1 Decodable Reading Passage
A short, decodable story embedding the -le ending words. Students read the passage then highlight all the target words.
Kate was a busy squirrel. Today was Jay the blue jay's birthday party. She had a plan to make a very special treat for him. Kate ran into her kitchen to bake. She began mixing sugar and a fresh apple. Soon, she had a huge apple cake! She put a tall purple candle right on top. Then, she put a glass bottle of cold juice with it.
Kate put everything in a basket to take to the party. She ran down the path to the river. But when she got there, she froze. The bridge was gone! The long wooden logs lay in the mud. Kate set her basket down by a muddy puddle. "Oh no," she said. "How can I cross the river with this cake? This is a big mess." She gave a small pebble a kick. She felt very sad.
Just then, her good pal Bret ran by. Bret wore his bright orange shirt. "Why are you so sad, Kate?" he said. Kate pointed to the logs in the mud. "I must get this apple cake to Jay," she said to him. "But the water is too deep for a squirrel to wade across. The cake will get wet!"
Bret began to look around the river bank. He spotted a small wooden table by an old picnic bench. "I have a simple plan," Bret said with a huge grin. He ran over to drag the table to the edge of the water. Then, he turned it over. The four legs pointed up into the air. It was just like a funny wooden boat!
"Wow!" said Kate with a happy smile. She was careful to climb onto the table. She set the heavy basket right in the middle. Bret got into the river. He held the table boat in his hands. He gave it a soft, gentle push.
The table did float very well. Bret swam slowly across the wide river. He held his head up high. A little fish swam by to blow a big bubble. Bret just swam on. He was very strong. Soon, the funny boat slid onto the sand on the other side.
Jay the blue jay was there to wait for them under a tall oak tree. He let out a joyful giggle when he saw the table on the sand. "You made a boat out of a table!" he said. Kate and Bret did climb onto dry land. They lit the purple candle and began to sing. Then, they all sat down to eat the best apple cake ever and drink the cold juice.
This story is part of Level 5. Get all 25 Level 5 illustrated mini-books in one print-ready file ($14) →
2 Word Sort
Cut out the word cards and sort them into the correct columns: More Than One Syllable vs One Syllable.
3 Phrasing Practice Cards
Practice reading these phrases for fluency. Cut out the cards and read them quickly and smoothly.
4 RAN Chart (Rapid Naming)
Read each word in the grid as quickly as you can. Time yourself and try to beat your best time!
5 Word Search
Find and circle the the -le ending words hidden in the grid. Words go across, down, and diagonally — a fun way to reinforce the -le ending word recognition.
📖 More The -le Ending Stories
A new decodable story with the same the -le ending sounds — each comes with its own set of worksheets.
