Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: My First Baseball Game With Q & a Key [Pdf]
"My First Baseball Game" is a one page, fictional, reading passage about a boy and his sister going to their first baseball game and learning what it means to be Chicago Cubs fans. It is followed by constructed-response questions which...
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: My First Baseball Game [Pdf]
"My First Baseball Game" is a one page, fictional, reading passage about a child going to his first baseball game and learning what it means to be a Chicago Cubs fan. It is followed by constructed-response questions which require...
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Making a Difference [Pdf]
"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...
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Prairie Keepers With Questions/activities[pdf]
"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:...
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Seasons on the Prairie/questions [Pdf]
"Seasons on the Prairie/Questions" is a one page, nonfiction, reading passage about the different seasons in the prairie. 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: Settlement Multiple Choice Questions [Pdf]
"Settlement with Multiple Choice Questions" is a one page, nonfiction, reading passage about the hardships of life of the prairie for the early settlers. 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: Grant Park [Pdf]
"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...
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Chicago Fire [Pdf]
"Chicago Fire" is a one page, nonfiction passage about the great Chicago Fire of 1871, which burned the city constructed of wood, and its rebuilding using brick. It is followed by constructed-response questions which require students to...
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Pilsen, a Community Changes [Pdf]
"Pilsen, A Community Changes" is a one page, nonfiction passage about the Chicago community of Pilsen which was settled by Bohemian immigrants but later became a Mexican-American community. The two groups of people worked together to...
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. [Pdf]
"Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr." is a one page, biographical passage about Martin Luther King, Jr. It is followed by an open-ended question which requires students to provide evidence from the story; it includes determining the author's...
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: My Summer [Pdf]
"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...
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
Depaul University: Center for Urban Education: The Ants and the Grasshopper[pdf]
"The Ants and the Grasshopper" is a one page, fable about grasshoppers who played all summer while the ants worked gathering food for winter. When winter came, the grasshoppers were hungry. It is followed by questions which require...
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: The Elves and the Shoemaker [Pdf]
"The Elves and the Shoemaker" is a one page, fairy tale about elves who worked all night making shoes to help the poor shoemaker. The shoemaker and his wife made clothes for the elves to thank them. It is followed by constructed-response...
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: The Elves and the Shoemaker [Pdf]
"The Elves and the Shoemaker" is a one page, fairy tale about elves who worked all night making shoes to help the poor shoemaker. The shoemaker and his wife made clothes for the elves to thank them. It is followed by constructed-response...
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: The Food Change [Pdf]
"The Food Change" is a one page, fictional, reading passage about a girl who went to the doctor because she was tired. The doctor told her to eat healthy foods and not candy or cookies. It is followed by constructed-response questions...
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: The Lion and the Spider [Pdf]
"The Lion and the Spider" is a one page fable about a lion who tried to get a spider to make a web for him big enough to catch his food. The spider said that was not possible, the lion tore down its web, and the spider bit him on the...
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Traveling With Lewis and Clark [Pdf]
"Traveling with Lewis and Clark" is a one page, fictional, reading passage about traveling with Lewis and Clark on their expedition and the hardships of winter and food shortages they endured. It is followed by constructed-response...
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: John F. Kennedy's Remarks, Berlin [Pdf]
"John F. Kennedy: Remarks in the Rudolph Wilde Platz, Berlin" is a one page persuasive speech delivered by JFK on June 26, 1963. In it he commended West Germany in its efforts to have a democratic government and berated the Communists...
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Gettysburg Address [Pdf]
"The Gettysburg Address" by Abraham Lincoln is one page, non-fiction speech given at the dedication of the Soldiers' National Cemetery in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, on November 18, 1963. It is followed by an assignment asking students to...
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Frederick Douglass [Pdf]
"Frederick Douglass on Women's Suffrage," a one page, non-fiction, reading passage, is an excerpt from a persuasive speech delivered by Frederick Douglass to the International Council of Women in Washington, D.C., April 1888 in support...
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Illinois Pioneers and Prairies [Pdf]
"Illinois Pioneers and Prairies" is a one page, nonfiction, reading passage about life in the prairies of Illinois for the early settlers including their hard work, setting up governments, building schools, and making laws. It is...
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Prairie Farmers [Pdf]
"Prairie Farmers" is a one page, historical fiction, journal describing life for farmers in the prairie throughout the year. It shows the difficulties including bad weather and fires. It requires students to closely read the journal and...
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Learn About South Africa [Pdf]
"Learn about South Africa" is a one page, nonfiction passage about South Africa and its fight to end the apartheid. It is followed by questions which require students to provide evidence from the story; it includes underlining the most...
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University
De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Plants and Places [Pdf]
"Plants and Places" is a one page, nonfiction passage about how plants fit the types of environment they live in such as cactus like hot, dry weather and live in Arizona. The state flowers fit the climate of the states. It is followed by...