1 Decodable Reading Passage
A short, decodable story embedding endings -ful and -less words. Students read the passage then highlight all the target words.
Jane's Restless Model
Coloring page included in PDF
Jane wanted to paint a beautiful picture of her dog, Gus. She wanted her art room to be a quiet and restful place. She got her paints and made sure her desk was spotless. Jane was hopeful that Gus would sit still for her. "Sit, Gus," Jane said. But Gus was a very restless pup. He wanted to run and jump instead.
Gus was a fearless and playful dog. He did not want to sit. He wagged his tail so fast that he bumped the table. A cup of water fell to the floor with a plop. Jane sighed. Her spotless room was now wet. It was a harmless spill, but it made a big mess. Jane felt a bit helpless. Her job was starting to feel hopeless.
Jane got a rag to clean the water. The old rag got wet, but it did not clean the mess. "I must be more careful," Jane said to herself. She did not want to make a careless mistake with her paints next. She did look at Gus. Gus gave her a wishful look, wanting to play with the wet rag. He did not mean to be bad.
Jane thought of a plan. She needed to make Gus tired so he would stay still. She took him outside into the yard. They ran around the endless green grass. Gus chased a ball. He was so joyful as he ran. Jane was cheerful, too, as she watched him play. Running was a painless way to use his doggy zip.
After a long run, they went back inside. Gus was no longer restless. He trotted to his rug and let out a big sigh. He looked very sleepy now. Jane sat back down at her desk. She was thankful that her pup was finally ready to rest.
Jane picked up her brush. She did a wonderful job painting Gus as he slept. Her painting showed a quiet, happy dog in a restful room. When she finished, she smiled. "You are a very sleepy pet," Jane said softly. Gus opened one eye and wagged his tail, happy to be her best friend.
Circle or highlight all the words that end in -ful or -less in the story above. How many did you find?
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Free decodable reader
Read “Jane's Restless Model” as an illustrated mini-book →
The full printable story + coloring page, using only endings -ful and -less sounds your child has learned.
2 Word Sort
Cut out the word cards and sort them into the correct columns: Ends in -ful vs Ends in -less.
Ends in -ful
Ends in -less
helpful
hopeful
playful
thankful
restful
cheerful
careful
painful
joyful
wishful
hopeless
restless
painless
spotless
endless
harmless
fearless
helpless
useless
careless
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3 Phrasing Practice Cards
Practice reading these phrases for fluency. Cut out the cards and read them quickly and smoothly.
a helpful
the hopeful
a playful
the thankful
a restful
the cheerful
a careful
the painful
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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!
Decodable RAN Chart — Endings -ful and -less
playful
restful
thankful
playful
helpful
restful
hopeful
playful
hopeful
restful
helpful
helpful
helpful
thankful
thankful
hopeful
Target words: helpful, hopeful, playful, thankful, restful
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5 Word Search
Find and circle the endings -ful and -less words hidden in the grid. Words go across, down, and diagonally — a fun way to reinforce endings -ful and -less word recognition.
Endings -ful and -less Word Search
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CAREFUL
CHEERFUL
HELPFUL
HOPEFUL
HOPELESS
JOYFUL
PAINFUL
PLAYFUL
RESTFUL
RESTLESS
THANKFUL
WISHFUL
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📖 Decodable Readers for Endings -ful and -less
Next step: once your child can sound out these words, have them read a matching decodable mini-book. Each Endings -ful and -less reader is a printable story + coloring page using only sounds they've learned.