrapped one perfect gift. He had given two.
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. What gift did Jay have for Meg’s birthday?
  2. What happened when Jay pulled the paper tight?
  3. What did Jay use to wrap the sled instead?
Keep practicing
Practice Adding -ing and -ed with 10 more free worksheets

Word work sheets for this skill to build, split, sort and write, plus this story's word sort, phrasing cards and word search.

Get the Adding -ing and -ed worksheets →
Jay Wraps a Sled printed mini-book cover Download Mini-Book
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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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← Jill's Fair Race Beth and the Wren →

About This Decodable Reader

“Jay Wraps a Sled” 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 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.