De Paul University: Center for Urban Education: Today's Telephone [Pdf]

"Today's Telephone" is a one page, nonfiction, reading passage about the history of the telephone from the telegraph to land-lines, to cell phones. It is followed by questions which require students to provide evidence from the story; it includes: determining main idea and underlining supporting text. This passage aligns with Common Core Anchor Reading Standards 1 and 2 requiring close reading, textual evidence, main idea, and summarizing.