Paul Holmes -
University
English Professor

Free Materials For ESL Teachers and Learners

Short Stories for Kids

Complete lesson plans, including stories, listening, classroom activities, quiz questions and more!

The Orchard of Oddities

Four adventurous children discover a magical orchard filled with fruits that grant them extraordinary abilities.

Try this story at a different level?

 

In a small village, there was a special garden with magic trees. Four friends, Lily, Oliver, Max, and Mia, wanted to see the magic for themselves. They went into the garden to find its secrets.

They found a tree with huge strawberries and started eating them. Suddenly, their voices turned into music! They were singing with every word and couldn’t stop laughing.

Next, they ate glowing apples and began floating in the sky like balloons. They looked down at their village and it was so pretty! They were flying!

Then, the friends found oranges that made their hands light up. They moved their hands around and drew pictures with the light. They had so much fun playing with the colorful light in the sky.

🎧 Listen:

Slow

Normal

📖 Vocabulary:

1specialNot like other things, very unusual
2gardenA place outside where flowers and plants grow
3secretsThings people don’t know about and are hard to find
4hugeVery, very big
5musicSounds that you can sing and dance to
6floatingStaying up in the air without falling
7balloonsThings that are filled with air and can fly up high
8glowingShining with light
9drewMade pictures with a pen or pencil
10colorfulHaving lots of different bright colors

🤔 Comprehension Questions:

1. What did the friends find in the garden?
2. What happened when they ate the huge strawberries?
3. What happened when they ate the glowing apples?
4. What did they do with their hands after eating the oranges?
5. What did the friends see when they were floating in the sky?
6. What did the friends do with the colorful light in the sky?
Go to answers ⇩

🎧✍️ Listen and Fill in the Gaps:

In a small village, there was a (1)______ garden with magic (2)______. Four friends, Lily, Oliver, Max, and Mia, wanted to see the magic for themselves. They went into the garden to find its secrets.

They found a (3)______ with huge strawberries and started eating them. Suddenly, their voices (4)______ into music! They were singing with every word and couldn’t stop laughing.

Next, they ate (5)______ apples and began (6)______ in the sky like balloons. They looked down at their village and it was so pretty! They were flying!

Then, the friends found oranges that made their hands (7)______ up. They moved their hands around and (8)______ pictures with the light. They had so much fun playing with the colorful light in the sky.
Go to answers ⇩

💬 Discussion Questions:

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

1. What is a special garden?
2. How would you feel if you could eat strawberries that made your voice turn into music?
3. Do you like flying in the sky like a balloon? Why or why not?
4. What do you think it would be like to have hands that light up?
5. How would you feel if you could draw pictures with colorful light in the sky?
6. What is your favorite fruit? Why?
7. Do you think magic trees are real? Why or why not?
8. Have you ever been to a garden? What did you see there?

📖💭 Vocabulary Meanings:

Match each word to its meaning.

Words:
1. special
2. garden
3. secrets
4. huge
5. music
6. floating
7. balloons
8. glowing
9. drew
10. colorful

Meanings:
(A) Having lots of different bright colors
(B) A place outside where flowers and plants grow
(C) Very, very big
(D) Staying up in the air without falling
(E) Shining with light
(F) Not like other things, very unusual
(G) Sounds that you can sing and dance to
(H) Made pictures with a pen or pencil
(I) Things that are filled with air and can fly up high
(J) Things people don’t know about and are hard to find
Go to answers ⇩

🔡 Multiple Choice Questions:

1. What did the friends find in the garden?
(a) Magic flowers
(b) Magic trees
(c) Magic animals
(d) Magic rocks

2. What happened to their voices when they ate the strawberries?
(a) They disappeared
(b) They became louder
(c) They turned into animals
(d) They turned into music

3. What did the friends do when they ate the glowing apples?
(a) They turned into birds
(b) They started dancing
(c) They fell asleep
(d) They started floating in the sky

4. What did the friends see when they were floating in the sky?
(a) A magic castle
(b) A big mountain
(c) Their village
(d) A scary monster

5. What did the friends do with their hands after eating the oranges?
(a) They painted their faces
(b) They made them light up
(c) They tied them together
(d) They covered their eyes

6. What did the friends draw with the light from their hands?
(a) Pictures
(b) Animals
(c) Numbers
(d) Letters

7. What did the friends have fun playing with in the sky?
(a) Clouds
(b) Rainbows
(c) Colorful light
(d) Stars

8. Where did the friends find the magic garden?
(a) In their village
(b) In a big city
(c) In a forest
(d) In the ocean

Go to answers ⇩

🕵️ True or False Questions:

1. The friends had a lot of fun playing with the colorful light in the sky.
2. When they ate the tomatoes, their voices turned into noise and they couldn’t stop crying.
3. They found rotten apples and ate them, which made them sink in the sky like anchors.
4. They found a tree with tiny strawberries and ate them.
5. There was a special garden in a small village with magic trees.
6. Four friends named Lily, Oliver, Max, and Mia wanted to see the magic in the garden.
7. From up in the sky, they looked down at their village and thought it was very ugly.
8. They found oranges that made their hands light up and they had fun drawing pictures with the light.
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 did the friends find in the garden?
They found magic trees in the garden.

2. What happened when they ate the huge strawberries?
Their voices turned into music and they couldn’t stop laughing.

3. What happened when they ate the glowing apples?
They started floating in the sky like balloons.

4. What did they do with their hands after eating the oranges?
They moved their hands around and drew pictures with the light.

5. What did the friends see when they were floating in the sky?
They saw their village and it looked very pretty.

6. What did the friends do with the colorful light in the sky?
They played with it and had lots of fun.
Go back to questions ⇧

🎧✍️✅ Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:

(1) special
(2) trees
(3) tree
(4) turned
(5) glowing
(6) floating
(7) light
(8) drew
Go back to questions ⇧

📖💭✅ Vocabulary Meanings Answers:

1. special
Answer: (F) Not like other things, very unusual

2. garden
Answer: (B) A place outside where flowers and plants grow

3. secrets
Answer: (J) Things people don’t know about and are hard to find

4. huge
Answer: (C) Very, very big

5. music
Answer: (G) Sounds that you can sing and dance to

6. floating
Answer: (D) Staying up in the air without falling

7. balloons
Answer: (I) Things that are filled with air and can fly up high

8. glowing
Answer: (E) Shining with light

9. drew
Answer: (H) Made pictures with a pen or pencil

10. colorful
Answer: (A) Having lots of different bright colors
Go back to questions ⇧

🔡✅ Multiple Choice Answers:

1. What did the friends find in the garden?
Answer: (b) Magic trees

2. What happened to their voices when they ate the strawberries?
Answer: (d) They turned into music

3. What did the friends do when they ate the glowing apples?
Answer: (d) They started floating in the sky

4. What did the friends see when they were floating in the sky?
Answer: (c) Their village

5. What did the friends do with their hands after eating the oranges?
Answer: (b) They made them light up

6. What did the friends draw with the light from their hands?
Answer: (a) Pictures

7. What did the friends have fun playing with in the sky?
Answer: (c) Colorful light

8. Where did the friends find the magic garden?
Answer: (a) In their village
Go back to questions ⇧

🕵️✅ True or False Answers:

1. The friends had a lot of fun playing with the colorful light in the sky. (Answer: True)
2. When they ate the tomatoes, their voices turned into noise and they couldn’t stop crying. (Answer: False)
3. They found rotten apples and ate them, which made them sink in the sky like anchors. (Answer: False)
4. They found a tree with tiny strawberries and ate them. (Answer: False)
5. There was a special garden in a small village with magic trees. (Answer: True)
6. Four friends named Lily, Oliver, Max, and Mia wanted to see the magic in the garden. (Answer: True)
7. From up in the sky, they looked down at their village and thought it was very ugly. (Answer: False)
8. They found oranges that made their hands light up and they had fun drawing pictures with the light. (Answer: True)
Go back to questions ⇧

📚 How about these other Level 1 stories?

Polly's determination pays off when she finds her lost puppy safe and sound.

Polly’s New Puppy

Polly really wanted a puppy, so she worked hard and her mom and dad surprised her with one named Buttercup.

The Secret Forest

Once upon a time, there was a magical forest filled with wonders. It was a secret forest, hidden away from

The Castle in the Clouds

Lily climbed a big mountain and found a magical castle where she helped a friendly man find his lost key with the help of talking animals.

The Land of Wizards

Once upon a time, in a far away kingdom, there lived a group of wizards. These wizards were very powerful

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