Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: My Job [Pdf]
"My Job" is a one page, fictional, reading passage about the job as department of streets and sanitation worker including the work involved. It is followed by constructed-response questions which require students to provide evidence from...
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: The Difficult Journey [Pdf]
"The Difficult Journey" is a one page, fictional, reading passage about the hardships of a family moving west in a wagon train. It is followed by constructed-response questions which require students to provide evidence from the story;...
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: The Gulls of Salt Lake [Pdf]
"The Gulls of Salt Lake" is a one page, fictional, reading passage about a group of early settlers who had endured the hardships of traveling west and planted crops in the fertile soid, only to be invaded by swarms of crickets. Just when...
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Settlement Multiple Choice Questions [Pdf]
"Settlement with Multiple Choice Questions" is a one page, nonfiction, reading passage about the hardships of life of the prairie for the early settlers. It is followed by questions which require students to provide evidence from the...
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: The First Flyers [Pdf]
"The First Flyers" is a one page, nonfiction, reading passage about the Wright brothers and their obsession with flying. It is followed by questions which require students to provide evidence from the story; it includes: determining main...
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Illinois Pioneers and Prairies [Pdf]
"Illinois Pioneers and Prairies" is a one page, nonfiction, reading passage about life in the prairies of Illinois for the early settlers including their hard work, setting up governments, building schools, and making laws. It is...
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: The New Student [Pdf]
"The New Student" is a one page, fictional, reading passage about a little girl who was nervous about starting a new school, but she makes friends the first day. It is followed by questions which require students to provide evidence from...
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: My First Baseball Game With Q & a Key [Pdf]
"My First Baseball Game" is a one page, fictional, reading passage about a boy and his sister going to their first baseball game and learning what it means to be Chicago Cubs fans. It is followed by constructed-response questions which...
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: My First Baseball Game [Pdf]
"My First Baseball Game" is a one page, fictional, reading passage about a child going to his first baseball game and learning what it means to be a Chicago Cubs fan. It is followed by constructed-response questions which require...
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Making a Difference [Pdf]
"Making a Difference" is a one page, fictional, reading passage about students helping to get their families and others to register to vote. It is followed by constructed-response questions which require students to provide evidence from...
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
Depaul University: Center for Urban Education: The Ants and the Grasshopper[pdf]
"The Ants and the Grasshopper" is a one page, fable about grasshoppers who played all summer while the ants worked gathering food for winter. When winter came, the grasshoppers were hungry. It is followed by questions which require...
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: The Little Red Hen [Pdf]
"The Little Red Hen" is a one page fable about a crafty fox who wanted to eat the little red hen. One day, he caught her, but she tricked him. It is followed by constructed-response questions which require students to provide evidence...
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: A New Park [Pdf]
"A New Park" is a one page, non-fiction, reading passage about how a school in need of a playground got a city park instead. It is followed by constructed-response questions which require students to provide evidence from the story; it...
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: A Good Student [Pdf]
"A Good Student" is a one page, fictional reading passage about a freshmen going to a large high school on the first day of school. It is followed by constructed-response questions which require students to provide evidence from the...
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Chicago's First Leader [Pdf]
"Chicago's First Leader" is a one page, biographical passage about Jean Baptiste Point DuSable, the first non-native American to settle in Chicago. He started a trading post around which the city grew. It is followed by an open-ended...
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: City Mouse a Fable [Pdf]
"City Mouse: A Fable" is a one- page fable about a city mouse and a country mouse. The city mouse visits the country mouse where food is limited. The country mouse visits the city where the food is great, but there is constant danger. It...
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: My Summer [Pdf]
"My Summer" is a one page, fictional, reading passage about a child who visited his grandmother in Phoenix for the summer. He was surprised at how hot it was there. It is followed by constructed-response questions which require students...
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Native Americans Potawatomi [Pdf]
"Native Americans--Potawatomi" is a one page, nonfiction, reading passage about what the prairie looked like during each of the seasons when the Potawatomi lived there. It is followed by questions which require students to provide...
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Chicago Changes [Pdf]
"Chicago Changes" is a one page, nonfiction, reading passage about how Chicago changed from a small town to a large city. It is followed by questions which require students to provide evidence from the story; it includes: determining...
National Endowment for the Humanities
Neh: Edsit Ement: Personal or Social Tragedy? Edith Wharton's Ethan Frome
This lesson will challenge students to weigh the textual evidence for and against the claim that Ethan's woes lay in staying in Starkfield-and not in the details of his personal relationships. In the process, students will close read...
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Seasons on the Prairie [Pdf]
"Seasons on the Prairie" is a one page, nonfiction, reading passage about what grew in the prairie each season. It is followed by questions which require students to provide evidence from the story; it includes: choosing five important...
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Our Streets [Pdf]
"Our Streets" is a one page, nonfiction passage about how streets are designed, built, signed, and maintained. It is followed by an open-ended question which requires students to provide evidence from the story; it includes underlining...
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Prairie Ecology [Pdf]
"Prairie Ecology" is a one page, nonfiction passage about the tallgrass prairie ecosystem and how it works using three animals: the skipper butterfly, ground squirrel, and the bison It is followed by an open-ended question which requires...
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: What Is a Fable? [Pdf]
"What is a Fable?" is a one page, nonfiction passage about what a fable is including animals that talk and a lesson learned. It is followed by an open-ended question which requires students to provide evidence from the story; it includes...