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

De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: How the Firefly Got Its Light [Pdf]

For Teachers 1st - 4th
"How the Firefly Got Its Light" is a one page, myth about the fly who wanted to be special; he made a deal with the moon to be his friend and, in return, the moon shared the secret of shining. 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: I Like Plants [Pdf]

For Teachers 2nd - 5th
"I Like Plants" is a one page, realistic fiction, reading passage about a person who loves plants and became a botanist; now she teaches her college students about plants and ecology. It is followed by constructed-response questions...
Unit Plan
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University

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

For Teachers 2nd - 3rd
"My New Brother" is a one page, fictional, reading passage about child whose mother has just had new baby boy. It is followed by constructed-response questions which require 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: My New President [Pdf]

For Teachers 4th
"My New President" is a one page, fictional, reading passage about an African-American teen who learned about the government by working in Barack Obama's campaign office on Saturdays. It is followed by constructed-response questions...
Unit Plan
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University

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

For Teachers 8th
"My New President" is a one page, fictional, reading passage about an African-American teen who learned about the government by working in Barack Obama's campaign office on Saturdays. It is followed by constructed-response questions...
Unit Plan
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University

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

For Teachers 7th
"My Painting" is a one page, fictional, reading passage about a Russian immigrant student who is making a painting to show how she feels about her new homeland and the people here. 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: 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: Pigeon Express [Pdf]

For Teachers 4th
"Pigeon Express" is a one page, fictional, reading passage about a man who had carrier pigeons and sent messages to his sister on the other side of town everyday. 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: See Our Progress [Pdf]

For Teachers 8th
"See Our Progress" is a one page, fictional, reading passage about students who turned a vacant lot into a prairie garden and then were interviewed and shown on the television news. It is followed by questions which require students to...
Unit Plan
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University

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

For Teachers 2nd - 3rd
"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...
Unit Plan
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University

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

For Teachers 2nd - 3rd
"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...
Unit Plan
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University

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

For Teachers 1st - 3rd
"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...
Unit Plan
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University

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

For Teachers 2nd - 3rd
"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...
Unit Plan
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University

De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Chicago's First Leader [Pdf]

For Teachers 2nd - 4th Standards
"Chicago's First Leader" 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 an open-ended...
Unit Plan
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University

De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Grant Park [Pdf]

For Teachers 2nd - 4th
"Grant Park" is a one page, nonfiction passage about Chicago creating a landfill by putting the trash from the Chicago fire in 1971 into the lake, on which they built Grant Park. It is followed by an open-ended question which requires...
Unit Plan
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University

De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: A Garden in Lawndale [Pdf]

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

De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Economic Connections [Pdf]

For Teachers 4th - 6th Standards
"Economic Connections" is a one-page nonfiction passage about the economics of importing and exporting goods among countries to get what people need. It is followed by an open-ended question that requires students to provide evidence...
Unit Plan
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University

De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Harold Washington's Speech [Pdf]

For Teachers 9th - 10th
"Harold Washington's Acceptance Speech" is a one page, excerpt from a speech given by Harold Washington after being elected as mayor of Chicago on April 12, 1983. 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: What Is Your Own Big Plan? [Pdf]

For Teachers 8th
"What is Your Own Big Plan?" contains excerpts from a speech by President Barack Obama, Arlington, Virginia, September 8, 2009, concerning the need for a good education regardless of vocational plans. It is followed by a writing...
Unit Plan
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University

De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Changing the Ecosystem: Q & a [Pdf]

For Teachers 4th
"Changing the Ecosystem: Q & A" is a one page, nonfiction, reading passage about how the loss of the prairie to farming and population growth impacts the ecosystem. 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: Prairie Ecology Questions and Activities [Pdf]

For Teachers 2nd - 4th
"Prairie Ecology Questions and Activities" is a one page, nonfiction, reading passage about prairie ecology the interdependence of its plants and animals. 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: Prairie Keepers With Questions/activities[pdf]

For Teachers 5th
"Prairie Keepers with Questions/Activities" is a one page, nonfiction, reading passage about the efforts to restore the praire. It is followed by questions which require students to provide evidence from the story; it includes:...
Professional Doc
Wisconsin Response to Intervention Center

Wisconsin Rt I Center: Draft Multiple Reading [Pdf]

For Teachers K - 1st Standards
Teachers will learn about the importance of using multiple readings. Teachers will learn how to implement multiple readings; measure progress with multiple readings; and find research to support multiple readings.
Professional Doc
Wisconsin Response to Intervention Center

Wisconsin Rt I Center: Qt a [Pdf]

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Teachers will learn about the close reading strategy, QtA, Questioning the Author. Teachers will learn how to implement QtA; measure progress with QtA; and find research to support the use of QtA. A QtA graphic organizer is provided.