72

THE SAILBOAT

73GRADES 1 & 2

HAVE YOU EVER WANTED TO SHARE YOUR IDEAS, BUT FELT LIKE IT WAS HARD TO SPEAK UP?Sometimes it can be difficult to tell your thoughts or feelings to

others, or you might not be sure if it is okay to speak up.

Everyone has important things to say and share. As long as you

are speaking kindly, it’s okay to speak up.

In this story, a child feels uncomfortable speaking up to share

her ideas with her friends. But when she finally does, her ideas

are really helpful to them.

As you listen to the story, pay attention to times it would be

helpful if a character spoke up.

74

75GRADES 1 & 2

It was a warm and sunny morning, and a soft breeze rustled the leaves of the trees. As Kim, Annie, and Gabriel walked through the park to the tree house, they wondered what to do that day.

They stopped at the lake, where some kids were having a toy sailboat race. They watched the boats drift gently across the lake in the breeze. Kim remembered the model boat that her grandfather had given her one year for her birthday, and how it had taken them a whole afternoon to build it together.

Suddenly, Annie pointed up the hill toward the community center. “Check it out,” she said excitedly.

76

77GRADES 1 & 2

Huge boxes were piled behind the back door of the community center. The kids ran over to explore. The boxes were all empty, and some of them were as big as a refrigerator!

“We could build something really awesome with these!” exclaimed Gabriel. “Let’s ask if we can have some.”

“I don’t know,” worried Kim. “They might not let us—maybe we shouldn’t say anything.”

“They might not,” agreed Annie. “But it doesn’t hurt to ask. They might say ‘yes’ too. I’ll go look for the director.”

78

79GRADES 1 & 2

After a few minutes, Annie came back out of the community center with a smile on her face. “We can have some,” she said excitedly.

The kids decided to take a big, long box with flaps on the sides, and a few smaller ones too. They piled them on top of their wagon and headed toward the tree house.

80

81GRADES 1 & 2

“Maybe we could make the boxes into a robot,” suggested Annie.

“It would be a big robot,” said Gabriel. “But then we couldn’t really do anything else with it.”

Kim looked at the box and thought that it might make a cool sailboat; just like the ones they had seen at the lake. But she wasn’t sure if her friends would like that idea, so she didn’t say anything.

82

83GRADES 1 & 2

Gabriel looked at the pile of boxes and scratched his head. “Maybe we could stand the big one up and turn it into a rocket ship.”

Annie shook her head. “I don’t think we would all fit inside at the same time.”

They thought of a few more things—like a tunnel or a fort—but nothing sounded like that much fun. They were starting to get frustrated. Finally, Kim suggested that they try to make a sailboat.

“That’s perfect, Kim!” exclaimed her friends.

84

85GRADES 1 & 2

While Annie left to look for a big stick to hold up a sail, Gabriel climbed up to the tree house to get a blanket and some paints and brushes to decorate the boat.

Kim walked around the box and tried to remember the different parts of her model boat. It had a tall, thin mast that held up the mainsail, and at the back was a long bar called a tiller, which her grandfather said was like the steering wheel of the boat. It moved the rudder, which is what made the boat change directions in the water. Kim remembered using a lot of string and glue to put the boat together.

86

87GRADES 1 & 2

By the time Annie returned, Gabriel and Kim were busy painting portholes on the sides of the boat.

“Look at this huge branch I found,” she said. “It will make the perfect rudder to hold up the sail.”

Kim frowned and thought a mast is what holds up the sail. But she didn’t say anything.

88

89GRADES 1 & 2

Gabriel and Annie propped up the branch in a corner of the boat, but it promptly tipped over and fell right out.

Kim closed her eyes and pictured the strings that she tied to the mast and sails of her model boat. They might be able to do the same thing with this boat, but she wasn’t sure if it would work, so she didn’t say anything.

90

91GRADES 1 & 2

“We could try piling some rocks around the bottom of the branch to hold it up,” suggested Gabriel.

So the kids tried Gabriel’s idea, but as soon as they let go of the branch, it toppled over again.

“Well, I guess we’re just going to have to stand here and hold it up all day long,” joked Annie.

92

93GRADES 1 & 2

Finally, Kim decided to speak up.

“Maybe we can tie some ropes to the branch and attach them to the ground,” she suggested. “Just like how you put up a tent.”

“That might work,” agreed Gabriel. “But we can’t tie ropes to the ground.”

Kim nodded and pointed to the rocks they had gathered. “We can put those on the ends of the ropes to keep them in place.”

94

95GRADES 1 & 2

The kids found some jump ropes in the tree house, and Kim held the branch nice and straight, while Gabriel and Annie tied the ropes tightly and put rocks on the ends.

“We did it,” said Annie. “That rudder isn’t going anywhere now.”

“Actually,” Kim said kindly. “That’s called the mast. The rudder is on the back of the boat to help it move.”

The kids were excited to find out that Kim knew about building sailboats, and they had many questions for her. Working together, they were able to make their sailboat even better.

96

97GRADES 1 & 2

As they were finishing, a strong breeze began to blow, lifting the sail high into the air. Kim climbed into the sailboat, calling, “Ahoy, mateys!” Annie and Gabriel laughed and joined her in the boat, and the three friends spent the rest of the day on a sailing adventure.