Table Of Content

PRINT & GO ESL Reading Worksheets Book 1 Short Stories for Adult Students – Beginning Level ESL Printable Online E-book © Christina Niven, 2010 www.elcivics.com TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction and Teaching Tips ESL Stories – Subject Categories Buying a Used Car –(transportation, consumer skills)…….. 4 Community College– (education, communities)…………... 5 Crimes Around Town – (crime, communities)……………... 6 Dream Vacation– (recreation, travel)………………………. 7 Edna’s On a Diet –(health, nutrition)………………………. 8 Good Neighbors – (communities)………………………...… 9 Everyone Needs a Hobby –(recreation, family)…………… 10 Messy Teenagers –(family, parenting)…………………….. 11 Miguel is a Runner –(health, recreation)…………………... 12 Office with a View –(employment)………………………... 13 Problems at Work –(employment)…………………………. 14 Recycling for Cash– (environment)……………………….. 15 Robots Can Help Us –(technology)…………………….….. 16 Shipwrecked– (travel, recreation)……………………….…. 17 Volunteers– (communities, civics)………………………… 18 Voting is a Civic Duty –(civics, communities)……….……. 19 Walking the Dog– (recreation, health)………………….….. 20 Molly is a Widow –(family, finances, health)…………….... 21 Working in New York City– (employment, family)…..…… 22 Youngand In Love – (feelings)…………………………..…. 23 2 Introduction Print & Go ESL Reading Worksheets is an assortment of reproducible worksheets for ESL teachers and students. The material is designed for beginning-level adults who are learning English. Worksheet subjects include: communities, civics and government, employment, families, feelings, finances, health, nutrition, recreation, and travel. Worksheet Features  Free  Web site download, no need for paper backups  Black and white pages that copy well  Small easy-to-digest chunks of information  Short one-paragraph stories  Clear subject/verb/object sentence structures  Repetitive exercises to guarantee student success  Four skill areas: reading, true/false, forming opinions, writing Teaching Tips  Preview the story by asking questions about the pictures.  Pair students and have them read the stories aloud to each other.  Conduct class surveys by tallying yes/no answers to Exercise C.  Have students stand and share their written responses to Exercise D.  Assign higher level students the task of writing a second paragraph for each of the stories.  Assign the worksheets as homework.  Use the worksheets as a supplement to Distance Learning Classes. Permission to Make Photocopies – Download to Your Web Site Copyright holder is licensing this eBook under the Creative Commons license, Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives 3.0 - http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/. You have permission to share this eBook, post to your web site, print it, and pass it along to others, as long as you don't make any edits or changes to its contents or digital format. You do not have permission to sell it electronically or as a printed book. If you do post it to your site, provide a link back to http://www.elcivics.com/ giving credit to the copyright holder. This eBook is available for free by visiting http://www.elcivics.com. © Christina Niven, 2010. 3 BUYING A USED CAR A.Reading Jeffis tryingtobuyausedcar. Heis at adealershipandis negotiatingwithacar salesman. He can afford toput $1,200down on a car andpayup to$275permonth. The carsalesmansaidJeff needs toput moremoneydownonthecarif he wants thepayments under $300. The asking price for the car is $8,500. This includes a ninety-day warranty. Jeff told the salesman that he can’t afford to put more money down and he can’t afford higher payments. He needs to keep some money to cover the cost of car insurance. A friendat work is sellinga similarcar,but it doesn’t comewithawarranty. B.TrueorFalse 1. ________ Jeffis talkingtohis friendat work. 2. ________ Dealerships sell cars. 3. ________ Jeffcanafford$275per monthincarpayments. 4. ________ Ninetydays is about threemonths. 5. ________ Jeffwill also needtopayforcarinsurance. C.Yes orNo –Share YourOpinion 1. ________ It’s bettertobuyanewcarthanausedcar. 2. ________ Jeffshouldtell thecarsalesmanhedoesn’t want thecar. D.Writing–Describeyourcar. If you don’thaveone,describeafriend’s car. ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ 4 COMMUNITY COLLEGE A.Reading Anita saved $975 for community college tuition and other expenses, but now she is confused. Her older sister is going to Hawaii next month, and she wants Anita to go with her. They can get a discount on a hotel room and share the costs of renting a car. Anitaknowscollege is important,but shewants to visitHawaii. Theproblem is shecan’t afford both. If she goes Hawaii, she won’t have enough money for college. It will take hera year to save enoughmoneyfor tuition. Anita wants to be a nurse someday and work inahospital. Shedoesn’t knowwhat todo. Shehas tomakeadifficult decision. B.TrueorFalse 1. ________ Anitasavedmoneyforcollege. 2. ________ Hersisteris goingtoHawaii next year. 3. ________ Anitaworks inahospital. 4. ________ Colleges chargetuition. 5. ________ Anitaandhersister can get adiscount on ahotel room. C.Yes orNo –Share YourOpinion 1. ________ Anitashouldusehermoneyforcollegeinsteadof vacation. 2. ________ Anita’s sisteris a“badinfluence”. D.Writing–Describea difficultdecision you made. ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ 5 CRIMES AROUND TOWN A.Reading Frank was in a good mood when he woke up this morning. He showered, shaved, got dressed for work, and ate breakfast. When he opened his front door to go to work, he was surprised. His car was on concrete blocks and all four tires were missing. A neighbor saw his car and came out to talk to him. Frank asked his neighbor if he saw anything suspicious. The neighbor said no. Frank went back into the house and called the police. They sent an officer to take a report and investigate the crime. Frank’s neighbor gavehim a ride towork. B.TrueorFalse 1. ________ Frank wokeuphappy. 2. ________ Policeofficers investigatecrimes. 3. ________ All ofthetires onthecar werestolen. 4. ________ Frank’s neighboris helpful. 5. ________ Franktookthedayoff from work. C.Yes orNo –Share YourOpinion 1. ________ Does thecityyouliveinhavealot ofcrime? 2. ________ Youshouldreport all crimes tothepolice. D.Writing–Wheredo you park yourcaratnight? Is itasafeplace? ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ 6 DREAM VACATION   A.Reading It’s 3:00 in the morning and Irma is sound asleep. She is dreaming about a vacation. In her dreams she is on a beach in Acapulco, Mexico. She is staying at a resort overlooking the Pacific Ocean. The water is blue and warm and the sand is white. A gentle breeze cools the heat of the Mexican sun. Irma can hear mariachis in a nearby restaurant. They are playing traditional music. Tropical plants are everywhere. The blooms of their flowers are yellow, pink, red, and blue. Everything there is slower and more relaxed. Irma is happy. She stretches and smiles. She continues to sleep and dream. B.TrueorFalse 1. ________ Acapulcois inMexico. 2. ________ Irmais onvacation. 3. ________ Mariachis areperforminginaplay. 4. ________ Sometropical plants haveblooms. 5. ________ Irmais awake. C.Yes orNo –Share YourOpinion 1. ________ Mexicois agreat place forvacation. 2. ________ Most peoplefeel happier whentheweatheris warm. D.Writing–Wheredo you wanttogoon vacation? ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ 7 EDNA’S ON A DIET A.Reading Edna is on a diet. She lost five pounds, but she wants to lose ten more pounds before her trip to Italynext month. She is going with a group of friends, and she wants to look her best. Everyone tells her she looks great, but she doesn’t agree. She bought new clothes for her vacation, but she can’t fit into them. Edna got a diet book that lists the calories of foods. She writes down everything she eats and adds up the calories. She tries to eat no more than a thousand calories per day. Right now she is thinking about eatingasliceof cherrypie. Dietingis not easy! B.TrueorFalse 1. ________ Ednawants tolosefive morepounds. 2. ________ Sheis movingto Italy. 3. ________ Herdiet booklists thecalories offoods. 4. ________ It’s not easytostickto a diet. 5. ________ Ednais tryingtoeat ahundredcalories perday. C.Yes orNo –Share YourOpinion 1. ________ Ednais not fat. Sheshouldn’t beonadiet. 2. ________ Exerciseis moreimportant thendieting. D.Writing–WhydidEdnabuynew clothes thatdon’tfit? ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ 8 GOOD NEIGHBORS A.Reading Mr. and Mrs. Russo live in a small house in a small town. Their neighbors are veryfriendlyand helpful. When theygo on vacation, their neighbors watch their house to make sure it is safe. They also water the grass and get their mail.Mrs. Russo wants to do something nice for her neighbors. She wants to invite them to her house for dinner on Saturday. She plans to serve roast beef, bakedpotatoes, asparagus, and a green salad. For dessert, she will bake a pecan pie. After dinner, Mr. Russo will play a few songs on his new guitar. B.TrueorFalse 1. ________ TheRusso’s neighbors arehelpful. 2. ________ Mr.andMrs. Russonevergoonvacation. 3. ________ Potatoes andasparagus arevegetables. 4. ________ Mr.Russoplays amusical instrument. 5. ________ Mrs. Russowill makeapeachpie. C.Yes orNo –Share YourOpinion 1. ________ Thebest part ofdinneris dessert. 2. ________ Peopleinsmall towns arefriendlierthanpeopleinlargecities. D.Writing–What would you makeforyourguests fordinner? ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ 9 EVERYONE NEEDS A HOBBY A.Reading Janice and her sister, Hilda, like arts and crafts. Janice likes to embroider and Hilda likes to paint. The sisters get together once a week. One week they meet at Janice’s house and the next week they meet at Hilda’s house. The sisters work on craft projects all year. When someone they know has a birthday, they give them a homemade gift. Friends and familymembers appreciatethe gifts. Manyofthem havesuggestedthat the sisters rent a booth at the swap meet and sell their crafts. But Janice and Hilda prefer tomakethings for friends. Theydon’t want toturntheirhobbies intoabusiness. B.TrueorFalse 1. ________ Hildais Janice’s sister. 2. ________ JaniceandHildameet twiceaweek. 3. ________ Homemade gifts aremadeinfactories bymachines. 4. ________ Hobbies are forfun. Businesses are formoney. 5. ________ Peoplecanrent aboothat theswapmeet andsell things. C.Yes orNo –Share YourOpinion 1. ________ JaniceandHildashouldsell theircrafts at theswapmeet. 2. ________ Youcantell alot about a person byknowingtheir hobby. D.Writing–Whatis yourfavoritehobby? How much timedoyou spend on it? ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ 10