Read Works
Read Works: Passages: Robert Kennedy on Civil Rights, 1963 [Abridged]
[Free Registration/Login Required] Students read letter from Attorney General Robert Kennedy to President John F. Kennedy concerning civil rights and answer questions about comprehension, author's viewpoint, main idea, vocabulary, and...
CommonLit
Common Lit: Book Pairings: "Eight Days: A Story of Haiti" by Edwidge Danticat
In this tale, for young readers, award-winning Edwidge Danticat tells the story of Junior, a seven-year-old boy trapped beneath his house after the Port-au-Prince earthquake and his rescue. While trapped during the earthquake, Junior...
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Common Lit: Book Pairings: "The Book Thief" by Markus Zusak
Death narrates a poignant tale of collecting lives and stories through Nazi Germany while constantly circling back to Liesel, who survives because of the love she shares and her love of language. Selected (6) reading passages (grades...
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Common Lit: Book Pairings: "A Raisin in the Sun" by Lorraine Hansberry
Selected (7) reading passages (grades 8-10) to pair with the drama "A Raisin in the Sun" by Lorraine Hansberry. When a struggling African-American family receives a large insurance check, a conflict erupts on how to spend the money....
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Common Lit: Book Pairings: "The Secret Life of Bees" by Sue Monk Kidd
Selected (9) reading passages (grades 10-12) to pair with "The Secret Life of Bees" by Sue Monk Kidd. In this novel about family connections and racial equality, Lily Owens and Rosaleen, Lily's housekeeper, run away to Tiburon, South...
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Common Lit: Book Pairings: "The Count of Monte Cristo" by Alexandre Dumas
In the mid-1800s, a French sailor is unjustly imprisoned for fourteen years. He escapes, finds a fortune, and seeks revenge on the those who put him in prison. Selected (7) reading passages (grades 8-11) to pair with "The Count of Monte...
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Common Lit: Book Pairings: "The Color Purple" by Alice Walker
Celie is an African American woman living in Georgia in the early 20th century. She suffers decades of abuse as she struggles to find love and friendship in her life. Selected (8) reading passages (grades 8-12) to pair with "The Color...
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Common Lit: Book Pairings: "The Chocolate War" by Robert Cormier
When Jerry Renault refuses to sell chocolate for the school's annual chocolate fundraising drive, the rest of the student body turns against him. Selected (8) reading passages (grades 9-11) to pair with "The Chocolate War" by Robert...
CommonLit
Common Lit: Book Pairings: "The Catcher in the Rye" by j.d. Salinger
From a mental institution, where he is receiving treatment, Holden Caulfield recounts the two day period after he is kicked out of school. Selected (8) reading passages (grades 8-12) to pair with "The Catcher in the Rye" by J.D....
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Common Lit: Book Pairings: "Catch 22" by Joseph Heller
An air pilot named Yossarian and his squadron navigate life in the army during World War II. Despite their attempts to stay alive, the army's "Catch 22" rule continues to put them in danger. Selected (5) reading passages (grades 9-11) to...
CommonLit
Common Lit: Book Pairings: "Bud, Not Buddy" by Christopher Paul Curtis
After losing his mother four years ago, 10-year-old Bud Caldwell runs away from the foster care system in search of the father he has never met. Selected (11) reading passages (grades 5-8) to pair with "Bud, Not Buddy" by Christopher...
CommonLit
Common Lit: Book Pairings: "Brown Girl Dreaming" by Jacqueline Woodson
Jacqueline Woodson describes her experiences growing up as an African American girl in South Carolina and New York in the 1960s. Selected (6) reading passages (grades 3-6) to pair with "Brown Girl Dreaming" by Jacqueline Woodson. [Free...
CommonLit
Common Lit: Book Pairings: "The Boy in the Striped Pajamas" by John Boyne
A wire fence stands between Bruno and Shmuel's friendship at Auschwitz, and tragedy beckons when Bruno's naivety and his distance from his family take him beyond the fence. Selected (9) reading passages (grades 5-9) to pair with "The Boy...
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Common Lit: Book Pairings: "Black Boy" by Richard Wright
Richard Wright, a black boy living in the Jim Crow South, travels north in hopes of escaping the violence and prejudice that rules his childhood. Selected (8) reading passages (grades7-12) to pair with "Black Boy" by Richard Wright....
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Common Lit: Book Pairings: "Beowulf"
The life of the mighty hero Beowulf is recounted, as he wins honor and fame by protecting his people and the neighboring nation from terrible monsters. Selected (6) reading passages (grades 9-12) to pair with the Epic poem "Beowulf"....
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Common Lit: Book Pairings: "The Bell Jar" by Sylvia Path
Partially inspired by Plath's experiences with depression, The Bell Jar follows the emotional breakdown of Esther Greenwood, a promising college student who cannot reconcile her desires with American conventions during the 1950s-1960s....
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Common Lit: Book Pairings: "The Alchemist" by Paulo Coekho
Following omens and the pursuit of his dream, Santiago goes on a journey to find his treasure. Along the way he encounters characters and circumstances that both support or challenge his quest. Selected (5) reading passages (grades 6-11)...
CommonLit
Common Lit: Book Pairings: "1984" by George Orwell
In this dystopian novel, the protagonist of the story, Winston Smith, attempts to rebel against a totalitarian government that exercises complete control over all aspects of its citizens' lives. It includes selected (8) reading passages...
CommonLit
Common Lit: Book Pairings: "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou
Maya Angelou recounts her coming of age story as a mature but apprehensive girl in the American South and California during the Jim Crow era. Selected (8) reading passages (grades 7-10) to pair with "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by...
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Common Lit: Book Pairings: "The Handmaid's Tale" by Margaret Atwood
A coup by religious extremists helps to establish the sexually-oppressive, dystopian Republic of Gilead. Offred, a Handmaid, struggles with her role as a reproductive servant to the elite. Selected (8) reading passages (grades 9-11) to...
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Common Lit: Book Pairings: "Hamlet" by William Shakespeare
Prince Hamlet attempts to avenge his father's death by deciphering the devious plot of the new king, his Uncle Claudius - only to be tragically killed. Selected (8) reading passages (grades 9-12) to pair with the drama "Hamlet" by...
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Common Lit: Book Pairings: "Island of the Blue Dolphins" by Scott O'dell
Karana's tribe has lived on the Island of the Blue Dolphins for centuries, but a tragedy forces them to leave. When Karana gets left behind, she must learn to live alone. Selected (10) reading passages (grades 5-9) to pair with the novel...
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Common Lit: Book Pairings: "Dragonwings" by Laurence Yep
Moon Shadow is eight years old when he sails from the Middle Kingdom (China) to the land of the Golden Mountain (America) where he meets his father, Windrider, for the first time. In San Francisco, Moon Shadow and his father endure...
CommonLit
Common Lit: Book Pairings: "The Diary of a Young Girl" by Anne Frank
Anne Frank's diary provides a first-person account of the struggles an adolescent girl faces as her family hides from the Nazis within the terrifying setting of an overcrowded annex. Selected (7) reading passages (grades 6-8) to pair...