Activity
Read Works

Read Works: A Tornado Is Coming

For Teachers K - 1st
[Free Registration/Login Required] This realistic fiction passage tells the story of a family taking cover after learning that a tornado is nearby. This passage shares basic facts about tornadoes. This passage is a stand-alone curricular...
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...
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: Changing Our Street [Pdf]

For Teachers 2nd - 3rd
"Changing Our Street" is a one page, realistic fiction, reading passage about how the problem of people driving too fast in a neighborhood was solved. It is followed by constructed-response 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: Flying [Pdf]

For Teachers 2nd - 5th
"Flying" is a one page, realistic fiction, reading passage about someone set a goal to be a pilot and worked hard to accomplish that goal. It is followed by constructed-response questions which require students to provide evidence from...
Activity
Read Works

Read Works: A Loud Concert

For Teachers K - 1st Standards
[Free Registration/Login Required] Sound waves are discussed in this realistic fiction article. This passage is a stand-alone curricular piece that reinforces essential reading skills and strategies and establishes scaffolding for...
Activity
Read Works

Read Works: Finding the Office

For Teachers Pre-K - 1st Standards
[Free Registration/Login Required] This realistic fiction dialogue shares what happens when a note is given to a student. This passage is a stand-alone curricular piece that reinforces essential reading skills and strategies and...
Activity
Read Works

Read Works: First Grade Chooses a Snack

For Teachers K - 1st Standards
[Free Registration/Login Required] This realistic fiction piece simulates a class voting on their favorite healthy snack. This passage is a stand-alone curricular piece that reinforces essential reading skills and strategies and...
Activity
Read Works

Read Works: Fixing My Sister's Bike

For Teachers 2nd - 4th
[Free Registration/Login Required] This realistic passage is about a girl who uses problem solving strategies to fix her sister's bike. This passage is a stand-alone curricular piece that reinforces essential reading skills and...
Unit Plan
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University

De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Community Meeting [Pdf]

For Teachers 2nd - 4th
"Community Meeting" is a one page, fictional reading passage about the needs of a community and how they need to work together to meet those needs. It is followed by constructed-response questions which require students to provide...
Activity
Read Works

Read Works: Finding Salinger

For Teachers 6th - 8th Standards
[Free Registration/Login Required] This passage shares the story of a lost cat. This passage is a stand-alone curricular piece that reinforces essential reading skills and strategies and establishes scaffolding for vocabulary learning....
Activity
Read Works

Read Works: Finders Keepers?

For Teachers 5th - 7th
[Free Registration/Login Required] This passage is the story of a lost wallet and the returning of it to the owner who lost it. This passage is a stand-alone curricular piece that reinforces essential reading skills and strategies and...
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: I Like Plants [Pdf]

For Teachers 7th
"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...