Saturday, May 31, 2014

Nonfiction Reading Comprehension Worksheets

CCSS high school reading comprehension worksheets | Nonfiction High School English Reading Worksheets with Reading Comprehension Questions and Extended Response Questions


FREE Printable nonfiction high school reading comprehension worksheets to prepare for the College and Career Ready Goals | 2014-2015 CCSS ELA Reading standards. Use the nonfiction reading passages and worksheets below to prepare for End of Course English Assessments. 

High School Nonfiction Reading Passage: Swords and Swordsmanship

A sword is a weapon (edged weapon) used primarily for cutting or thrusting. The precise definition of the term varies with the historical epoch or the geographical region under consideration. A sword in the most narrow sense consists of a straight blade with two edges and a hilt. However, in nearly every case, the term may also be used to refer to weapons with a single edge (back-sword).

The word sword comes from the Old English sword, cognate to swert, Old Norse sverð, from a Proto-Indo-European root *swer- "to wound, to cut". Non-European weapons called "sword" include single-edged weapons such as the Middle Eastern saif, the Chinese dao and the related Japanese katana. The Chinese jian is an example of a non-European double-edged sword, like the European models derived from the double-edged Iron Age sword.

Historically, the sword developed in the Bronze Age, evolving from the dagger; the earliest specimens date to ca. 1600 BC. The Iron Age sword remained fairly short and without a cross-guard The spatha as it developed in the Late Roman army became the predecessor of the European sword of the Middle Ages, at first adopted as the Migration period sword, and only in the High Middle Ages developed into the classical arming sword with cross-guard

The use of a sword is known as swordsmanship or (in an early modern or modern context) as fencing. In the Early Modern period, the sword developed into the rapier and eventually the small-sword, surviving into the 18th century only in the role of dueling weapon. By the 19th century, swords were reduced to the status of either ceremonial weapon or sport equipment in modern fencing.

The sword is said to be the emblem of military honor and should incite the bearer to a just and generous pursuit of honor and virtue. It is symbolic of liberty and strength. In the Middle Ages, the sword was often used as a symbol of the word of God. The names given to many swords in mythology, literature, and history reflect the high prestige of the weapon and the wealth of the owner.

Socratic Question Stem: Why are swords or edged weapons part of every early culture?

What was the predecessor of the sword? 

A. dagger B. rapier C. small-sword 

Extended Response Question: Why did swords become relegated to ceremonial purposes?  

Nonfiction High School Reading Worksheets and Reading Passages 
  1. An African Heritage in Chicago identify and support the main idea in a nonfiction passage 
  2. Bold Plans, Big Dreams, City Progress identify and support the theme of a text 
  3. Changing the Ecosystem infer and support the main idea of a passage 
  4. Changing the Ecosystem with Multiple Choice Questions and Activities
  5. Chicago is a City of Possibilities: Deval Patrick, Leader for Chicago analyze a text and write an extended response based on it 
  6. Deval Patrick's Acceptance Speech infer and support the main idea of a passage 
  7. George Washington Carver
  8. Gwendolyn Brooks, An African American Poet
  9. Honest Abe infer and support the main idea of a passage 
  10. Inaugural Address by John F. Kennedy evaluate information, summarize, and identify and support a main idea
  11. Inferential Questions: Harold Washington's Acceptance Speech 
  12. Labor Day Address--Barack Obama Speech infer and support the main idea of a passage 
  13. Learn about Physical Therapists evaluate information, summarize, and identify and support a main idea 
  14. Learn about South Africa evaluate information, summarize, and identify and support a main idea 
  15. Maintaining Cultural Continuity infer and support the main idea of a passage 
  16. New Leadership analyze a speech 
  17. Settlement infer and support the main idea of a passage 
  18. Settlement with Multiple Choice Questions and Activities
  19. Transportation Changes infer and support the main idea of a passage 
  20. 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 
  21. What Values Have Shaped Chicago? identify the main idea of a passage 
  22. Why is Community Service Important? identify the main idea and supporting information 
  23. Chicago High Schools infer predictions 
  24. Chicago Legacy: DuSable's Choices and Changes infer and support the main idea of a passage 
  25. Deval Patrick's Acceptance Speech infer and support the main idea of a passage 
  26. Harold Washington's Acceptance Speech
  27. Frederick Douglass Speech on Women's Suffrage
  28. John F. Kennedy's Remarks in the Rudolph Wilde Platz, Berlin
  29. Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address
  30. President Barack Obama's Speech to Students
  31. President Franklin D. Roosevelt's First Inaugural Address

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