Paul Holmes -
University
English Professor

Free Materials For ESL Teachers and Learners

Short Stories for Kids

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The Ice Cream Island

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Once upon a time, there was a place called Ice Cream Island. It was always sunny and full of yummy ice cream. Boys and girls from everywhere came to eat lots of different ice cream flavors. A boy named Johnny went on a trip to this island.

Johnny rode a boat to the island. He saw big mountains of chocolate ice cream and rivers of strawberry syrup. Johnny found a cave with a little ice cream troll. The troll wanted to play a game. If Johnny won, he would get all the ice cream he could ever eat.

Johnny played a game like Xs and Os with the troll. It was hard, but Johnny won! The troll showed Johnny a treasure box with special ice cream cones. Johnny was very happy and decided to share the ice cream with all the people on the island. They had a big party and laughed a lot.

The story of Johnny and the ice cream spread, and more people came to visit. Everyone wanted to be nice like Johnny. They shared ice cream and were kind to each other. Ice Cream Island stayed a happy place where everyone could have ice cream and be friends.

🎧 Listen:

Slow

Normal

📖 Vocabulary:

1IslandA piece of land with water all around it
2SunnyWhen the sky is bright and there are no clouds
3FlavorsDifferent tastes of things, like chocolate or vanilla
4TripGoing to a new place for fun
5MountainsVery big hills
6RiversStreams of water that move along the ground
7TrollA small, funny-looking creature that lives in stories
8GamePlaying with toys or doing something fun
9TreasureA box full of special things that are hard to find
10SpreadWhen something moves out and reaches more places or people

🤔 Comprehension Questions:

1. What was the name of the place where Johnny went on a trip?
2. How did Johnny get to Ice Cream Island?
3. What did Johnny find in the cave?
4. What did Johnny win if he beat the troll’s game?
5. What did Johnny decide to do with the ice cream?
6. What happened to Ice Cream Island after Johnny shared the ice cream?
Go to answers ⇩

🎧✍️ Listen and Fill in the Gaps:

Once upon a time, there was a place called Ice Cream Island. It was always sunny and (1)______ of yummy ice cream. Boys and girls from everywhere came to eat lots of different ice cream flavors. A boy (2)______ Johnny went on a trip to this island.

Johnny rode a boat to the island. He saw big mountains of chocolate ice (3)______ and (4)______ of strawberry syrup. Johnny found a cave with a little ice cream troll. The troll wanted to play a game. If Johnny won, he would get all the ice cream he could ever eat.

Johnny played a game like Xs and Os with the troll. It was hard, but Johnny won! The troll showed Johnny a (5)______ box with special ice cream cones. Johnny was very happy and decided to share the ice cream with all the people on the (6)______. They had a big party and laughed a lot.

The story of Johnny and the ice cream (7)______, and more people came to visit. Everyone wanted to be nice like Johnny. They shared ice cream and were kind to each other. Ice Cream (8)______ stayed a happy place where everyone could have ice cream and be friends.
Go to answers ⇩

💬 Discussion Questions:

Students can ask a partner these questions, or discuss them as a group.

1. What is your favorite flavor of ice cream?
2. How would you feel if you won a lot of ice cream?
3. Do you like sharing ice cream with your friends?
4. Do you think it’s important to be kind to others?
5. Why do you think everyone wanted to visit Ice Cream Island?
6. How would you feel if you lived on Ice Cream Island?
7. What is a troll?
8. Why do you think Johnny decided to share the ice cream with everyone?

📖💭 Vocabulary Meanings:

Match each word to its meaning.

Words:
1. Island
2. Sunny
3. Flavors
4. Trip
5. Mountains
6. Rivers
7. Troll
8. Game
9. Treasure
10. Spread

Meanings:
(A) A piece of land with water all around it
(B) Very big hills
(C) A box full of special things that are hard to find
(D) When something moves out and reaches more places or people
(E) A small, funny-looking creature that lives in stories
(F) When the sky is bright and there are no clouds
(G) Going to a new place for fun
(H) Streams of water that move along the ground
(I) Playing with toys or doing something fun
(J) Different tastes of things, like chocolate or vanilla
Go to answers ⇩

🔡 Multiple Choice Questions:

1. Where did Johnny go on his trip?
(a) Ice Cream Island
(b) Candy Land
(c) Pizza Planet
(d) Burger Island

2. What did Johnny see on Ice Cream Island?
(a) Mountains of chocolate ice cream
(b) Mountains of broccoli
(c) Mountains of spaghetti
(d) Mountains of carrots

3. What did the ice cream troll want to do with Johnny?
(a) Eat all the ice cream
(b) Play a game
(c) Sing a song
(d) Dance a jig

4. What did Johnny find in the treasure box?
(a) Special cookies
(b) Special hamburgers
(c) Special hot dogs
(d) Special ice cream cones

5. What did Johnny decide to do with the ice cream?
(a) Eat it all by himself
(b) Share it with everyone on the island
(c) Throw it in the ocean
(d) Give it to the ice cream troll

6. What happened when Johnny shared the ice cream?
(a) They had a big fight
(b) They had a big nap
(c) They had a big party
(d) They had a big cry

7. Why did more people come to visit Ice Cream Island?
(a) They heard the story of Johnny and the pizza
(b) They heard the story of Johnny and the hamburgers
(c) They heard the story of Johnny and the ice cream
(d) They heard the story of Johnny and the broccoli

8. What kind of place was Ice Cream Island?
(a) A sad place where no one could have ice cream
(b) A scary place where ice cream monsters lived
(c) A boring place with no ice cream
(d) A happy place where everyone could have ice cream and be friends

Go to answers ⇩

🕵️ True or False Questions:

1. Johnny played a game like Xs and Os with the troll and won, so he got all the ice cream he could ever eat.
2. Johnny saw small hills of chocolate ice cream and streams of strawberry syrup on Ice Cream Island.
3. There was never a place called Ice Cream Island where it was always sunny and had lots of yummy ice cream.
4. Boys and girls from everywhere came to eat different flavors of ice cream on Ice Cream Island.
5. Johnny decided to share the ice cream with all the people on the island, and they had a big party and laughed a lot.
6. Johnny found a cave on Ice Cream Island with a little ice cream troll who wanted to play a game.
7. The troll hid Johnny a treasure box with ordinary ice cream cones, which made Johnny very sad.
8. Johnny stayed at home and never went on a trip to Ice Cream Island or rode a boat to get there.
Go to answers ⇩

📝 Write a Summary:

Write a summary of this story in two sentences. Here are some hints:
Who are the main characters?
What happens in the story?

Answers

🤔✅ Comprehension Question Answers:

1. What was the name of the place where Johnny went on a trip?
Ice Cream Island.

2. How did Johnny get to Ice Cream Island?
Johnny rode a boat to the island.

3. What did Johnny find in the cave?
Johnny found a little ice cream troll in the cave.

4. What did Johnny win if he beat the troll’s game?
Johnny won all the ice cream he could ever eat.

5. What did Johnny decide to do with the ice cream?
Johnny decided to share the ice cream with all the people on the island.

6. What happened to Ice Cream Island after Johnny shared the ice cream?
After Johnny shared the ice cream, Ice Cream Island became a happy place where everyone could have ice cream and be friends.
Go back to questions ⇧

🎧✍️✅ Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:

(1) full
(2) named
(3) cream
(4) rivers
(5) treasure
(6) island
(7) spread
(8) Island
Go back to questions ⇧

📖💭✅ Vocabulary Meanings Answers:

1. Island
Answer: (A) A piece of land with water all around it

2. Sunny
Answer: (F) When the sky is bright and there are no clouds

3. Flavors
Answer: (J) Different tastes of things, like chocolate or vanilla

4. Trip
Answer: (G) Going to a new place for fun

5. Mountains
Answer: (B) Very big hills

6. Rivers
Answer: (H) Streams of water that move along the ground

7. Troll
Answer: (E) A small, funny-looking creature that lives in stories

8. Game
Answer: (I) Playing with toys or doing something fun

9. Treasure
Answer: (C) A box full of special things that are hard to find

10. Spread
Answer: (D) When something moves out and reaches more places or people
Go back to questions ⇧

🔡✅ Multiple Choice Answers:

1. Where did Johnny go on his trip?
Answer: (a) Ice Cream Island

2. What did Johnny see on Ice Cream Island?
Answer: (a) Mountains of chocolate ice cream

3. What did the ice cream troll want to do with Johnny?
Answer: (b) Play a game

4. What did Johnny find in the treasure box?
Answer: (d) Special ice cream cones

5. What did Johnny decide to do with the ice cream?
Answer: (b) Share it with everyone on the island

6. What happened when Johnny shared the ice cream?
Answer: (c) They had a big party

7. Why did more people come to visit Ice Cream Island?
Answer: (c) They heard the story of Johnny and the ice cream

8. What kind of place was Ice Cream Island?
Answer: (d) A happy place where everyone could have ice cream and be friends
Go back to questions ⇧

🕵️✅ True or False Answers:

1. Johnny played a game like Xs and Os with the troll and won, so he got all the ice cream he could ever eat. (Answer: True)
2. Johnny saw small hills of chocolate ice cream and streams of strawberry syrup on Ice Cream Island. (Answer: False)
3. There was never a place called Ice Cream Island where it was always sunny and had lots of yummy ice cream. (Answer: False)
4. Boys and girls from everywhere came to eat different flavors of ice cream on Ice Cream Island. (Answer: True)
5. Johnny decided to share the ice cream with all the people on the island, and they had a big party and laughed a lot. (Answer: True)
6. Johnny found a cave on Ice Cream Island with a little ice cream troll who wanted to play a game. (Answer: True)
7. The troll hid Johnny a treasure box with ordinary ice cream cones, which made Johnny very sad. (Answer: False)
8. Johnny stayed at home and never went on a trip to Ice Cream Island or rode a boat to get there. (Answer: False)
Go back to questions ⇧

📚 How about these other Level 1 stories?

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Jack, Emma, and Biscuit the dinosaur had the best adventures and learned that friendship is amazing!

The Lazy Lion

Once upon a time, in a beautiful jungle, there lived a lion named Leo. Leo was the laziest lion in

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