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

De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Gwendolyn Brooks, Poet [Pdf]

For Teachers 4th - 7th
"An African American Poet" is a one page, biographical passage about Gwendolyn Brooks, a famous African American poet. It is followed by an open-ended question which requires students to provide evidence from the story; it includes...
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Unit Plan
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University

De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: The Recycle Center [Pdf]

For Teachers 5th - 6th
"The Recycle Center" is a one page, nonfiction passage about students who, with the help of a nearby church, started a monthly recycling center for the community. It is followed by questions which require students to provide evidence...
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Unit Plan
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University

De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Plants and Food [Pdf]

For Teachers 6th
"Plants and Food" is a one page, nonfiction passage about plant foods and the importance of knowing what plants are safe to eat and how to prevent food from spoiling. It is followed by questions which require students to provide evidence...
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Unit Plan
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University

De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Labor Day Address:barack Obama Speech [Pdf]

For Teachers 6th - 8th
"Labor Day Address: Barack Obama Speech" is a one page, campaign speech by Barack Obama given on August 24, 2008, in Billings, Montana. It is followed by questions which require students to provide evidence from the story; it includes...
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Unit Plan
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University

De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Prairie Keepers [Pdf]

For Teachers 7th
"Prairie Keepers" is a one page, nonfiction passage about the history of prairies and the Department of Agriculture's efforts to restore the prairie. It is followed by questions which require students to provide evidence from the story;...
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Unit Plan
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University

De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Learn About Physical Therapists [Pdf]

For Teachers 8th
"Learn about Physical Therapists" is a one page, nonfiction passage about what it takes to be a physical therapist. It is followed by questions which require students to provide evidence from the story; it includes underlining the most...
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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 the Mayor [Pdf]

For Teachers 2nd - 4th Standards
"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...
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Unknown Type
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University

De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Prairie Keepers [Pdf]

For Students 4th - 5th Standards
"Prairie Keepers" is a one-page, nonfiction passage about how the prairie was saved from total destruction and the efforts of the Department of Agriculture to rebuild the prairie. It is followed by questions which require students to...
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Activity
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University

De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Inaugural Address by John F. Kennedy [Pdf]

For Teachers 7th - 8th Standards
This is a one-page nonfiction excerpt from JFK's Inaugural Address on January 20, 1961. It is followed by an open-ended question which requires students to provide evidence from the story; it includes underlining the most important...
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Unit Plan
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University

De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: George Washington Carver [Pdf]

For Teachers 2nd - 4th Standards
"George Washington Carver" is a one page, biographical passage about George Washington Carver, a famous African American, who taught farmers better farming methods including planting peanuts to improve the soil. It is followed by an...
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Unit Plan
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University

De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: American Explorers [Pdf]

For Teachers 2nd - 4th Standards
"American Explorers" is a one page, non-fiction, reading passage about the Lewis and Clark Expedition. They traveled from St. Louis to the Pacific Ocean with the help of Native Americans and made maps along the way. It is followed by...
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Unit Plan
E Reading Worksheets

E Reading Worksheets: Text Structure Worksheets

For Students 9th - 10th Standards
This site provides several assignments and graphic organizers related to identifying text structures. Analyzing the following types of text structures are provided: main idea and supporting details; cause and effect; chronological order;...
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Unknown Type
Polk Brothers Foundation Center for Urban Education at DePaul University

De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: The Chicago Journey [Pdf]

For Students 4th - 5th
"The Chicago Journey" is a one page, fictional passage about a clild and his mother hurrying to catch a train to hear an acceptance speech from an election (Obama). It is followed by questions which require students to provide evidence...
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Unit Plan
Read Works

Read Works: Passages: A Playground Problem

For Teachers 2nd Standards
[Free Registration/Login Required] Students read a nonfiction text about building a model for a new playground and answer questions about comprehension, supporting details, main ideas, vocabulary, and more. Links to a paired text and...
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Unit Plan
Read Works

Read Works: Passages: The Campanile

For Teachers 3rd Standards
[Free Registration/Login Required] Students read a nonfiction text about the Campanile bell tower in Berkeley, California and answer questions about comprehension, supporting details, main ideas, transitions, and more. Links to a paired...
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Unit Plan
Texas Education Agency

Texas Gateway: Summarize Informational/expository Text (English 6 Reading)

For Students 5th - 7th Standards
[Accessible by TX Educators. Free Registration/Login Required] Learn how to summarize the main ideas and supporting details in text and understand that a summary does not include opinions.
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Lesson Plan
Smithsonian Institution

Smithsonian Learning Lab: Wwii on the Home Front: Civic Responsibility

For Teachers 9th - 10th Standards
Smithsonian Education presents a lesson covering the WWII's propaganda program which enforced the ideals of Civic Responsibility. Provides eight pages of poster examples, detailed background over the time period, and the goals of the...
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Lesson Plan
Better Lesson

Better Lesson: Writing a Topic & Concluding Paragraph for the Essay

For Teachers 1st - 3rd Standards
This lesson is a final step towards supporting students to practice writing an informative/explanatory paragraph conveying complex ideas and presenting information clearly and accurately. Second-grade students can usually write a...
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Lesson Plan
ReadWriteThink

Read Write Think: Digging Up Details on Worms: Using Science in an Inquiry Study

For Teachers K - 1st Standards
A lesson plan based on a study unit of earthworms, using the inquiry model to integrate scientific processes with literacy practices. Instruction plans, related resources, and standards are included.
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Lesson Plan
Better Lesson

Better Lesson: Frog and Toad Are Friends

For Teachers Pre-K - 1st Standards
In this lesson plan for early readers, students will describe the major events in the plot, describe the characters, and ask and answer questions about the first chapter in Frog and Toad Are Friends---Spring.
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Lesson Plan
Better Lesson

Better Lesson: From Seed to Plant

For Teachers K - 1st
Young scholars will use the illustrations and details in the text to describe how plants grow. This lesson uses a complex text to allow students to analyze the pictures in From Seed to Plant and From Seed to Pumpkin. Included are videos...
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Lesson Plan
Education Development Center

Education Development Center: Tv411: Parts of a Newspaper

For Students 3rd - 8th Standards
Students click through a lesson about the parts of a newspaper and answer questions about the types of articles found in each section, headlines, and captions that would go with photographs. Links to related videos are also provided.
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Professional Doc
AdLit

Ad lit.org: Classroom Strategies: Seed Discussion

For Teachers 9th - 10th
A Seed Discussion is a two-part strategy used to teach students how to engage in discussions about assigned readings. In the first part, students read selected text and identify "seeds" or key concepts of a passage which may need...
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Lesson Plan
Better Lesson

Better Lesson: Sl.4.4: Orally Report on a Topic or Text

For Students 4th Standards
Links to 75 lessons and activities that build student skills in standard SL.4.4: Report on a topic or text, tell a story, or recount an experience in an organized manner, using appropriate facts and relevant, descriptive details to...