Unit Plan
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University

De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Why Is Community Service Important? [Pdf]

For Teachers 8th
"Why is Community Service Important?" is a one page, nonfiction, reading passage is part of a report that the Obama-Biden campaign prepared about service and volunteering. It is followed by questions which require students to provide...
Unit Plan
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University

De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Letter to the Mayor [Pdf]

For Teachers 2nd - 4th Standards
"Letter to the Mayor" is a one page, nonfiction letter written to the mayor by 2000 school children in Chicago. In the letters, the children addressed issues such as trash, gangs, computers, playgrounds, and safer streets. After reading...
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Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University

De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: More Trees [Pdf]

For Students 4th - 5th Standards
"More Trees" is a one page, fictional, reading passage about a student and his mother getting trees from the city and planting them in their neighborhood. It is followed by constructed-response questions which require students to provide...
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Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University

De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Potawatomi Prairie [Pdf]

For Students 5th Standards
"Potawatomi Prairie" is a one page, fictional, reading passage about the Potawatomi tribe and what their life may have been like during the different seasons of the year. It is followed by questions which require students to provide...
Unit Plan
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University

De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: City Government [Pdf]

For Teachers 2nd - 5th Standards
"City Government" is a one-page, nonfiction, reading passage about Chicago's city government system. It explains that Chicago is divided into 50 wards, and each ward elects an Alderman to represent them. It is followed by...
Unit Plan
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University

De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Pioneer Families [Pdf]

For Teachers 1st - 3rd Standards
"Pioneer Families" is a one page, nonfiction, reading passage about pioneers who traveled west in wagon trains, the hardships they faced, and how they worked together to build communities. It is followed by questions which require...
Unit Plan
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University

De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: The Captain's Job [Pdf]

For Teachers 1st - 3rd Standards
"The Captain's Job" is a one page, nonfiction, reading passage about a captain safely landing his plane in the Hudson River after birds had flown into the engines causing them to stop. It is followed by questions which require students...
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Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University

De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Training for the Presidency [Pdf]

For Students 4th - 5th Standards
"Training for the Presidency" is a one-page, fictional, reading passage about Abraham Lincoln as a child. He does chores for a farmer because the book he had borrowed from him had gotten wet when rain came through the cabin walls. It is...
Unit Plan
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University

De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: My First Baseball Game [Pdf]

For Teachers 7th
"My First Baseball Game" is a one page, fictional, reading passage about a boy going to his first baseball game and learning what it means to be a Chicago Cubs fan. It is followed by open-ended questions which require students to provide...
Unit Plan
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University

Depaul University: Center for Urban Education: The Working Tools of Insects[pdf]

For Teachers 4th
"The Working Tools of Insects" is a one page, nonfiction, reading passage about insects that have special tools like the sawfly and the poppy-bee. It is followed by questions which require students to provide evidence from the story; it...
Unit Plan
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University

De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Animal Studies [Pdf]

For Teachers 5th
"Animal Studies" is a one page, non-fiction, reading passage about scientists learning about animal behaviors by observing them. They discuss the sawfly and poppy-bees specifically. It is followed by constructed-response questions which...
Unit Plan
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University

De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Chicago Fire [Pdf]

For Teachers 2nd - 3rd
"Chicago Fire" is a one page, nonfiction passage about the great Chicago Fire of 1871, which burned the city constructed of wood, and its rebuilding using brick. It is followed by constructed-response questions which require students to...
Unit Plan
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University

De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Gwendolyn Brooks, Poet [Pdf]

For Teachers 2nd - 4th Standards
"Gwendolyn Brooks, Poet" is a one page, biographical passage about Gwendolyn Brooks, an African-American poet from Chicago. It is followed by an open-ended question which requires students to provide evidence from the story; it includes...
Unit Plan
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University

De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Early Chicago Environment & People [Pdf]

For Teachers 4th
"Early Chicago Environment & People" is a one page, nonfiction passage about the Native Americans who lived in what is now Chicago. It explains how they lived and how Chicago got its name. It is followed by constructed-response...
Unit Plan
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University

De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. [Pdf]

For Teachers 4th - 6th
"Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr." is a one page, biographical passage about Martin Luther King, Jr. It is followed by an open-ended question which requires students to provide evidence from the story; it includes determining the author's...
Unit Plan
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University

De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Community Progress? [Pdf]

For Teachers 4th - 6th
"Community Progress?" is a one page, nonfiction passage about three community projects in Chicago; each group saw a problem, decided on a solution, and implemented it. It is followed by constructed-response questions which require...
Unit Plan
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University

De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Gwendolyn Brooks, Poet [Pdf]

For Teachers 4th - 7th
"An African American Poet" is a one page, biographical passage about Gwendolyn Brooks, a famous African American poet. It is followed by an open-ended question which requires students to provide evidence from the story; it includes...
Unit Plan
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University

De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Early Chicago Environment and People [Pdf]

For Teachers 6th
"Early Chicago Environment and People" is a one page, nonfiction passage about the early Native Americans who settled in what is now Chicago. It is followed by questions which require students to provide evidence from the story; it...
Unit Plan
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University

De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Chicago Legacy: Du Sable [Pdf]

For Teachers 9th - 10th
"Chicago Legacy: DuSable" 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 questions which...
Unit Plan
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University

De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Deval Patrick's Acceptance Speech [Pdf]

For Teachers 9th - 10th
"Deval Patrick's Acceptance Speech" is an excerpt from Deval Patrick's acceptance speech when he won the governorship of Massachusetts on November 7, 2006. It is followed by questions which require students to provide evidence from the...
Unit Plan
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University

De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Chicago Legacy: Burnham's Plan [Pdf]

For Teachers 2nd - 4th
"Chicago Legacy: Burnham's Plan" is a one page, nonfiction passage about Daniel Burnham, an architect and city planner for Chicago. He planned the layout of the city including Navy Pier, railroads, streets, and public buildings. It is...
Unit Plan
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University

De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: The Boy Who Cried "Wolf!" [Pdf]

For Teachers 2nd - 3rd Standards
"The Boy Who Cried 'Wolf!'" is a one page, folktale about a boy who got bored while watching his sheep. He cried, "Wolf" and when the village people came to help him, he laughed. He repeated this a few days later, but then when he really...
Unit Plan
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University

De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Soldier's Letter [Pdf]

For Teachers 5th
"Soldier's Letter" is a one page, fictional, letter from a young soldier at Valley Forge during the Revolutionary explaining how hard conditions are there. It is followed by questions which require students to provide evidence from the...
Unit Plan
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University

De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: The Elves and the Shoemaker [Pdf]

For Teachers 5th
"The Elves and the Shoemaker" is a one page, fairy tale about elves who worked all night making shoes to help the poor shoemaker. The shoemaker and his wife made clothes for the elves to thank them. It is followed by constructed-response...

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