Ages 3–5
Ages 4–6ReadingReading
Counting Stars in the Desert
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Read the story, then answer the questions.
Curriculum links
- Common Core RF.K.4: Read early-reader texts with purpose and understanding.
- Common Core RF.1.4: Read grade-level text with enough accuracy and fluency to support comprehension.
- Common Core RL.K.1: With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about key details in a text.
- Common Core RL.K.3: With prompting and support, identify characters, settings and major events in a story.
- Common Core RL.1.1: Ask and answer questions about key details in a text.
- Common Core RL.1.3: Describe characters, settings and major events in a story using key details.
- Common Core RL.2.1: Ask and answer who, what, where, when, why and how questions to show understanding of key details.
- England NC Y1.EN.RC.2: Understand books they read and hear by checking sense, discussing events and answering questions.
- England NC Y2.EN.RC.2: Understand books by answering and asking questions, making inferences and predicting what might happen.
- BNCC EF12LP01: Read new words accurately by decoding, and frequent words as whole words.
- BNCC EF15LP03: Find information stated explicitly in a text.
- Programmes FR C1.FR.OA.1: Understand stories read aloud by an adult and answer questions about them.
- Programmes FR C2.FR.LC.1: Understand a text read independently and answer questions about it.
Licence: Crayonbird original
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About this activity
What your child practises
Skills: Short story with questions and Reading comprehension: stories.
Reading a short story for meaning and answering questions about what happened and why.
What’s included
- 4 story pages
- 3 questions
- An answer key you can print with the sheet or on its own
- An on-screen version with instant marking and stars
Age and school year
Made for ages 4–6. That’s Pre-K – Grade 1 in the US, Reception – Year 2 in England, Nursery 1 – Primary 1 in Nigeria and LKG – Class 1 in India.
How to use it
- Print it at home or school – it fits a standard A4 or US Letter page.
- Print the answer key too, so marking takes seconds.
- Play it on screen: answers are marked instantly and children earn stars.
- Write on it on a tablet or touchscreen with a finger or stylus – no printer needed.
Tips for parents and teachers
- Ask your child to point to the sentence that proves each answer; finding evidence is a key reading skill.
- After the questions, ask one question with no right answer, such as “What would you have done?”.
- Celebrate effort with a sticker or a star on the page, not only right answers.
Good to know
- Time needed
- About 15–25 minutes
- You’ll need
- A printer (or a tablet to work on screen) and a pencil
- Answer key
- Yes – print it with the sheet or on its own