De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Spring Is Coming [Pdf]

"Spring is Coming" is a one page, fictional, reading passage about a family of settlers who had survived the winter, but needed food. Their Native American neighbors showed them onions growing and gave them new hope. It is followed by questions which require students to provide evidence from the story; it includes: determining the theme or lesson learned and underlining supporting text. This passage aligns with Common Core Anchor Reading Standards 1 requiring close reading, textual evidence, main idea, and summarizing.