![De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Traveling West [Pdf] Unit Plan](https://d15y2dacu3jp90.cloudfront.net/images/attachment_defaults/resource/large/FPO-knovation.png "De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Traveling West [Pdf] Unit Plan")
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Traveling West [Pdf]
"Traveling West" is a one page, nonfiction, reading passage about the difficult journey west for pioneers traveling in wagon trains and how the railroad made traveling west much easier and faster. It is followed by questions which...
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Learn About Kenya [Pdf]
"Learn about Kenya" is a one page, nonfiction, reading passage about the African country of Kenya including its history and economy. It is followed by questions which require 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: Learning About the Solar System [Pdf]
"Learning about the Solar System" is a one page, nonfiction, reading passage about the Milky Way gallaxy and how scientists learn about it over time. It is followed by questions which require students to provide evidence from the story;...
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Settlement [Pdf]
"Settlement" is a one page, nonfiction, reading passage about natural gas, its uses, and how it gets to homes. It is followed by questions which require students to provide evidence from the story; it includes: determining main idea and...
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Today's Telephone [Pdf]
"Today's Telephone" is a one page, nonfiction, reading passage about the history of the telephone from the telegraph to land-lines, to cell phones. 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: Honest Abe [Pdf]
"Honest Abe" is a one page, nonfiction, reading passage about Abraham Lincoln's honesty; it tells stories of him walking miles to correct an accidental mistake. It is followed by questions which require students to provide evidence from...
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Bold Plans, Big Dreams, City Progress [Pdf]
"Bold Plans, Big Dreams, City Progress" is a one page, nonfiction, reading passage celebrating the 100th anniversary of Daniel Burnham's plan for Chicago. 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: Changing the Ecosystem [Pdf]
"Changing the Ecosystem" is a one page, nonfiction, reading passage about the disruption in the food chain due to habitat loss and pollution and the results of that disruption. It is followed by questions which require students to...
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Maintaining Cultural Continuity [Pdf]
"Maintaining Cultural Continuity" is a one page, nonfiction, reading passage about Fidelis Umeh, a Nigerian businessman in Chicago, who founded Nigerians in Chicago, a support group to help Nigerians fit into American society and still...
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Settlement [Pdf]
"Settlement" is a one page, nonfiction, reading passage about the hardships of early settlers on the prairie. It is followed by questions which require students to provide evidence from the story; it includes: determining main idea and...
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Transportation Changes [Pdf]
"Transportation Changes" is a one page, nonfiction, reading passage about the history of transportation by land and by sea. It is followed by questions which require students to provide evidence from the story; it includes: determining...
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: What Values Have Shaped Chicago? [Pdf]
"What Values Have Shaped Chicago?" is a one page, nonfiction, reading passage about the Plan of Chicago as outlined in the "Wacker Manual." 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: 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: 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: 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
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: 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...
Other
Eastport Elementary School: Mrs. Donahue's Site: Identifying the Main Idea
Information, examples, and practice passages to use while learning how to identify the main idea of an informational text.
CommonLit
Common Lit: Book Pairings: "When I Was a Puerto Rican" by Esmeralda Santiago
Selected (7) reading passages (grades 6-8) to pair with the nonfiction book "When I Was a Puerto Rican" by Esmeralda Santiago. Esmeralda Santiago, also known as Negi, describes her childhood growing up in Puerto Rico and her eventual...
CommonLit
Common Lit: Book Pairings: "A Long Walk to Water" by Linda Sue Park
Based on a true account, this book tells the story of Salva Dut, an 11-year-old boy separated from his family by the civil war in Sudan, and Nya, a girl from a small village who walks miles each day to fetch water for her family....
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Native Americans Potawatomi [Pdf]
"Native Americans--Potawatomi" is a one page, nonfiction, reading passage about what the prairie looked like during each of the seasons when the Potawatomi lived there. It is followed by questions which require students to provide...
CommonLit
Common Lit: Book Pairings: "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson
This book tells the story of Bryan Stevenson, a young lawyer who establishes a legal practice, and takes on the case of Walter McMillian who was wrongly convicted for murder. Selected (8) reading passages (grades 8-12) to pair with "Just...
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Chicago High Schools [Pdf]
"Chicago High Schools" is a one page, nonfiction, reading passage about high schools in Chicago including specialty high schools and the basic requirements for all high schools. It is followed by constructed-response questions which...