The Party

Target Words

band, barely, boring, cancel, driveway, garbage, instrument, list, magic, message, notice, own, predict, professor, rush, schedule, share, stage, storm, within.

band [band] n.

A band is a group of people who play music.
→ My brother is in a rock band.

barely [ˈbɛːli] adv.

Barely means by the smallest amount, almost not.
→ I barely had enough money to pay for my bus ticket.

boring [ˈbɔːrɪŋ] adj.

If something is boring, it is not fun.
→ I think the Internet is boring.

cancel [ˈkans(ə)l] v.

To cancel means to decide that an event or a request will not happen.
→ She cancelled the rest of her plans because of the rain.

driveway [ˈdrʌɪvweɪ] n.

A driveway is a short private road that leads to a person’s home.
→ The long driveway led us to their new house.

garbage [ˈɡɑːbɪdʒ] n.

Garbage is waste material like unwanted or spoiled food, bottles, paper, etc.
→ The boy cleaned up the garbage around his house.

instrument [ˈɪnstrʊm(ə)nt] n.

An instrument is something designed to do a certain task like music.
→ My favorite musical instrument is the piano.

list [lɪst] n.

A list is a record of information printed with an item on each line.
→ My mom makes a list of groceries to buy.

magic [ˈmadʒɪk] n.

Magic is the power to do impossible things.
→ The magician used magic to pull a rabbit out of his hat.

message [ˈmɛsɪdʒ] n.

A message is a set of words that you send to someone.
→ I left a message for you in the envelope.

notice [ˈnəʊtɪs] v.

To notice something is to see it for the first time.
→ Did you notice the view?

own [əʊn] v.

To own something means to have it. That thing belongs to you.
→ My grandfather owns that house.

predict [prɪˈdɪkt] v.

To predict something is to say that it will happen.
→ She predicted that I would get married next year.

professor [prəˈfɛsə] n.

A professor is a person who teaches in college.
→ Mike’s science professor knows a lot about physics.

rush [rʌʃ] v.

To rush is to go somewhere or do something very quickly.
→ Nancy rushed to finish her homework.

schedule [ˈʃɛdjuːl] n.

A schedule is a plan that tells you when to do things.
→ What is your class schedule for today?

share [ʃɛː] v.

To share something is to give some of it to another person.
→ Jimmy shared his apple with me.

stage [steɪdʒ] n.

A stage is a place where actors or musicians act or sing.
→ A large screen was on the stage.

storm [stɔːm] n.

A storm is very bad weather. There is a lot of rain or snow.
→ Did that storm wake you up last night?

within [wɪðˈɪn] prep.

You use within to say that something is inside another thing.
→ Within the box, there was a pizza.

Cody’s family moved to a new house. His dad got a new job as a professor. Cody liked his new town, but he missed his grandparents. For his birthday, Cody wanted to have a party. His dad said, “Yes, we could even have a band play!”

On the day of the party, Cody woke up and rushed to get ready. He started to check his list of things to do. He was so excited! But then he noticed something terrible. There was snow on the ground and lots of it! “Dad!” he yelled. “How can the band play their instruments outside?”

Dad said, “We’ll move the stage inside.” It barely fit within the garage because there were some boxes and garbage there. But when they finished, they got a call from the band. They did not want to come in the snow storm.

Dad said, “Let’s get someone to perform magic.” But no one would come because of the snow.

Finally, Dad said, “Cody, there’s too much snow. We need to cancel the party.”

“Yes, sir,” Cody said sadly. “It’s going to be a boring birthday,” he predicted. Cody wanted to share his birthday with someone. He wanted to be at his old home. He wanted to see his grandparents.

But then something got his attention. He noticed a car in the driveway. His grandparents owned a car like that!

Cody was right. His grandparents came for his birthday! “Happy birthday, Cody! We’re sorry we are late. But there was so much snow. It made us go off schedule. We tried to leave a message to tell you.”

Cody told them what happened. “I’m sorry,” said Grandpa.

“I was sad,” Cody said. “But I’m not anymore. I’m so happy to see you.” Dad brought out Cody’s birthday treat. It was his favorite type, a sundae with whipped cream on top. Then Cody told his grandparents about the new town. It was his best birthday ever.