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

De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: The Little Red Hen [Pdf]

For Teachers 2nd - 3rd
"The Little Red Hen" is a one page fable about the other animals not helping the little red hen plant wheat, harvest it, or bake the bread, so they did not get to eat it either. It is followed by constructed-response questions which...
Activity
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University

De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: A Good Student [Pdf]

For Teachers 7th
"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...
Unit Plan
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University

De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: My Summer [Pdf]

For Teachers 1st - 4th
"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...
Unit Plan
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University

De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Traveling With Lewis and Clark [Pdf]

For Teachers 4th
"Traveling with Lewis and Clark" is a one page, fictional, reading passage about traveling with Lewis and Clark on their expedition and the hardships of winter and food shortages they endured. 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: Community Progress [Pdf]

For Teachers 2nd - 5th
"Community Progress" is a one page, realistic fiction passage about how students created a mural for their school, which generated lots of attention from the press, parents, and other schools. It is followed by constructed-response...
Activity
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University

De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: His First Dollar [Pdf]

For Teachers 5th - 7th
"His First Dollar" is a one-page, historical fiction passage in which Abraham Lincoln tells his Secretary of State Seward when and how he had earned his first dollar. It is followed by constructed-response questions which require...
Activity
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University

De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Columbus and the Egg [Pdf]

For Students 6th - 8th
"Columbus and the Egg" is a one page, historical fictional passage about Christopher Columbus's return to Spain after discovering America. Some people said anyone could sail the seas. Columbus used an egg to make a point. It is followed...
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 - 7th
"Community Progress" is a one page, realistic fiction passage about how students created a mural for their school, which generated lots of attention from the press, parents, and other schools. 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: Pilsen, a Community Changes [Pdf]

For Teachers 4th
"Pilsen, A Community Changes" is a one page, nonfiction passage about the Chicago community of Pilsen which was settled by Bohemian immigrants but later became a Mexican-American community. The two groups of people worked together to...
Unit Plan
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University

De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: New Leadership [Pdf]

For Teachers 8th
"New Leadership" is Harold Washington's Acceptance Speech as Mayor of Chicago on April 12, 1983. It is followed by an assignment which requires students to provide evidence from the text; it includes comparing Washington's election as...
Professional Doc
AdLit

Ad lit.org: Classroom Strategies: Summarizing

For Teachers 9th - 10th Standards
Summarizing teaches students how to take a large selection of text and reduce it to the main points for a more concise understanding. Upon reading a passage, summarizing helps students learn to determine essential ideas and consolidate...