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Syracuse City School District
Summary of Fiction and Non-Fiction Text
Somebody Wanted But So Then (SWBST)? Yes! Here's a great strategy for teaching young readers how to summarize narrative text. In addition, the packet includes exercises that show kids how to summarize nonfiction text using the classic...
Santa Ana Unified School District
The Power of Point of View
Sometimes a whole story can change based on the perspective of the person telling it. Practice identifying and analyzing point of view in various reading passages and writing assignments with a language arts packet, complete with Common...
Louisiana Department of Education
Hatchet
Accompany a novel study of Hatchet by Gary Paulson with a unit consisting of 16 lessons focused on physical and emotional survival. Reading the story along with a variety of informational texts, scholars compare and contrast reading...
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...
Read Works
Read Works: Passages: Grade 2: When Television Became Colorful
[Free Registration/Login Required] Students read a non-fiction article about colored television and answer questions in comprehension, sequencing, inferences, main idea, transitions, and more.
Read Works
Read Works: Passages: Grade 2: A Brush With History
[Free Registration/Login Required] Students read a non-fiction article about the history of a toothbrush and answer questions in comprehension, sequencing, inferences, main idea, transitions, and more. A link to paired text questions is...
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: After the Chicago Fire [Pdf]
"After the Chicago Fire" is a one page, non-fiction, reading passage about how Chicago was rebuilt after the great fire. 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: Animal Studies [Pdf]
"Animal Studies" is a one page, non-fiction, reading passage about studying the behaviors of animals including the sawfly and the poppy-bee. They learn about animals by observing them. It is followed by constructed-response questions...
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: A Garden in Lawndale [Pdf]
"A Garden in Lawndale" is a one page, non-fiction, reading passage about an eighth grade class who planted a garden in a vacant lot by their school and maintained it to improve their neighborhood. It is followed by constructed-response...
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Frederick Douglass [Pdf]
"Frederick Douglass on Women's Suffrage," a one page, non-fiction, reading passage, is an excerpt from a persuasive speech delivered by Frederick Douglass to the International Council of Women in Washington, D.C., April 1888 in support...
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: American Explorers [Pdf]
"American Explorers" is a one page, non-fiction, reading passage about the Lewis and Clark Expedition. They traveled from St. Louis to the Pacific Ocean with the help of Native Americans and made maps along the way. It is followed by...
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Block Clubs [Pdf]
"Block Clubs" is a one page, non-fiction, reading passage about block clubs, which are groups of neighbors who work together to make rules and solve problems in their neighborhoods. 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: Breaking the Food Chain [Pdf]
"Breaking the Food Chain" is a one page, non-fiction, reading passage about the food chain which links plants and animals. If the food chain is disrupted, it can cause plants and animals to disappear. It is followed by...
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: American Explorers [Pdf]
"American Explorers" is a one page, non-fiction, reading passage about the Lewis and Clark Expedition from St. Louis to the Pacific Ocean. Along the way they drew maps for future travels. It is followed by constructed-response questions...
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: Before Chicago [Pdf]
"Before Chicago" is a one page, non-fiction, reading passage about Native Americans who lived in what is now Chicago. It describes what life was like for them and tells how Chicago got its name. It is followed by constructed-response...
CommonLit
Common Lit: Book Pairings: "Brown Girl Dreaming" by Jacqueline Woodson
Jacqueline Woodson describes her experiences growing up as an African American girl in South Carolina and New York in the 1960s. Selected (6) reading passages (grades 3-6) to pair with "Brown Girl Dreaming" by Jacqueline Woodson. [Free...
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Gettysburg Address [Pdf]
"The Gettysburg Address" by Abraham Lincoln is one page, non-fiction speech given at the dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, on November 18, 1963. It is followed by an assignment asking students to...