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

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

For Teachers 1st - 3rd
"A Better Community" is a one page, fictional reading passage that focuses on recycling. It is followed by constructed-response questions which require students to provide evidence from the story; it includes skills such as sequencing,...
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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...
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Unit Plan
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University

De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Changing Transportation Routes [Pdf]

For Teachers 4th
"Changing Transportation Routes" is a one page, fictional, reading passage about how the problem of public transportation could be solved through the process of surveying the community, developing a workable solution, and presenting it...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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Unit Plan
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University

De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Letter to Grandmother [Pdf]

For Teachers 2nd - 3rd
"Letter to Grandmother" is a one page, fictional, reading passage about a family of early settlers who moved west. A girl writes a letter to her grandmother telling her about their new life on the plains. It is followed by...
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Unit Plan
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University

De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Letter to Grandmother [Pdf]

For Teachers 6th
"Letter to Grandmother" is a one page, fictional, reading passage about a family of early settlers who moved west. A boy writes a letter to his grandmother telling her about their new life on the plains. It is followed by...
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Unit Plan
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University

De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Lexington [Pdf]

For Teachers 8th
"Lexington" is a one page, historical fiction, reading passage about soldiers fighting in the Revolutionary War. A soldier describes the feeling of being an American. It is followed by constructed-response questions which require...
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Unit Plan
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University

De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Lincoln's Choice [Pdf]

For Teachers 4th
"Lincoln's Choice" is a one page, fictional, reading passage about young Abraham Lincoln saving a friend from drowning. It is followed by constructed-response questions which require students to provide evidence from the story; it...
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Unit Plan
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University

De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Making a Difference [Pdf]

For Teachers 7th Standards
"Making a Difference" is a one page, fictional, reading passage about students helping to get their families and others to register to vote. It is followed by constructed-response questions which require students to provide evidence from...
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Unit Plan
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University

De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Making Progress [Pdf]

For Teachers 2nd - 3rd
"Making Progress" is a one page, fictional, reading passage about students clearing the trash from a vacant lot near the school and planting a garden to beautify the neighborhood and show they care. It is followed by constructed-response...
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Unit Plan
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University

De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Mama's Happy Christmas [Pdf]

For Teachers 2nd - 3rd
"Mama's Happy Christmas" is a one page, fictional, reading passage about children creating a play for their sick mother on Christmas day. It is followed by constructed-response questions which require students to provide evidence from...
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Unit Plan
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University

De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: More Trees [Pdf]

For Teachers 2nd - 3rd
"More Trees" is a one page, fictional, reading passage about a student and his mother getting trees from the city and planting them in their neighborhood. It is followed by constructed-response questions which require students to provide...
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Unit Plan
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University

De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Mousie [Pdf]

For Teachers 5th
"Mousie" is a one page, fictional, reading passage about a boy who caught, tamed, and learned about mice using a scientific method. It is followed by constructed-response questions which require students to provide evidence from the...
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Unit Plan
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University

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

For Teachers 2nd - 3rd
"My Community" is a one page, fictional, reading passage about a child talking about how his community has changed since his grandmother moved into that neighborhood 50 years earlier. It is followed by constructed-response questions...
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Unit Plan
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University

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

For Teachers 4th
"My Community" is a one page, fictional, reading passage about a child talking about how his community has changed since his grandmother moved into that neighborhood 50 years earlier. It is followed by constructed-response questions...
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Unit Plan
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University

De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: My Cousin's Lesson [Pdf]

For Teachers 4th
"My Cousin's Lesson" is a one page, fictional, reading passage about a teenager who stole something from a store and was arrested. It is followed by constructed-response questions which require students to provide evidence from the...
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Unit Plan
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University

De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: My Father's Miracle [Pdf]

For Teachers 4th
"My Father's Miracle" is a one page, fictional, reading passage about a child who learned that his father was one of the people responsible for reversing the direction of the Chicago River, making it flow to the Mississippi instead of...
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Unit Plan
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University

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

For Teachers 2nd - 3rd
"My Job" is a one page, fictional, reading passage about the job as department of streets and sanitation worker including the work involved. It is followed by constructed-response questions which require students to provide evidence from...
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Unit Plan
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University

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

For Teachers 8th
"My Job" is a one page, fictional, reading passage about the job as a physical therapist including what is involved in the work. It is followed by constructed-response questions which require students to provide evidence from the story;...