A Friend for Me Levels 1-2

A Friend for Me features a young girl preparing everything her new dog will need-from a ball and leash to a cosy bed. The repeated phrase œA ___ for you offers early readers a predictable structure while teaching key content words like œfriend, œbone, œcollar, and œrug. The book also supports decoding through the focus sounds /b/ and /f/. With a strong focus on responsibility and care, this story can be used as a springboard into discussions about pet ownership and empathy. Activities linked to the book promote hands-on interaction and vocabulary development.

Educational Benefits:

• Builds recognition of key early reading words in meaningful contexts.
• Encourages understanding of responsibility and caring for others.
• Reinforces phonics through targeted sound work (/b/, /f/).
• Promotes comprehension through matching, labelling, and sequencing.

Classroom Ideas:

• Create a pet care chart with items needed for different animals.
• Label and sort dog care items using realia or images.
• Use play dough to model the items in the story.
• Conduct a pet show-and-tell session or create pet-themed drawings.

Safety & Information:

• Suitable for ages 4-6.
• Book size: 14.5cm x 16.5cm; 16 pages.
• Adult supervision required for cutting and glueing tasks.
• Ensure all craft and modelling materials are non-toxic and age-appropriate.