CommonLit
Common Lit: "If" by Rudyard Kipling
A learning module that begins with "If" by Rudyard Kipling, accompanied by guided reading questions, assessment questions, and discussion questions. The text can be printed as a PDF or assigned online through free teacher and student...
CommonLit
Common Lit: Sonnet
A learning module that begins with "Sonnet" by James Weldon Johnson, accompanied by guided reading questions, assessment questions, and discussion questions. The text can be printed as a PDF or assigned online through free teacher and...
CommonLit
Common Lit: Court Rejects New York City's Portion Cap for Sugary Drinks
In 2014, Michael Bloomberg, the former mayor of New York, designed a proposal known as "the soda ban" that would put limits on the size of sugary drinks that people could buy. The proposal was favored among health advocates, including...
CommonLit
Common Lit: Making a Fist
A learning module that begins with "Making a Fist" by Naomi Shihab Nye, accompanied by guided reading questions, assessment questions, and discussion questions. The text can be printed as a PDF or assigned online through free teacher and...
CommonLit
Common Lit: Answer to a Child's Question by Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834) was an English poet, literary critic, and a founder of the Romantic Movement in England, as well as a major influence on American transcendentalism. The following poem is, as the title suggests, the...
CommonLit
Common Lit: The Echoing Green
A learning module that begins with the poem "The Echoing Green" by William Blake, accompanied by guided reading questions, assessment questions, and discussion questions. The text can be printed as a PDF or assigned online through free...
CommonLit
Common Lit: Halsted Street Car
A learning module that begins with the poem "Halsted Street Car" by Carl Sandburg accompanied by guided reading questions, assessment questions, and discussion questions. The text can be printed as a PDF or assigned online through free...
CommonLit
Common Lit: Sonnet 43
A learning module that begins with "Sonnet 43" by Elizabeth Barrett Browning, accompanied by guided reading questions, assessment questions, and discussion questions. The text can be printed as a PDF or assigned online through free...
CommonLit
Common Lit: The Gift of the Magi
A learning module that begins with the short story "The Gift of the Magi" by O. Henry, accompanied by guided reading questions, assessment questions, and discussion questions. The text can be printed as a PDF or assigned online through...
CommonLit
Common Lit: Army Eyes 3 D Printed Food for Soldiers by Aarti Shahani
Today, when most people think of a printer, they think of a laser jet printer that prints ink on paper. But thanks to new technology, engineers have developed 3D printers that can print objects-and even food. As you read, take notes...
CommonLit
Common Lit: I Am the People, the Mob
A learning module that begins with "I Am the People, the Mob" by Carl Sandburg, accompanied by guided reading questions, assessment questions, and discussion questions. The text can be printed as a PDF or assigned online through free...
CommonLit
Common Lit: The Last Leaf
A learning module that begins with the short story "The Last Leaf" by O. Henry, accompanied by guided reading questions, assessment questions, and discussion questions. The text can be printed as a PDF or assigned online through free...
CommonLit
Common Lit: Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: Excerpts Ch 1 & 7
A learning module that begins with "The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: Excerpts" Frederick Douglass, accompanied by guided reading questions, assessment questions, and discussion questions. The text can be printed as a PDF...
CommonLit
Common Lit: Alter Egos
Can a person have two selves? Beyonce is also known as Sasha Fierce; Clark Kent, the newspaper reporter, transforms into Superman. The idea that a person can have "another self" is a relatively new concept. As you read about the concept...
CommonLit
Common Lit: The Land of Story Books
A learning module that begins with the poem "The Land of Story-books" by Robert Louis Stevenson, accompanied by guided reading questions, assessment questions, and discussion questions. The text can be printed as a PDF or assigned online...
CommonLit
Common Lit: The Children's Hour
A learning module that begins with the poem "The Children's Hour" by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, accompanied by guided reading questions, assessment questions, and discussion questions. The text can be printed as a PDF or assigned online...
CommonLit
Common Lit: "After Twenty Years" by O. Henry
William Sydney Porter (1862-1910) was an American writer better known by his pen name, O. Henry. "After Twenty Years," published in 1908, is one of his better known short stories that shows how complicated friendship can be. As you read,...
CommonLit
Common Lit: Barack Obama's Nobel Lecture
Barack Obama served as the 44th President of the United States from 2009 to 2017. In 2009, Obama was also awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his work strengthening international relations. In his acceptance speech, Obama discusses the...
CommonLit
Common Lit: Amelia Earhart by Barrett Smith
Amelia Earhart (1897-disappeared 1937) was an American pilot and author. Earhart set many flying records and was the first woman to complete a trip across the Atlantic Ocean by herself. In this informational text, Barrett Smith discusses...
CommonLit
Common Lit: George W. Harkins to the American People
A learning module that begins with "George W. Harkins to the American People" by George W. Harkin, accompanied by guided reading questions, assessment questions, and discussion questions. The text can be printed as a PDF or assigned...
CommonLit
Common Lit: Can You Still Have Hope When Life Seems Hopeless?
The Myanmar (also known as Berma) military has been accused of human rights violations with their increasingly violent persecution of Rohingya Muslims, an ethnic and religious minority in the nation. The violence in Myanmar has displaced...
CommonLit
Common Lit: The Two Brothers
A learning module that begins with "The Two Brothers" by Leo Tolstoy, accompanied by guided reading questions, assessment questions, and discussion questions. The text can be printed as a PDF or assigned online through free teacher and...
CommonLit
Common Lit: The Challenge
A learning module that begins with the "The Challenge" by Gary Soto, accompanied by guided reading questions, assessment questions, and discussion questions. The text can be printed as a PDF or assigned online through free teacher and...
CommonLit
Common Lit: A Thief Dines Out, Hoping Later to Eat in by Rick Bragg
For most people, the threat of jail is enough to convince them to abide by society's laws. But for Gangaram Mahes, the promise of jail time is what prompts his criminal activity. In this New York Times article, Rick Bragg discusses why...