Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Why Is Community Service Important? [Pdf]
"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...
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Letter to the Mayor [Pdf]
"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...
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: More Trees [Pdf]
"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...
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Potawatomi Prairie [Pdf]
"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...
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: City Government [Pdf]
"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...
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Pioneer Families [Pdf]
"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...
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: The Captain's Job [Pdf]
"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...
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Training for the Presidency [Pdf]
"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...
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 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...
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
Depaul University: Center for Urban Education: The Working Tools of Insects[pdf]
"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...
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Animal Studies [Pdf]
"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...
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Chicago Fire [Pdf]
"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...
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Gwendolyn Brooks, Poet [Pdf]
"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...
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Early Chicago Environment & People [Pdf]
"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...
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. [Pdf]
"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...
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Community Progress? [Pdf]
"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...
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Gwendolyn Brooks, Poet [Pdf]
"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...
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Early Chicago Environment and People [Pdf]
"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...
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Chicago Legacy: Du Sable [Pdf]
"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...
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Deval Patrick's Acceptance Speech [Pdf]
"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...
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Chicago Legacy: Burnham's Plan [Pdf]
"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...
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: The Boy Who Cried "Wolf!" [Pdf]
"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...
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Soldier's Letter [Pdf]
"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...
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: The Elves and the Shoemaker [Pdf]
"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...