Decodable Reader 21 Radio Days Written by Corey Tenon Illustrated by Clarisse Fontana Phonics Skill Syllable Pattern V/V audio stereo created videos dial violins pianos pioneers radio scientists Did you watch videos last night? Maybe you listened to music on the stereo. Most people enjoy these forms of recreation. But sixty years ago or so, you might have spent time in different ways. You likely would have listened to your family’s radio. 42 Back in those days, radio didn’t just air music or news. Families gathered around big radios in their living rooms each night. They listened happily as actors and actresses performed plays, acted out stories, and cracked jokes. Sound effects made radio plays seem real. 43 How did radio start? Phones were invented in 1876. Phone signals went through wires. Scientists thought air, not wires, could carry radio signals. An inventor sent radio signals through air in 1895. Soon ships at sea could make calls with radios. Radio helped save shipwreck victims. Before long, airplane pilots and armies used radios. Everybody called radio the wireless since radio waves moved through air without wires. 44 Music first aired on radio around 1910. It wasn’t pop music but classical music, including pianos, violins, and singers. Before long, radio pioneers created all kinds of programs. Radio had audio for baseball games, news, and plays. Thrilling stories and funny comic shows became well-known. 45 One radio program called The War of the Worlds aired in 1938. It is still remembered. It described how beings from outer space invaded Earth. An emcee told this frightening story as if it were real. It scared thousands. It made some listeners panic. 46 Radio shows delighted audiences. In the daytime, children listened to shows made for kids. With the turn of a dial, families laughed at comic shows at night. Jack Benny and Bob Hope were well-known radio comics. Later, these comics became TV stars. 47 During the Second World War, radio gave a