Free ESL Reading Activity Grade 1

Ben's Counting Day — Reading Passage & Comprehension

About This Resource

A two-page reading passage following a fictional child, Ben, as he counts from 1 to 10 during his day, plus a comprehension page with true/false, picture-choice, and counting questions, with a full answer key.

Overview

"Ben's Counting Day" gives each number from 1 to 10 its own short, illustrated sentence pair built from the unit's own counted-object pictures (for example, "Ben counts three balloons. He sees three balloons."), reinforcing both the number words and the "There are ___." sentence pattern taught throughout the unit. The passage intentionally covers only 1-10, keeping it readable at a Grade 1 level even though the rest of the collection spans the full 1-20 range. The comprehension questions test specific details from the passage — factual recall and counting — rather than personal opinion, so every student answers the same questions regardless of background.

Resource Details

Subject: ESL
Topic: Numbers - Reading
Category: Reading
File Type: PDF
File Size: 111.9 KB
Published: 02 Sep 2026
Downloads: 0

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Students will be able to read simple sentences built from the unit's number vocabulary.
Students will be able to answer factual comprehension questions about a text they've read or heard.

How to Use This Resource

Read the passage aloud together as a class, or have students read it independently once numbers 1-10 have been introduced.
Have students point to each word as they read, reinforcing print awareness alongside number words.
Complete the comprehension page, answering true/false questions, circling a picture, and circling a number.
Grade using the included answer key.

Classroom Activity Ideas

Turn a rereading of the passage into a call-and-response chant: the teacher reads the setup ("Ben counts three balloons"), and the class echoes the count back ("He sees three balloons!").

Differentiation

Support: read the passage aloud to the whole class before independent comprehension work, and allow pointing to answers instead of circling.

Extension: ask students to write one new sentence of their own, in the same "Ben counts ___" style, about a number and object not detailed in the passage.

Assessment

Grade the comprehension page using the included answer key; use results to check both reading comprehension and recall of specific counting facts taught across the unit.

Teacher Tips

Because the passage covers numbers 1-10 in sequence, it works well once that phase of the unit is complete, rather than as an early resource before any numbers are taught — consider saving it for the point in the pacing plan in the Teacher's Guide where 1-10 has already been introduced.