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Jill's Fair Race

The -le Ending 2nd-3rd Phase 5
Jill's Fair Race
Jill's Fair Race, page 1
1Jill loved to hop, and she loved to race even more. One sunny morning, she hopped across the meadow to find her friends. Tom the turtle sat by a flat rock that he used as a table. He had a bottle of water on it.
Jill's Fair Race, page 2
2Little Jim the mouse sat beside him, eating a piece of apple. "Come and race me to the old oak tree!" said Jill. Tom shook his head. "No, thank you," he said in his gentle voice. "You are much too fast. You win every time, and that is no fun for us."
Jill's Fair Race, page 3
3Jim nodded. "By the time I take ten steps, you are done," he said. Jill sat down in the grass. She did not want to race by herself. She did not want her friends to feel bad, either. It was a puzzle.
Jill's Fair Race, page 4
4How could a race be fair for a slow turtle, a tiny mouse, and someone as fast as her? She kicked a pebble and thought hard. Then she jumped up. "I have a simple plan!" she said. "We will not all start at the same place. Jim, you start in the middle of the meadow.
Jill's Fair Race, page 5
5Tom, you start by the purple thistle, near the tree. I will start way back at the puddle. I will have to hop twice as far!" Tom and Jim looked at each other. "That might work," said Tom slowly. So Tom plodded over to the purple thistle.
Jill's Fair Race, page 6
6Jim ran to the middle of the meadow. Jill hopped all the way back to the puddle and stood at the edge, with mud up to her ankles. "Ready, set, go!" yelled Jill. She pushed off, but her feet slipped in the mud and she fell with a splash.
Jill's Fair Race, page 7
7She jumped up and hopped as fast as she could. Tom took one slow step after another. Jim's little legs were a blur. Jill passed the middle of the meadow, but Jim was still ahead of her, and Tom was almost at the tree.
Jill's Fair Race, page 8
8All three of them touched the oak tree at the very same moment. Nobody could tell who had won. Tom began to giggle, then Jim, and then Jill. Soon they were rolling in the grass, laughing. "Can we go again?" asked Jim. Jill grinned and hopped back to the puddle.
Circle or highlight all the words that end in -le in the story above. How many did you find?

Comprehension Questions

After reading, ask these questions to check understanding:

  1. Where did Jill want to race her friends to?
  2. Why did Tom not want to race Jill?
  3. Who won the race at the end?
Keep practicing
Practice The -le Ending 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 The -le Ending worksheets →
Jill's Fair Race printed mini-book cover Download Mini-Book
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Reader Details

Phonics Skill The -le Ending
Grade Level 2nd-3rd
Phase Phase 5
Worksheets The -le Ending Worksheets

Target Words

little apple table purple candle middle bottle giggle puzzle saddle turtle marble

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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Kate's Apple Cake
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Gus and the Bubbles
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About This Decodable Reader

“Jill's Fair Race” is a free printable decodable reader designed for 2nd-3rd students practicing the -le ending 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 the -le ending 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 the -le ending patterns, try our the -le ending phonics worksheets which include word sorts, phrasing practice cards, and rapid naming charts.