Unit 1. Hit it, Maria!
Maria is a Mexican girl. P
She calls friends to come to her birthday party. P
They watch a clown's show. P
Then her mom shouts, "It is time to break the pinata!" P
She ties a cloth over Maria's eyes. Maria swings a stick at the pinata. P
She hits a balloon. Pop! The children giggle. P
Maria swings again. She hits the birthday cake. P
Splat! The cake flies everywhere! The children shout, "Oh no!" P
The third time, Maria hits the pinata. P
Whack! It breaks. Candies and toys fall on the ground. P
The children laugh and grab them. They eat the candy. P
They cannot eat the cake. But it is a fun party. P
Unit 2. Birthdays in Different Lands
Different lands do many things differently. P
Children in other lands do special things on their birthdays. P
In Mexico, children hit a pinata at a birthday party. P
They break the pinata open. Then candy and toys fall out. P
The birthday girl gives them to her friends as presents. P
In Hong Kong, the birthday boy eats a bowl of noodles. P
All his friends tell him, "Be just like these long noodles! Live a long life!" They give him presents. P
In Denmark, parents hang a birthday flag outside the birthday girl's window. P
When she wakes up, she finds presents around her bed. P
What do birthday children do in your land? P
Unit 3. No Movie Today
Three friends want to see a movie. P
They need to earn some money for tickets. P
So they decide to help their family. P
Matthew helps his uncle's work. P
He plants flowers in the park. Matthew digs the ground. P
He digs the hole too big. P
Matthew's uncle says, "Thank you. But I will do it." P
Janice's aunt makes clothing. Janice helps her sew a shirt. P
She makes a big mess. P
Janice's aunt says, "Um… please go outside and play." P
Pat's grandpa makes birdhouses. P
Pat and her grandpa paint the houses. P
Pat spills a can of paint. P
Pat's grandpa says, "Now I cannot pay you." P
The friends have no money. P
After that, they just watch television. P
Unit 4. Very Special Jobs
There are many different jobs in the world today. P
Some jobs are very special. Some people are writers. P
They think of a fun story and write it down. P
It can touch people's hearts. Other people are vets. P
They help sick animals like dogs and cats. P
They help them get better. They can make pets happy. P
The pet owners become happy too. Other people are musicians. P
They play the guitar and sing. Or they play the piano. P
They also write songs. People enjoy their music. P
Music makes people smile. P
All these jobs make people happy. P
What do you want to be when you grow up? P
Unit 5. Sally Finds a New Home
Sally is a hermit crab. She lives in the ocean. P
Sally has a soft body. Some fish might eat her. P
She must hide her body in something hard. P
Sally finds some wood. It has a hole in it. P
Sally goes inside the hole. But it is too small. P
Sally looks for a new home again. P
Sally finds an old shoe. She goes inside it. P
But it is too big and soft. Then Sally sees a sea snail shell. P
It looks perfect. Sally puts her body inside the shell. P
It is just the right size. Sally walks around with her new home. P
Now she is safe and comfortable. P
Unit 6. New Shells for Crabs
As we grow, we get too big for our clothes. P
Japanese spider crabs also grow. P
When a crab needs a bigger shell, it follows the steps below. P
Step 1. The crab fills up with sea water. P
It gets even bigger. Crack! The shell breaks. P
Step 2. The crab pulls its back legs out of the shell. P
Then it pulls its front legs out. P
Step 3. It pulls all of its body out. P
Step 4. The crab grows a new soft shell. P
Soon this shell gets very hard. P
Japanese spider crabs grow many new shells during their lives. P
Some crabs can grow twenty shells in their lives. How interesting! P
Unit 7. Bob`s First Baseball Game
Bob is my little brother. P
Today he played baseball for the first time. P
Bob stood in the field. He wore a baseball glove. P
Ten baseballs flew his way. Bob did not catch one ball. P
Bob tried to throw the ball. One hit the ground. P
One hit the net. One hit a boy. P
Bob threw the balls all over the place. P
Bob tried to bat the ball. He swung the bat once. P
He missed. He swung again. He missed. He swung again. P
He missed. His turn was over. P
After the game, Bob said "I sure had fun today! Can I do it again tomorrow?" P
The other children laughed so hard. P
Unit 8. Baseball - A Fun Sport
Baseball is a very popular game in North America. P
Do you want to play baseball? Then get your friends. P
You need two teams. Each team has nine players. P
All players need a glove and a helmet. P
You also need a wooden bat and a baseball. P
Your team is the first in the field. P
One of you throws the baseball. P
The other team stands at home base. P
The player holds the bat. They try to hit the ball. P
If they hit the ball, they run around the bases. P
If they get back to home base, they make a "run." P
Then your team is up to bat. P
The team with the most runs wins. P
Now go enjoy some baseball! P
Unit 9. A Camping Adventure
My family went camping. My dad wanted an adventure. P
He said, "Let's not camp in the campground. P
Let's camp on the mountain." So we did. P
We set up our tent on the mountain. P
There were many big trees. P
We started a fire. We cooked hotdogs. It was fun! P
We watched the stars come out. We saw eight falling stars. P
It was so cool! Then a big bear came. He was hungry. P
My dad made a huge fire. My mom banged on a pan. P
The bear left. We didn't sleep that night. P
In the morning, we went to the campground. P
My mom said, "No more adventures!" P
Unit 10. Be Careful When You Camp
Many people love to go camping. P
Do you? You can have fun camping. P
Here is how: When you camp, you must have a tent. P
It must be big enough for all your family. P
Put a plastic sheet over it. This keeps the rain off. P
You need warm sleeping bags. P
It gets cold at night. They keep you warm. P
You also need air mattresses because the ground is hard. P
When you camp, you must be careful. P
Keep your campground clean. P
Then hungry animals will not come. P
Don't let bugs in your tent. Keep the tent door closed. P
Camping can be lots of fun. So enjoy yourself! P
Unit 11. Tommy the Hero
Tommy is a dog. He is very smart. P
He likes to find things. Tommy helps rescue people. P
One day a big building fell down. P
A lady was inside. The roof fell on her. P
The walls fell on her. The people looked for the lady. P
They couldn't see her. They couldn't hear her. P
A man said, "Quick! Bring a dog!" They brought Tommy. P
Tommy listened with his ears. He smelled with his nose. P
He smelled someone under the broken walls. P
Tommy barked. That means, "Look here!" P
The people dug through the walls. They found the lady. P
She smiled. She said, "Thank you! You are my hero!" P
Unit 12. Dogs Do Work
Many dogs do work for people. P
Search and rescue dogs find missing people. P
They have good noses. They find people under broken buildings. P
They also find people under the snow. P
Guide dogs help blind people. Blind people can't see things on the street. P
So guide dogs walk with them. P
Also they guide them across streets. P
Sled dogs pull sleds over the snow. P
Many dogs work together. They can pull a sled very fast. P
They help people move on the snow. P
Sheepdogs help people on a sheep farm. P
Sometimes sheep wander off. P
Sheepdogs run after them. They make the sheep go the right way. P
People get help from these dogs. They are good friends to people. P
Unit 13. Mothers' Day Concert
Today is Mothers' Day at school. P
Jenna and her sister, Heidi, forget their gifts at home. P
Heidi says, "Oh no! We have no gifts to give mother! What can we do?" P
Jenna says, "I have a good idea! How about a music concert? P
I learned how to make a xylophone in science class." P
Jenna and Heidi find some bottles in the trash. P
Jenna pours water into the bottles. P
Jenna taps the bottles with a spoon. P
Heidi sings a song. They make pretty sounds. P
All the parents clap and sing along. P
Jenna and Heidi's mother hugs them and says, P
"This is the best gift of all!" Heidi laughs. P
"And we have more gifts at home!" P
Unit 14. How Bottles Make Music
Do you want to play music? P
You can make a xylophone with glass bottles. P
Here is how to make it. Put five bottles in a row. P
Pour lots of water in the first bottle. Pour less water in the others. P
Then tap the middle of the bottles with a spoon. P
Each bottle makes a different sound. P
Why is this? When you tap the bottles, the air inside the bottles vibrates. P
The air vibrates slower in bottles with more water. P
Those bottles make a low sound. P
The air vibrates faster in bottles with less water. P
Those bottles make a high sound. P
Now you know about the bottle xylophone. P
Try it! You can make beautiful music with bottles. P
Unit 15. The Last Sun
Long ago, there were ten suns in China. P
These suns lived in a giant tree. P
Each day, a different sun went across the sky. P
But the suns didn't want to wait. P
One day they all went across the sky together. P
It was very, very hot on the earth. P
The father of the ten suns was not happy. P
He tried to stop them. But they didn't listen to him. P
So he said to an archer, "Please scare the suns." P
But the archer was bad. He killed nine of the suns with arrows. P
Only one sun was left alive. We can see that sun in the sky today. P
The Chinese people hope no archer kills the last sun! P
Unit 16. Our Sun
Our sun is a star in space. It isn't a giant star. P
But it is much bigger than the earth. P
One million earths can fit inside the sun. P
Our sun is made of hot gases. These gases burn. P
So the sun is very hot and very bright. P
This keeps the earth warm. P
Also, living things can live on the earth. P
The sun doesn't go around the earth. P
The earth goes around the sun. But the earth spins. P
So it looks like the sun rises in the east. P
It looks like it sets in the west. The sun is our special star. P
And it is just right for us. Isn't that great? P