Reading Topics

Saturday, December 14, 2013

Common Core Critical Thinking Reading Passages

Common Core Critical Thinking Reading Passages | College and Career Readiness

Critical thinking reading passages are the foundation of Socratic seminars and quality close reading. Selecting reading passages that inspire curiosity, critical thinking and can be used for either close reading or Socratic seminars takes pre-planning and a bit of text analysis. One of the best methods for selecting Critical Thinking Reading Passages is using a Syntopical examination of how many great ideas the passages contain. Dr. Mortimer J. Adler created a list of 103 philosophical topics that can be used to analyze text for the quality of ideas presented. Text selection is key to quality close reading and  immersive Socratic seminars.

syntopical
  1. Referring to a type of analysis in which different works are compared and contrasted.
After finishing his syntopical reading of the leaders' speeches, he wrote an essay comparing the language used by Reagan, Carter, Gorbachev, and Qaddafi.
A list of 103 philosophical topics

ONE PAGE CRITICAL THINKING PASSAGES ALIGNED TO the COMMON CORE
 from Depaul University  http://teacher.depaul.edu More Resources 

Grade Level Fiction Passages 
2nd-3rd Grade Reading Level
Little Pink Riding Hood English / Spanish 
Little Pink Riding Hood English / Spanish 

Grade Level Nonfiction Passages 
2nd-3rd Grade Reading Level
 After the Chicago Fire sequence and summarize 
American Explorers evaluate information, summarize, and identify and support a main idea 
Animal Studies infer and support the main idea of a passage 
Block Clubs infer and support the main idea of a passage 
The Captain's Job infer and support the main idea of a passage
Chicago Changes identify and support the main idea in nonfiction texts
Chicago Fire sequence events, infer  motive, and write about nonfiction 
Chicago Legacy: Burnham's Plan locate and use information to analyze a situation, write about a topic English / Spanish 
Chicago Legacy, DuSable's Choices and Changes locate and use information to analyze a situation, then write about it English / Spanish
Chicago's First Leader infer and support the main idea of a passage 
The First Flyers infer and support the main idea of a passage 
Grant Park write an extended response about a nonfiction reading 
Learn about Ghana infer and support the main idea of a passage 
Letter to the Mayor evaluate information, summarize, and identify and support a main idea
Natural Gas: An Energy Resource infer and support the main idea of a passage 
A New Park evaluate information, summarize, and identify and support a main idea 
Pigeon Creek infer and support the main idea of a passage 
Pioneer Families infer and support the main idea of a passage 
Prairie Ecology analyze information in a nonfiction text 
Read to Learn about Symbols, Maps, and Art evaluate information, summarize, and identify and support a main idea 
Saving Your Family's Energy Dollar infer and support the main idea of a passage 
Settlement infer and support the main idea of a passage 
Staying in Phoenix summarize a passage 
Transportation Changes infer and support the main idea of a passage 


4th Grade Reading Level
A New Day  Realistic Fiction about the Election of Barack Obama and Civil Rights
A Proud Flight   The story of Icarus

Grade Level Nonfiction Passages 
4th Grade Reading Level
 Traveling West evaluate information, summarize, and identify and support a main idea 
What is a Fable? evaluate information, summarize, and identify and support a main idea
Working at the Hospital evaluate information, summarize, and identify and support a main idea 
 Breaking the Food Chain infer and support the main idea of a passage 
Chicago Changer, Jane Addams infer and support the main idea of a passage 
Chicago High Schools evaluate information, summarize, and identify and support a main idea 
Chicago Legacy: Burnham's Plan locate and use information to analyze a situation, write about a topic English / Spanish 
Chicago Legacy, DuSable's Choices and Changes locate and use information to analyze a situation, then write about it English / Spanish 
City Government infer and support the main idea of a passage 
The Early Chicago Environment and People classify information and summarize a nonfiction topic 
Learn about Egypt infer and support the main idea of a passage 
The Football Team identify the main idea 
A Garden in Lawndale evaluate information, summarize, and identify and support a main idea (4th grade reading level)
Illinois Pioneers and Prairies infer while reading a history 
Learning about the Solar System identify the main idea of a passage, write an extended response about a nonfiction passage 
Natural Gas: An Energy Resource infer and support the main idea of a passage 
Pilsen, A Community Changes identify causes and effects 
Plants and Places infer and support the main idea of a passage 
Prairie Changes identify an author's purpose, write an extended response 
Prairie Changing the Ecosystem with Multiple Choice Questions analyze information in a nonfiction text 
Seasons on the Prairie infer and support the main idea of a passage
Settlement infer and support the main idea of a passage 
Space Food infer and support the main idea of a passage 
Staying in Phoenix infer and support the main idea of a passage
Today's Telephone infer and support the main idea of a passage 
Transportation Workers evaluate information, summarize, and identify and support a main idea
What is a Fable? evaluate information, summarize, and identify and support a main idea 
Working at the Television Station evaluate information, summarize, and identify and support a main idea
Working at the Hospital evaluate information, summarize, and identify and support a main idea 
The Working Tools of Insects infer and support the main idea of a passage 

5th Grade Reading Level
Columbus and the Egg  historical fiction

Grade Level Nonfiction Passages 
5th Grade Reading Level
 American Explorers infer and support the main idea of a passage
Animal Studies infer and support the main idea of a passage 
Better Living in Chicago: Jane Addams restate a situation presented in text; write to communicate about a situation (5th grade reading level)
Chicago Changes infer and support the main idea of a passage 
Chicago Fire infer and support the main idea of a passage 
Chicago Legacy: Burnham's Plan locate and use information to analyze a situation, write about a topic English / Spanish 
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. I can infer the author's purpose 
Election Choices infer and support the main idea of a passage 
From Many Places evaluate information, summarize, and identify and support a main idea 
Learn about Ethiopia  infer and support the main idea of a passage )
How Have Students Made Community Progress? analyze a problem and solution in a text, identify and support the main idea 
Prairie Keepers analyze information in a nonfiction text
Public Transportation evaluate information, summarize, and identify and support a main idea 
Read to Learn about City Systems evaluate information, summarize, and identify and support a main idea 
Read to Learn about Elections evaluate information, summarize, and identify and support a main idea 
The Recycle Center evaluate information, summarize, and identify and support a main idea 
Reversing the Chicago River identify cause-effect relations and infer predictions 
Seasons on the Prairie analyze information in a nonfiction text 
Settlement infer and support the main idea of a passage 
Valley Forge infer and support the main idea of a passage 
Who Am I sequence events, infer  motive, and write about nonfiction 

6th Grade Reading Level
Community Progress    realistic fiction about a mural
A Good Student realistic fiction about starting high school
His First Dollar historical fiction about Abraham Lincoln

Grade Level Nonfiction Passages 
6th Grade Reading Level
Before Chicago infer and support the main idea of a passage
Chicago's First Leader infer and support the main idea of a passage 
The Early Chicago Environment and People classify information and summarize a nonfiction topic 
Election Choices infer and support the main idea of a passage 
Labor Day Address--Barack Obama Speech infer and support the main idea of a passage 
Learn about Zambia infer and support the main idea of a passage
Nutrition Lesson evaluate information, summarize, and identify and support a main idea 
Plants and Food infer and support the main idea of a passage 
Prairie Ecology evaluate information, summarize, and identify and support a main idea 
Settlement analyze information in a nonfiction text 
Seasons on the Prairie infer and support the main idea of a passage 
Traveling West infer and support the main idea of a passage 

7th Grade Reading Level
Columbus and the Egg historical fiction about an event showing Columbus as a smart person
A Good Student  realistic fiction about starting high school

Grade Level Nonfiction Passages 
7th Grade Reading Level
Honest Abe infer and support the main idea of a passage 
Inaugural Address by John F. Kennedy evaluate information, summarize, and identify and support a main idea 
Labor Day Address--Barack Obama Speech infer and support the main idea of a passage 
Learn about Kenya infer and support the main idea of a passage 
Learning about the Solar System infer and support the main idea of a passage 
Pilsen--A Community Changes identify causes and effects
Prairie Keepers infer and support the main idea of a passage 
Settlement infer and support the main idea of a passage 
Today's Telephone infer and support the main idea of a passage 

8th-10th Grade Reading Level


Grade Level Nonfiction Passages 
8th-10th Grade Reading Level
 An African Heritage in Chicago identify and support the main idea in a nonfiction passage 
Bold Plans, Big Dreams, City Progress identify and support the theme of a text  
Changing the Ecosystem infer and support the main idea of a passage 
Chicago is a City of Possibilities: Deval Patrick, Leader for Chicago analyze a text and write an extended response based on it 
Deval Patrick's Acceptance Speech infer and support the main idea of a passage 
Honest Abe infer and support the main idea of a passage 
Inaugural Address by John F. Kennedy evaluate information, summarize, and identify and support a main idea
Labor Day Address--Barack Obama Speech infer and support the main idea of a passage 
Learn about Physical Therapists evaluate information, summarize, and identify and support a main idea 
Learn about South Africa evaluate information, summarize, and identify and support a main idea 
Maintaining Cultural Continuity infer and support the main idea of a passage 
New Leadership analyze a speech 
Settlement infer and support the main idea of a passage 
Transportation Changes infer and support the main idea of a passage 
What is Your Own Big Plan? (Barack Obama speech) analyze a text and respond to the issues it presents, write an extended response to a persuasive text 
What Values Have Shaped Chicago? identify the main idea of a passage  
Why is Community Service Important? identify the main idea and supporting information 
Chicago High Schools infer predictions 
Chicago Legacy: DuSable's Choices and Changes  infer and support the main idea of a passage 
Deval Patrick's Acceptance Speech infer and support the main idea of a passage 

Dr. Mortimer J. Adler Co-Founder and Chairman Center For the Study of the Great Ideas
The 103 Great Ideas Alphabetically
The 103 Great Ideas by Category

The list of 103 ideas is broken between the two volumes, as follows:
Volume I: Angel, Animal, Aristocracy, Art, Astronomy, Beauty, Being, Cause, Chance, Change, Citizen, Constitution, Courage, Custom and Convention, Definition, Democracy, Desire, Dialectic, Duty, Education, Element, Emotion, Eternity, Evolution, Experience, Family, Fate, Form, God, Good and Evil, Government, Habit, Happiness, History, Honor, Hypothesis, Idea, Immortality, Induction, Infinity, Judgment, Justice, Knowledge, Labor, Language, Law, Liberty, Life and Death, Logic, and Love.
Volume II: Man, Mathematics, Matter, Mechanics, Medicine, Memory and Imagination, Metaphysics, Mind, Monarchy, Nature, Necessity and Contingency, Oligarchy, One and Many, Opinion, Opposition,[13] Philosophy, Physics, Pleasure and Pain, Poetry, Principle, Progress, Prophecy, Prudence, Punishment, Quality, Quantity, Reasoning, Relation,[14] Religion, Revolution, Rhetoric, Same and Other, Science, Sense, Sign and Symbol, Sin, Slavery, Soul, Space, State, Temperance, Theology, Time, Truth, Tyranny and Despotism, Universal and Particular, Virtue and Vice, War and Peace, Wealth, Will, Wisdom, and World.

How can a Dyslexic Reading Teacher HELP 95% of all at-risk students pass the EOG Reading Test? 10 Consecutive Years!

"Mr Taylor who annually starts with a class of fourth graders, 2/3 of whom are below grade level, and ends the year with most of the class at and above grade level. He gets results by emphasizing reading and writing, and holds students responsible for the work assigned. All the students read the same challenging books, stories and poems; they spend a lot of time on vocabulary, take notes, identify the main chapter idea and write a chapter summary every day. They read about six challenging books a year...Fortunately for his students, he puts them first and is determined that every student will make at least one year of progress in his class. Some students make spectacular gains in reading, writing or math. The average student this past year made about three years academic progress....His Title I students perform as well as students in the nearby "rich" area with all top-rated schools."  Robert Cherba 

Socratic Seminar Questions?

How do laws serve or harm justice?
Why is the concept of blind justice important?

The Logicians Refuted

Logicians have but ill defined
As rational, the human kind;
Reason, they say, belongs to man,
But let them prove it if they can.
Wise Aristotle and Smiglesius,
By ratiocinations specious,
Have strove to prove, with great precision,
With definition and division,
Homo est ratione praeditum;
But for my soul I cannot credit 'em,
And must, in spite of them, maintain,
That man and all his ways are vain;
And that this boasted lord of nature
Is both a weak and erring creature;
That instinct is a surer guide
Than reason, boasting mortals' pride;
And that brute beasts are far before 'em.


Deus est anima brutorum.
Whoever knew an honest brute
At law his neighbour prosecute,
Bring action for assault or battery,
Or friend beguile with lies and flattery?
O'er plains they ramble unconfined,
No politics disturb their mind;
They eat their meals, and take their sport
Nor know who's in or out at court.
They never to the levee go
To treat, as dearest friend, a foe:
They never importune his grace,
Nor ever cringe to men in place:
Nor undertake a dirty job,
Nor draw the quill to write for Bob.


Fraught with invective, they ne'er go
To folks at Paternoster Row.
No judges, fiddlers, dancing-masters,
No pickpockets, or poetasters,
Are known to honest quadrupeds;
No single brute his fellow leads.
Brutes never meet in bloody fray,
Nor cut each other's throats for pay.
Of beasts, it is confess'd, the ape
Comes nearest us in human shape;
Like man, he imitates each fashion,
And malice is his lurking passion:
But, both in malice and grimaces,
A courtier any ape surpasses.
Behold him, humbly cringing, wait
Upon the minister of state;
View him soon after to inferiors
Aping the conduct of superiors;
He promises with equal air,
And to perform takes equal care.
He in his turn finds imitators,
At court, the porters, lacqueys, waiters,
Their masters' manner still contract,
And footmen, lords and dukes can act.
Thus, at the court, both great and small
Behave alike, for all ape all.


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