Reading Topics

Saturday, September 30, 2023

The Sorry Saga of American Reading Instruction: A Brief but Pernicious History

The Sorry Saga of American Reading Instruction: A Brief but Pernicious History

The ability to read is the most empowering of human capacities. It is the wellspring of knowledge, the foundation of democracy, and the gateway to everything from commerce to culture. Yet for decades America's schools have failed abysmally at imparting this most vital of skills.

Our republic was founded in a spirit of Enlightenment, with literacy key to the pursuit of life, liberty, and happiness. But the present era is one of Endarkenment, as retrograde reading policies and practices condemn each new generation to functional illiteracy. This is a national scandal of the highest order, though sadly it occasions more indifference than outrage.

The roots of our current malaise trace back to the early 19th century, when the common school movement sought to provide universal public education. The motives were egalitarian, but the methods were dogmatic, favoring rote memorization over critical thinking. Students endlessly copied letters and syllables from slates in dull recitation drills meant to instill "proper" habits. This authoritarian approach serendipitously boosted literacy rates, but at the cost of stifling creativity and engagement.

By the late 1800s, progressive educators saw the need for more enlightened techniques focused on meaning, not just mechanics. The naturalistic philosophies of Rousseau and Pestalozzi gained sway, as did the insights of Friedrich Froebel, whose kindergartens replaced dreary recitations with lively activities incorporating blocks, songs, and story time. For a fleeting period, American education seem poised to embrace true scholarship.

Alas, the pendulum swung back with a vengeance toward rigid, reductive methods in the early 20th century. The quest for "efficiency" in factories and corporations infected the classroom. Students were processed like widgets, with standardized testing to sort the prime stock from the defective units. Thorndike, a pioneer of "scientific" education, went so far as to equate reading with deciphering Morse code. Meaning was an afterthought, if a thought at all.

At Columbia University's Teachers College, professors rallied around a "progressive" doctrine, but it was progress in name only. They simply transferred control from teachers to students, letting children read whatever they fancied. Standards vanished as faddish ideologies supplanted substantive instruction. The cult of self-esteem blossomed as the teaching of skills withered. Meanwhile, the education schools' embrace of avant-garde theories made the classroom a laboratory for social engineering.
Here is a timeline of major reading assessments and testing policies at the state and federal level:

1800s-1900s
- Spelling bees, recitations used to assess reading skills

1926
- First standardized achievement test, Stanford Achievement Test, developed

1950s 
- States begin developing own standardized assessments

1965
- National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) launched to assess students nationally

1969
- Minimum Competency Testing laws passed in many states 

1980s 
- Increase in state-level standardized testing after A Nation at Risk report 

1994
- Improving America’s Schools Act requires states to adopt standards and assessments

2001 
- No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) passed, requiring annual testing in grades 3-8

2009
- Common Core State Standards initiative launched

2009
- Race to the Top provides incentives for Common Core assessments

2014
- Smarter Balanced and PARCC Common Core tests first administered

2015
- Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) passed, keeping NCLB testing requirements

Today
- Annual state testing required in grades 3-8, plus federal NAEP assessments

This timeline shows the progression from early locally-developed tests to increased standardized testing at the state level and federally-driven policies like NCLB that mandated annual assessments to hold schools accountable for performance.
The pendulum swung again in the 1950s as the threat of Communism stirred fears that lax academics had put America at risk. The schools returned to time-tested materials like McGuffey Readers and redoubled efforts to reinforce reading fundamentals. For the next two decades, phonics and fluency drilled enjoyed a revival as literacy rates surged. But the "traditional" consensus was not to last.

The 1960s brought a new round of radical thinking in education. Influenced by the anti-authoritarian ethos of the times, advocates of "child-centered" instruction again sought to liberate students from the shackles of directed teaching. Graves's Writing: Teachers & Children at Work (1983) dismissed conventions of grammar, usage, and spelling as oppressive impositions stifling creative expression. Goodman's What's Whole in Whole Language? (1986) rejected phonics in favor of guessing words from context, asserting that "readers construct meaning" in an organic process akin to speech acquisition.

The whole-language movement took Dewey's disdain for rote learning to an extreme, rejecting any isolated skill instruction. Its workshop model emphasized immersion in a linguistically rich environment over explicit teaching of decoding. Meaning was paramount; miscues were trivialities to be celebrated for their inventiveness. By granting pupils agency over what and how they read, teachers ostensibly kindled passion for literacy.

In reality, the new dispensation was a disaster for reading ability, especially for minorities and the disadvantaged. Bereft of academic guidance and cultural capital, these students floundered. The education establishment's infatuation with fads over facts consigned poor children to a lesser education. A generation was betrayed.

That betrayal continued with the National Reading Panel convened in 2000. Though its report offered some useful findings, it muddled the verdict on phonics. Seeking to appease the warring reading camps, it endorsed a vague "balanced literacy" compromise when the research demanded an unequivocal return to decoding emphasis. Political cowardice carried the day; scientific truth was sacrificed.

The price has been paid in persistently abysmal reading scores and illiteracy rates. Nearly two-thirds of American fourth graders still read below grade level. Yet the repetitive reading rituals favored by whole-language devotees remain ascendant in elementary classrooms. Watching underprivileged children endlessly re-read the same basic book for months on end without explicit decoding instruction is akin to educational malpractice.

This disgrace has been compounded by the testing and accountability reforms of the past two decades. No Child Left Behind and Race to the Top have treated reading like any other skill amenable to training for higher test scores. This cynical agenda has led to mind-numbing test preparation "drill and kill" sessions even as content mastery evaporates. Struggling pupils get tested and tested into submission without ever acquiring the bedrock knowledge needed for academic success.

Federal mandates have also spawned a mammoth testing-industrial complex with textbook publishers and assessment firms raking in billions from subpar products. The abominable Pearson basil and maze reading passages on Common Core exams are Exhibit A in how not to inspire a love of reading. Yet such shoddy materials remain omnipresent due to the unholy alliance of technocratic bureaucrats and rapacious corporations profiting from the enforced mediocrity our educational system accepts as standard.

After two centuries of misguided reforms, reversals, gimmicks, and false promises, we are little closer to the noble ideal of an enlightened citizenry empowered by the wonder of reading. Today's schools are hostage to stagnant pedagogies that treat learners as passive receptacles rather than active inquirers. Texts brimming with meaning are replaced with sterile exercises focused on narrow skills. The articulated word on which verbal fluency relies is forsaken for pantomimed gestures called "whole body listening". Education has morphed into tedious therapy aimed at raising students' self-esteem rather than their intellectual horizons.

The inability to read is a curse condemning generations to lives of diminished opportunity and autonomy. It is the Ball and Chain bequeathed by an ossified educational establishment that prides itself on good intentions yet refuses to impart foundational skills with rigor. Unless the featured components of decoding and knowledge acquisition once again become the central pillars of literacy instruction, we will persist in saddling children with the curse of illiteracy that denies them the birthright of cultural participation and achievement. An informed republic remains dependent on citizens empowered by the ultimate freedom tool: reading. Our nation's future demands that we finally teach this universal skill properly. The time for excuses has passed; evidence-based practice must prevail if our schools are to fulfill their mandate. Only systemic change led by those with clarity of vision rather than fealty to failed dogmas will return our citizens to the path of literacy and possibility. The true progressivism our moment requires is a return to what works. Our posterity deserves no less.

Here is an expanded list of major reading textbooks, programs, and approaches published in the United States over the past 200 years:

- The American Spelling Book by Noah Webster (1783) - Emphasized phonics and rote memorization

- McGuffey Readers by William Holmes McGuffey (1836-1920) - Eclectic readers that combined phonics, whole word recognition, and meaning

- Horace Mann Readers (1857-80) - Whole word recognition approach 

- Appleton Readers by William Torrey Harris (1897-1898) - Combined phonics and literature

- Elson Basic Readers by William Harris Elson and Lura E. Runkel (1930s-60s) - Controlled vocabulary, phonics-based

- Dick and Jane by William S. Gray and Zerna Sharp (1930s-70s) - Predictable, controlled vocabulary using sight words

- Scott Foresman Reading Series (1940s-80s) - Basal reader with controlled vocabulary

- Fun with Dick and Jane by William S. Gray (1940s-50s) - Sight word recognition

- Open Court Reading by Siegfried Engelmann (1960s-present) - Direct instruction with phonics emphasis

- Distar Reading by Siegfried Engelmann (1969-present) - Direct instruction phonics program

- Economy Company Reading Series (1970s-80s) 

- Holt Basic Reading by Jack Schaefer (1970s-80s)

- Reading Mastery by Siegfried Engelmann (1970s-present) - Direct instruction phonics

- Programmed Reading by Cynthia Buchanan (1970s-80s) - Technology-assisted phonics lessons

- Success for All by Robert Slavin (1987-present) - Cooperative learning with phonics

- Reading Recovery by Marie Clay (1980s-present) - One-on-one tutoring for struggling readers

- Literature-based reading (1980s-90s) - Use of trade books instead of basal texts

- Whole language approach (1980s-90s) - Focus on meaning over phonics

- Houghton Mifflin Reading Series (1980s-present) 

- Journeys Common Core by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (2012-present)

- Wonders Reading Series by McGraw-Hill (2014-present)

- Core Knowledge Language Arts by E.D. Hirsch Jr. (2014-present) 

- American Reading Company (early 2000s-present) 

- Into Reading by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (2020-present)

- Benchmark Advance/Benchmark Universe by Zaner-Bloser (2010s-present)

- Wilson Reading System - Multisensory structured language program

- Barton Reading & Spelling System - Multisensory structured language 

- Orton-Gillingham approach - Multisensory phonics instruction

- Spalding Method - Explicit phonics instruction

- Saxon Phonics - Incremental explicit phonics program

- S.P.I.R.E. - Multisensory structured literacy program

- Explode the Code - Systematic phonics workbooks

- SIPPS - Systematic instruction in phonological awareness, phonics, and sight words

- Fundations - Multisensory early literacy program by Wilson Language Training

- Sonday System - Multisensory structured language program

This covers many of the major commercial and structured literacy programs for reading instruction over the past two centuries in the United States. The cycle between phonics approaches and whole language/literature-based methods is evident.

Here is a comprehensive list of major reading intervention programs, separated into tiers:

Tier 1 Core Programs:
- Journeys (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt)
- Wonders (McGraw-Hill) 
- Open Court Reading (McGraw-Hill)
- Reading Mastery (McGraw-Hill)
- Fundations (Wilson)
- Core Knowledge Language Arts (Amplify)
Success for All (SFA)

Tier 2 Small Group Interventions:
- Leveled Literacy Intervention (Fountas & Pinnell) 
- Reading Recovery (Marie Clay)
- Comprehension Club (Stephanie Harvey)
- Guided Reading (Fountas & Pinnell)
- LLI (Fountas & Pinnell)
- Early Interventions in Reading (EIR)
Success for All (SFA)
- Sonday System
- SIPPS (Center for the Collaborative Classroom)
- Rewards (Anita Archer)
- Read Naturally

Tier 3 Intensive Interventions: 
- READ 180 (Scholastic)
- System 44 (Scholastic)
- Barton Reading & Spelling System
- Orton-Gillingham Approach
- Wilson Reading System 
- SPIRE (SPIRE) 
- Failure Free Reading (Heinemann)
- Visualizing and Verbalizing (Lindamood-Bell)
- Corrective Reading (McGraw-Hill)
- Sonday System 1 (Sonday)
- Edmark Reading Program (Edmark) 

This covers the major research-based reading programs at each tier level used in schools today. The tiers represent the level of reading supports provided to students, from core instruction to intensive intervention.

A Modernized 4th Grade McGuffey Reader?

A proposal for a modernized 4th grade McGuffey Reader that incorporates critical thinking, problem-solving, AI literacy, and student-driven learning:

Prologue for the Student

Dear Reader, 
Welcome to the New McGuffey Reader! This book was created just for inquisitive young minds like yours. Inside these pages, you'll go on exciting adventures of learning. 

We'll sharpen your thinking by solving fun logic puzzles, debating big ideas, and going on virtual field trips with the help of artificial intelligence. You'll learn how to think clearly, work in teams, and use technology in creative ways.

This reader aims to spark your curiosity and empower you to guide your own learning. You'll discuss interesting stories and articles with classmates in deep conversations. You'll reflect on your growth in learning logs. And you'll even design projects to solve real-world problems. 

Learning should be engaging! Our goal is to equip you with the skills to analyze facts, weigh evidence, ask thoughtful questions, and become an independent lifelong learner. The activities ahead are designed to develop critical thinking in fun and innovative ways.

So get ready to exercise your brain muscles! Let the adventure begin.

Sincerely,
The Editors
Table of Contents

Unit 1: Analytical Reading 
- Fiction stories for analyzing plots, themes and characters
- News articles for identifying key details and claims
- Diagrams, charts and maps for interpretation 

Fiction Stories:

- Read "The Tortoise and the Hare" and have students create a plot diagram, analyzing the exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution.

- Read "The Secret Garden" and analyze how the setting of a lonely mansion impacts the characters. Discuss how a different setting would change the plot.

- Bovel Study: Read "Esperanza Rising" and identify the theme of friendship. Find textual evidence that supports this theme. Use the Engage New York curriculum

Here are some of the other major novel studies contained in the EngageNY English Language Arts curriculum for grades 3-5:

Grade 3:

  • Charlotte's Web by E.B. White
  • The Cricket in Times Square by George Selden
  • Sarah, Plain and Tall by Patricia MacLachlan

Grade 4:

  • The Cricket in Times Square by George Selden
  • Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing by Judy Blume
  • Mr. Popper's Penguins by Richard & Florence Atwater

Grade 5:

  • Birchbark House by Louise Erdrich
  • Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt
  • The People Could Fly by Virginia Hamilton
  • Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan 

The EngageNY curriculum also incorporates short nonfiction texts on topics like science, arts, and ethics. Students analyze these texts to build vocabulary, knowledge, and reading comprehension.  

News Articles and Expository Texts: 

- Read "Scientists Discover New Mammal Species in Rainforest" and identify the 5 W's. Discuss the key details.

- Read "New Study Shows Benefits of Exercise" and identify claims made. Evaluate if the evidence fully supports the claims. 

- Read "Best Pizza Shop in Town?" and distinguish between facts and opinions in the article. Discuss how word choice shows bias.

Here are some examples of expository texts used in the Core Knowledge Language Arts (CKLA) curriculum for social studies units in grades 3-5:

Grade 3:

- "The Geography of Greece" 

- "The Olympic Games"

- "Athens and Sparta"

- "Myths of Ancient Greece"

Grade 4: 

- "The Thirteen Colonies"

- "The Revolutionary War" 

- "Westward Expansion"

- "Native Americans: Regions and Culture"


Grade 5: 

- "The Development of Canada"

- "British Exploration in the Americas"

- "The American Revolution"

- "Women's Suffrage Movement"

- "Industrialization and Urbanization" 

The social studies units use informational texts from textbooks, biographies, primary sources, magazine articles, and other nonfiction sources. Students practice skills like summarizing key details, understanding text structures, interpreting maps/charts, and distinguishing fact vs opinion. 

Maps:

- Interpret the "World Map" and describe what it shows about the continents, oceans, and geographic features. 

- Analyze the "Map of Ancient Rome" - identify locations, roads, landmarks. Ask questions that can be answered by the map.

- Evaluate the effectiveness of a physical map vs. political map. Discuss when certain map types are most useful.

- Create a map of a character's travels in a story like "The Odyssey." Compare to existing maps of Odysseus' journey. 

Unit 2: Logic Puzzles
- Spatial reasoning puzzles and games 
- Lateral thinking riddles
- Sequences and patterns

Unit 3: Ethics Case Studies
- Real-world ethical dilemmas for debate
- Critical reflection writing

Unit 4: Harkness Discussions 
- Prompts and readings to facilitate student-led conversations 

Unit 5: Public Speaking and Debate
- Argument construction and rhetorical techniques
- Presentation skills
- Friendly debating and persuasion 

Unit 6: AI Technology Projects
- Intro to algorithms, bots and machine learning through games and simulations
- Evaluating online information sources
- Coding with visual block languages

Unit 7: Group Problem Solving 
- Design thinking challenges
- Creative solutions for community issues

Unit 8: Growth Portfolios and Reflections
- Assembling sample work with self-evaluation
- Learning logs 
- Surveys and knowledge fair
Unit 9: Readers Theater
- Performing and analyzing plays, poems, and stories
- Reading with expression and dramatization
- Creating original scripts

Unit 10: Greek Mythology
- Reading classic myths about the gods, heroes, and monsters
- Comparing myths across cultures
- Writing original myths

Unit 11: Socratic Seminars
- Reading philosophical passages
- Facilitating dialogue through questioning and discussion
- Constructing reasoned arguments

Unit 12: Expository Writing
- Reading and analyzing expository essays and articles
- Planning, drafting and revising explanatory pieces
- Research skills for nonfiction writing

Unit 13: Opinion Writing
- Reading editorial columns, op-eds, reviews and letters
- Outlining claims supported by evidence
- Writing persuasive essays and arguments

Unit 14: Current Events
- Reading and discussing news articles
- Media literacy skills for evaluating sources
- Connecting current issues to history and ethics
Appendix A - How to Read a Book
Based on Mortimer Adler's classic work, covering:
- Active reading strategies
- Annotating, highlighting and marginalia
- Determining purpose and relevance
- Outlining key points
- Critical analysis and evaluation
- Seminal texts worth studying deeply

Appendix B - Building Vocabulary
- Tier 2 academic words for precision and analysis
- Tier 3 domain-specific words for each discipline
- Word analysis through roots, prefixes and suffixes
- Latin and Greek etymology and morphemes
- Using context clues, dictionaries and thesauruses

Appendix C - Latin and Greek Word Roots
- Common Latin and Greek prefixes, suffixes and word roots
- Guidance on deciphering meaning and usage
- Exercises and games for application
- Connecting word origins to specific fields like medicine, law, rhetoric, logic, mathematics and more

The New McGuffey Reader:

Sparking Young Minds in the Age of AI

Introduction

The original McGuffey Readers were wildly popular primers that educated generations of American schoolchildren in the 19th century. They emphasized phonics, reading comprehension, and recitation to teach the fundamentals of literacy. But education today must adapt to prepare students for a rapidly changing world shaped by technology. To truly spark young minds in the 21st century, the spirit of McGuffey Readers should be revived with a modern twist: integrating critical thinking, inquiry-based learning, and AI literacy.

Vision

Children have an innate curiosity and drive to understand the world. Effective education should nurture these instincts by creating an engaging, student-driven learning experience focused on developing core capacities like critical thinking, creativity, communication, and collaboration. Rote memorization must be replaced with active mental development.

The New McGuffey Reader will achieve this through three primary components:

1. Critical Thinking Skill Development: Cross-disciplinary readings, logic puzzles, ethics case studies and creative exercises will flex mental muscles needed for analysis, evaluation, inference, and reasoning.

2. Student-Led Inquiry: Harkness discussion methodologies will empower kids to direct their own explorations of texts and concepts through dialogue, debate, questioning and team assignments.

3. AI and Technology Literacy: Students will gain practical understanding of how algorithms, automation and intelligent machines like chatbots work through hands-on interaction and coding basic programs.

By interweaving these elements, the New McGuffey Reader will prepare 4th graders for higher-order thinking in the technological age while instilling a passion for learning.

Critical Thinking Skill Development

To thrive in the 21st century, students require adaptability, complex communication skills, and the ability to solve ambiguous problems. Developing these capacities must begin early. The New McGuffey Reader will include developmentally appropriate readings, puzzles, case studies and creative challenges to build core critical thinking skills:

- Analysis: Carefully breaks down concepts, texts, or problems into smaller parts to understand structure and relevance. Example activities include spotting patterns in logic puzzles, identifying rhetorical devices in speeches, and determining key themes in short stories.

- Evaluation: Judging validity, quality, importance or implications through reasoned inquiry. Students will practice this by discussing ethical dilemmas, debating historical decisions, and critiquing poems or short stories.

- Inference: Surmising unstated assumptions, evidence-based predictions, or interpreting meaning from creative works. Students will infer implications from fictional stories, make predictions based on data sets, deduce author intent, and hypothesize meanings from poems.

- Reasoning: Constructing logical chains of thinking to connect evidence and support arguments and conclusions. Activities include following if-then scenarios, identifying false logic, and structuring written arguments using claims and evidence.

These skills provide mental habits needed for higher-level scholarship in later grades across all subjects.

Student-Led Inquiry

Direct instruction should be balanced with student-driven explorations. Building on the Socratic method, the New McGuffey Reader will frequently use Harkness pedagogy where groups of students engage in their own discussions, questions, and debates on prompts from texts. This teaches:

- Speaking and listening: Students must articulate thoughts, build on others' ideas, and respectfully disagree through dialogue.

- Collaboration: Working together to analyze texts and co-create meaning builds teamwork.

- Self-directed learning: Guiding their own discussions without teacher lecturing fosters student ownership of knowledge.

Sample Harkness activities may include discussing the motives of characters in a short story, debating the best solution to a hypothetical dilemma, or collaboratively composing a poem analyzing a current event before presenting to the class.

Teachers act as facilitators, interjecting occasionally to spur deeper inquiry. Over time, students learn to self-manage discussions productively. This provides authentic purpose for practicing critical thinking.

AI and Technology Literacy

Technology shapes nearly all aspects of modern life, so developing a practical understanding is essential. The New McGuffey Reader will include:

- Introductory computer science concepts through coding simple programs and games using visual block languages like Scratch. This builds computational thinking.

- Hands-on experiments with chatbots and other conversational agents to understand how they utilize natural language processing and neural networks. Students will gain basic AI literacy.

- Guidance on evaluating online information sources, recognizing disinformation tactics “Dionysian Sophistry”, and practicing ethical digital citizenship.

- Primers on recent technological advances like machine learning, autonomous robots, and synthetic biology to inspire interest in STEM careers.

- Thought experiments on the societal impacts of emerging technologies and discussions of associated risks, ethics, and policies.

This exposure allows students to become critical consumers and creators, not just passive users, of technology.

Conclusion

The original McGuffey Readers open young minds through basic literacy. The New McGuffey Reader will achieve this for the digital age, preparing 4th graders for higher-order thinking with core skills in analysis, evaluation, collaboration, and technological literacy. Just as McGuffey Readers once aligned with industrialization, this modern primer will develop engaged citizens and thinkers for an AI-driven world. The innovative integration of critical thinking, student-led inquiry, and technology engagement will kindle the intellectual spark in 21st century children.

Here are two additional sections covering the design thinking process and reflective practice:

Fostering Design Thinking

Innovation requires out-of-the-box thinking. The New McGuffey Reader will introduce the design thinking process to nurture creative problem solving:

- Empathize: Students will gather insights about issues through interviews, observations, and immersion. Example activities could include shadowing school staff to understand their jobs or speaking with community members to identify local problems. 

- Define: Students will synthesize their observations to pinpoint underlying needs and opportunities for design. For a class project to improve school lunch options, this may involve defining specific issues with taste, nutrition, or food waste observed through the empathy phase.

- Ideate: Students will brainstorm creative solutions. The New McGuffey Reader will facilitate classroom and small group ideation sessions for issues like improving school facilities, designing educational games, or spreading kindness in the community. 

- Prototype: Students will create rough conceptual models to explore solutions, such as crafting a new lunch menu, storyboarding an educational app, or acting out an anti-bullying skit. This tests feasibility before final implementation.

- Test: Students will gather user feedback on prototypes through surveys, interviews, and sharing them with stakeholders. This data informs rapid iteration to refine concepts.

By scaffolding the design process, the Reader will teach creative confidence and problem solving.

Reflective Practice for Growth

Education should foster metacognition and self-improvement. The New McGuffey Reader will promote regular reflection through:

- Learning Logs: Students will keep weekly logs documenting lessons learned, knowledge gains, areas of difficulty, future goals, and feedback for instructors. This teaches introspection.

- Peer Discussion: Students will periodically engage in small group or full-class guided discussions of insights from learning logs, allowing them to learn from each other.

- Growth Portfolios: Students will compile samples of work over the course of the year, along with reflections on skills gained. They will present highlights at year-end “knowledge fairs” to make learning visible.

- Revision: Students will re-attempt activities, assignments, and readings throughout the year. Instructors will provide growth-oriented feedback tied to reflection.

- Surveys: Students will complete mid-year and end-of-year surveys to provide feedback on the course, instructors, activities, and areas for improvement.

Regular reflection allows students to see themselves as works-in-progress. It develops essential lifelong habits of mind. By systematically integrating reflective practices, the New McGuffey Reader will teach 4th graders to take ownership over their ongoing growth and education.

Imaginary Socratic dialogue between Socrates and Christopher Hitchens on the potential obsolescence of traditional higher education due to AI/AGI:

Imaginary Socratic dialogue between Socrates and Christopher Hitchens on the potential obsolescence of traditional higher education due to AI/AGI:

Socrates: Greetings, esteemed Mr. Hitchens. I am Socrates, the ancient Athenian philosopher. Though I have been dead for over two millennia, I have returned to engage you in philosophical debate about the future of education.

Hitchens: The legendary Socrates back from the dead? I'm skeptical, but willing to play along. What wisdom do you wish to impart about education from ancient Athens?

Socrates: I wish to discuss whether the traditional model of higher education will become obsolete in light of new artificial intelligence technologies. Specifically, I believe the rise of advanced AI may render brick-and-mortar universities unnecessary for many students in the not-too-distant future.

Hitchens: An intriguing notion! I agree that new technologies are disrupting education, but see benefits as well as drawbacks. Powerful AI could make learning more accessible and personalized. However, we must beware narrowing minds and neglecting the full human experience.

Socrates: You make a fair point. But consider: many now attend university purely to obtain skills and credentials for employment. They spend vast sums on tuition and living costs, and also lose years of potential earnings. If advanced AI can teach effectively online, rendering traditional degrees less relevant, is this model not obsolete?

Hitchens: You highlight real flaws in the status quo. Skyrocketing tuition and student debt are outrageous burdens. But we must ask: do universities provide anything beyond mere information transfer? What about critical thinking, socialization, extra-curriculars, public discourse, and the pursuit of knowledge for its own sake?

Socrates: You speak wisely. Yet how much of the typical student experience truly fosters critical thinking? Many seem more occupied with parties, sports, and vocational prepping. And with infinite information online, the library's importance diminishes. Any shortcomings of AI can improve over time.

Hitchens: Again, you have a point. The ideal of the university exceeds the mundane reality for many students. But even if AI matches or exceeds lecture content, we cannot ignore the value of in-person interactions, teacher relationships, campus culture and coming of age in young adulthood. This cannot be replicated online.

Socrates: Granted, the residential experience offers unique social and emotional growth. But consider also the costs - students face heavy debts, even as automation shrinks career prospects for many degrees. If AI improves, offering sophisticated tutelage for a fraction of the price, this model cannot justify its price tag for most.

Hitchens: You argue persuasively on costs. But could AI ever foster true mentorship, character building, interpersonal dynamics, and an environment of exploration? Even as technology improves, humans desire actual community. And what of extra-curricular activities? Sports, clubs, Greek life - these cannot be replicated in virtual space.

Socrates: Again, wise points. But technology evolves rapidly. Virtual spaces already allow meaningful social connections and could someday fully simulate campus life. And not all find meaning in football games and frat parties. Those seeking knowledge, critical thinking, and career skills could be better served through AI at lower cost, weakening traditional higher ed's mass appeal.

Hitchens: I cannot dismiss your logic. For those focused solely on efficient skills acquisition, AI could someday provide a cheaper alternative, making today's model obsolete. And yet, we must ask what kind of society we wish to build. One with narrow technocrats...or educated citizens, versed in arts, discourse, ethics and the human condition beyond mere career training?

Socrates: Your priorities are noble. But consider - if the economic returns of traditional college decline due to advancing technology, only an elite few may enjoy that holistic experience. For the masses, AI could make learning affordable, accessible and focused on their needs. Done thoughtfully, this could bring enlightenment to all. Universal education seems closer to the ideal republic than one gated by wealth and status.

Hitchens: When you put it that way, I can appreciate the democratizing potential of AI in education. If it helps those excluded from today's system acquire knowledge and thinking skills at lower costs, we must applaud that progress. But can we realize that, while preserving spaces for the fullest enrichment of humanity beyond the bare utilitarian?

Socrates: A wise concern, though I am hopeful. With creativity and care, AI could enhance, not eliminate, the best of traditional academia, while also uplifting those left behind today. We must guide the technology thoughtfully, but not shy away from progress. After all, I taught through dialogues and questions, not costly campuses. We must judge ideas by their merit, not their origin.

Hitchens: Well argued, Socrates. While risks abound, done properly, AI could make learning affordable and accessible to all. We must remain vigilant to the human dimensions beyond mere efficiency, but also embrace progress. Even an ancient philosopher recognizes the potential. I welcome this continued debate on the future we wish to build.

Socrates: As do I. Though brought back temporarily through mysterious means, I see now that centuries of progress have not antiquated deeper inquiry. Let us continue this discussion, on human terms, even as algorithms advance. The unexamined life is still not worth living, whatever technologies we employ.

Hitchens: Indeed, Socrates. The pursuit of understanding through discourse remains eternally relevant. Come - let us find a quiet garden and continue this rich conversation on learning, wisdom and the good life. There is much to explore.

Socrates: Lead on, dear Christopher. Lead on.

Benchmark Reading Passages & Running Records 4th

Here are 10 nonfiction reading passages with word counts for Running Records assessments:

Passage 1 (149 words)

Penguins are flightless birds that live in Antarctica. While other birds can fly through the air, penguins use their flippers to "fly" through the water. Penguins can swim up to 15 miles per hour. Their black and white feathers help camouflage them from predators. Penguins live together in large colonies and make loud noises to communicate with each other. The biggest threats to penguins are climate change, pollution, and overfishing. Many penguin populations are declining as their habitats get warmer. Conservationists are working to protect penguins and their homes in Antarctica.

Passage 2 (297 words)

The blue whale is the largest animal on Earth. These enormous marine mammals can grow to be over 100 feet long and weigh more than 150 tons. That's longer than 3 school buses and heavier than 10 elephants! Blue whales live in all major oceans around the world. They migrate long distances between feeding grounds in cold polar waters and breeding grounds in tropical waters. The blue whale's diet consists of tiny shrimp-like creatures called krill. An adult blue whale can eat up to 8,000 pounds of krill per day. Blue whales were hunted almost to extinction in the 1900s. Whaling has been banned around the world since 1966, allowing some populations to recover. However, blue whales still face threats from pollution, ship strikes, and entanglement in fishing gear. Their global population is estimated at 10,000-25,000 individuals. Blue whales are classified as endangered by the IUCN Red List. More conservation efforts are needed to ensure the future survival of these magnificent creatures.

Passage 3 (204 words)

Mount Everest is the tallest mountain on Earth, standing at 29,032 feet (8,849 meters) above sea level. It is located on the border of Nepal and Tibet within the Himalayan mountain range. Mount Everest was formed around 60 million years ago by the collision of tectonic plates that pushed the sea floor upward. Its height was first determined in 1856 by the Great Trigonometric Survey of British India. However, Mount Everest remained unclimbed until 1953 when Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary made the first successful summit as part of a British expedition. Since then, over 6,000 people have reached the top. Climbing Mount Everest is an extremely challenging and dangerous endeavor. The mountain's "death zone" has very little oxygen and subzero temperatures. Still, hundreds attempt to summit Everest every year during the brief climbing season in April and May. While an impressive accomplishment, the growing commercialization of Mount Everest has led to overcrowding and environmental issues on the mountain.

Passage 4 (247 words)

The Sahara Desert is the largest hot desert in the world, covering nearly all of Northern Africa. It stretches approximately 3,320 miles from east to west and 1,240 miles from north to south. The Sahara spans 11 countries, including Egypt, Libya, Chad, Mali, and Algeria. This immense desert covers roughly 3.6 million square miles, about the size of China or the United States. The Sahara is one of the driest, hottest places on Earth. Most areas receive less than 1.2 inches of rainfall per year. Temperatures commonly reach over 100°F during the day. However, the Sahara's climate wasn't always so harsh. Thousands of years ago, the region was lush and green with savannas, grasslands, wetlands, and lakes. Over time, gradual changes in the Earth's orbit caused drying that turned the area into desert about 5,000 years ago. Today, sand dunes, rocky plateaus, and oasis valleys make up the diverse landscapes of the Sahara. Despite the desert conditions, the Sahara is home to around 2.5 million people, as well as unique wildlife like the desert fennec fox. Changes in climate and human activity continue to expand the Sahara and make survival difficult for the plants, animals, and people who call this desert home.

Passage 5 (246 words)

Denali National Park is a six million acre wilderness area located in Alaska. The park's centerpiece is Denali, North America's tallest mountain at 20,310 feet. Denali National Park was established in 1917 to protect its wildlife, tundra landscapes, and dramatic glaciers. It is home to a diversity of Arctic animals including grizzly bears, caribou, wolves, moose, and Dall sheep. Denali's tundra ecosystems are very fragile, so visitors are encouraged to stay on marked trails to avoid damage. The park only has one 90-mile road running through it, restricting vehicle access to protect the untouched wilderness. Most visitors explore Denali on bus tours along this road, hoping to catch a glimpse of the region's iconic wildlife. Full-day guided hikes are also available for more immersive backcountry experiences. Only experienced mountaineers attempt to summit the treacherous slopes of Denali itself. While Denali offers remote adventures, visitor facilities like lodges and campgrounds make it accessible compared to other Alaskan parks. Denali's summer season runs from May to September, but visitors enjoy winter activities like dog sledding and cross-country skiing too. As one of America's most renowned yet unspoiled wild places, Denali offers the rare chance to experience raw natural beauty and majesty.

Passage 6 (244 words)

Even though they both live in the ocean, dolphins and sharks have major differences. Dolphins are marine mammals, meaning they are warm-blooded and breathe air into their lungs. Dolphins are also very intelligent and often considered one of the smartest animal species. They live together in family groups called pods and communicate with a variety of clicks, whistles, and body language. Dolphins have excellent eyesight and hearing that helps them locate prey using echolocation. They eat fish, squid, and other ocean creatures, obtaining food by surrounding schools of fish and trapping them in their beaks. Dolphins are fast swimmers capable of speeds over 18 miles per hour. They even sleep by resting one half of their brain at a time so they can continue rising to the surface to breathe air. Sharks, on the other hand, are cold-blooded fish with gills that extract oxygen from water. While sharks are skilled hunters with a keen sense of smell, they are not considered as intelligent as dolphins. Different species of sharks eat seals, fish, mollusks, and even smaller sharks. Unlike dolphins, sharks are solitary and territorial. While movies portray sharks as menacing, dolphins can actually be more aggressive in the wild. Both dolphins and sharks play important roles as apex predators in ocean ecosystems.

Passage 7 (248 words)

Snow leopards are large wild cats that live high up in the mountains of Central Asia. These majestic creatures are perfectly adapted to the extreme, rugged habitat of steep mountain slopes above the tree line. Snow leopards have thick white and gray fur with black spots that provides excellent camouflage among the rocks and snow. Their wide paws act as natural snowshoes to walk over the snow. Long tails help them balance and leap great distances of up to 50 feet. Other adaptations like enlarged nasal cavities allow them to breathe the thin, cold air. Snow leopards are opportunistic hunters, using keen sight and sound to stalk prey like ibex, argali, and smaller mammals. While they occasionally attack livestock, snow leopards mainly feed on wild mountain herd animals. Despite their name, snow leopards do not actually roar. They communicate using hisses, meows, yowls, and other calls. Snow leopards are elusive and solitary except when mating or raising cubs. There are only around 4,000-6,500 snow leopards left in the wild. Their remote habitat provides refuge, but also makes it hard to study and protect these mysterious cats. Major threats include poaching, loss of prey due to overhunting, and climate change. Conservation groups work with local communities to establish protected areas and help save these endangered big cats.

Passage 8 (248 words)

The giant panda is one of the world's most iconic and recognizable animals. Native to mountain forests in southwest China, giant pandas have a distinct black and white coloring with large black patches around the eyes, over the ears and across the body. Their thick, wooly coat keeps them warm in the cool, wet bamboo forests. Giant pandas mainly eat bamboo, using strong jaws and teeth to crush this fibrous vegetation. They need to consume 20-40 pounds of bamboo each day to survive. Pandas spend 10-16 hours eating and foraging daily. This unique, nutrient-poor diet causes pandas to live a very relaxed, energy-conserving lifestyle. Wild pandas are solitary and territorial animals, living alone except when mating or caring for cubs. Females give birth to one or two cubs once every two to three years. For many decades, giant panda numbers have been declining due to habitat destruction from logging and agriculture. They were once classified as endangered, with only around 1,000 left in the wild. However, protection efforts have helped stabilize the population at around 1,800. Giant pandas are now classified as vulnerable. Habitat conservation remains essential for panda survival, so protected forests are being expanded and corridors created between isolated areas to prevent inbreeding. While still dependent on ongoing conservation, the majestic giant panda persists as a cherished part of China's natural heritage.

Passage 9 (242 words)

Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and Earth's next door neighbor in the solar system. Often called the Red Planet due to the iron oxide on its surface, Mars has characteristics both similar to and very different from Earth. Mars is just over half the diameter of Earth with a much thinner atmosphere. Temperatures range from 70°F during summer daytime to -225°F at winter poles. Its weaker gravity, only 38% of Earth's, allows some very high landscape features like Olympus Mons, the largest volcano in the solar system. Early in its history Mars may have had liquid water and a thicker atmosphere capable of supporting life. But today the planet is dry and frozen with a desert-like terrain. The surface of Mars consists of impact craters, volcanoes, dried river valleys, and polar ice caps. Mars takes 687 Earth days to orbit the sun. Each day lasts 24 hours and 37 minutes, very similar to Earth. Mars has two moons, Phobos and Deimos. Space exploration has greatly expanded our knowledge of Mars. A fleet of orbiters, landers and rovers study the Martian climate, composition and history. Future missions aim to send human explorers to Mars and possibly establish a long-term colony. While challenges exist, the prospect of living on the Red Planet captures the imagination and shows the boundless potential of human space exploration.

Passage 10 (246 words)

Pandas are universally adored around the world as one of the most iconic and popular zoo animals. The distinctive black and white bears have been a symbol of zoos and conservation for decades. Yet while their image is ubiquitous, giant pandas are in reality very rare and endangered. Found only in certain mountain areas of central China, there are less than 2,000 pandas left in their native habitat. Pandas depend on these bamboo forests for shelter and their unique vegetarian diet of up to 40 pounds of bamboo per day. Due to widespread deforestation, much panda habitat has disappeared. Pandas have a slow reproductive cycle and struggle to survive in the wild. For these reasons, zoos and panda breeding centers play a critical role in conservation. Over 300 pandas live in zoos and captive breeding facilities around the world. Here pandas are safe from poaching, starvation and habitat loss they would face in the wild. Special "panda diplomacy" even exchanges pandas as gifts to foster foreign relations. While captive populations are healthy, protecting pandas in the wild is still crucial for the species to thrive long-term. Ecotourism, reserve expansion and forest restoration continue to improve conditions for wild pandas. Zoos will help ensure giant pandas do not disappear, giving future generations the chance to fall in love with their irresistible charm.

Grade Level One Minute Reading Fluency Drills 


https://dibels.uoregon.edu/materials/dibels

Grade K GK Student Benchmark Materials & Scoring Booklets
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Scoring booklets and student materials by grade for progress monitoring assessment.


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Close Reading Passages and Worksheets Grade 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8 | Freebies Printable Close Reading Worksheets and Passages

1st-2nd-3rd Grade Reading Levels | Close Reading Passages and Worksheets
4th-5th-6th Grade Reading Levels | Close Reading Passages and Worksheets
7th-8th Grade Reading Levels | Close Reading Passages and Worksheets

Close Reading Handouts and Articles

1st-2nd-3rd Close Reading 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
George Washington Carver
Grant Park write an extended response about a nonfiction reading
Gwendolyn Brooks, An African American Poet
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
Native American Life--Potawatomi Profile
Native American Life--Potawatomi Profile with Multiple Choice Questions and Activities
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
Prairie Ecology with Multiple Choice Questions and Activities
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 Passages
The Astronaut's Diary
The Challenge
Changing Transportation Routes
The Different Bird
The Election
The Food Change
The Gift
The Hero
The History Mystery
I Like Plants
The Lion and the Spider
The Little Red Hen
Letter from Chicago
Lincoln's Choice
The Missing Money
My Community
My Cousin's Lesson
My Father's Miracle
My New President
My Painting
The New Student
A New Day Realistic Fiction about the Election of Barack Obama and Civil Rights
Pigeon Express
Potawatomi Prairie
Prairie Farmers
The Prairie Project
A Proud Flight The story of Icarus
The Quarterback
Summer
The Technology Trip
The Train
Traveling with Lewis and Clark
Why Did Mamma Change Her Mind?

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)
Gwendolyn Brooks, An African American Poet
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
Penguins
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
Seasons on the Prairie with Multiple Choice Questions
Settlement infer and support the main idea of a passage
Settlement with Multiple Choice Questions
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
Barack Obama Makes History
The Cloud
Columbus and the Egg historical fiction
The Difficult Journey
The Elves and the Shoemaker
Flying
The Gulls of Salt Lake
I Like Plants
Making Progress
Mama's Happy Christmas
More Trees
Mousie
My Job
My New Brother
Nature's Violet Children
Potawatomi Prairie
Soldier's Letter
The Technology Trip
Training for the Presidency


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 )
George Washington Carver
Gwendolyn Brooks, An African American Poet
How Did People Solve a Problem?
How Have Students Made Community Progress? analyze a problem and solution in a text, identify and support the main idea
Penguins
Prairie Keepers analyze information in a nonfiction text
Prairie Keepers with Multiple Choice Questions and Activities
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
Seasons on the Prairie with Multiple Choice Questions and Activities
Settlement infer and support the main idea of a passage
Settlement with Multiple Choice Questions
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
City Mouse--a Fable
Community Progress realistic fiction about a mural
The Elves and the Shoemaker
The First Flag
A Good Student realistic fiction about starting high school
A Great Digger--A North American Fable
His First Dollar historical fiction about Abraham Lincoln
Letter to Grandmother
The Lost Dog
Potawatomi Prairie
See Our Progress
Sir Gobble

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
Gwendolyn Brooks, An African American Poet
Inferential Questions: Harold Washington's Acceptance Speech
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
Prairie Ecology with Multiple Choice Questions and Activities
Settlement analyze information in a nonfiction text
Settlement with Multiple Choice Questions and Activities
Seasons on the Prairie infer and support the main idea of a passage
Seasons on the Prairie with Multiple Choice Questions and Activities
Traveling West infer and support the main idea of a passage

7th Grade Reading Level
Barack Obama Makes History
Columbus and the Egg historical fiction about an event showing Columbus as a smart person
A Good Student realistic fiction about starting high school
I Like Plants
John's Bright Idea
Making a Difference
My First Baseball Game
My Summer
Potawatomi Prairie
The Red Apples
Gwendolyn Brooks, An African American Poet


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
Prairie Keepers with Multiple Choice Questions and Activities
Settlement infer and support the main idea of a passage
Settlement with Multiple Choice Questions and Activities
Today's Telephone infer and support the main idea of a passage


8th-10th Grade Reading Level
The Difficult Journey
The Gulls of Salt Lake
Lexington
My Job
My New President
My Sister, the Soldier
Potawatomi Prairie
See Our Progress
Training for the Presidency

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
Changing the Ecosystem with Multiple Choice Questions and Activities
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
George Washington Carver
Gwendolyn Brooks, An African American Poet
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
Inferential Questions: Harold Washington's Acceptance Speech
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
Settlement with Multiple Choice Questions and Activities
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
Harold Washington's Acceptance Speech
Frederick Douglass Speech on Women's Suffrage
John F. Kennedy's Remarks in the Rudolph Wilde Platz, Berlin
Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address
President Barack Obama's Speech to Students
President Franklin D. Roosevelt's First Inaugural Address


CCSS INTENSIVE READING SKILLS WORKBOOK IDEA?

HOT READING SKILLS NONWORKBOOKs (FREE Open Source Reading Resources)

Prepare your students with intensive DOK level 3 and 4 two-step reading comprehension questions, targeted word studyrigorous word analysis, skills-building daily reading comprehension practice that students need to pass demanding standards-based reading assessments. Each HOT/BOSS READING SKILLS workbook will include more than 40 fun intensive reading lessons.

Sample Cover of a Monthly Read and Respons workbook that I would like to develop.

Intensive Reading Lessons!
 
  • Reading Comprehension questions: One‐Part Hot Text, Multiple Choice, Open Response, Multi‐Select, Evidence‐Based Selected Response, Two‐Part Hot Text,  Editing Task Questions, Technology Enhanced Constructed Response (TECR), Grid Select, Prose Constructed Response (PCR), and ELA-Applied Skills: ConstructedResponse, and Extended-Response. 
  • Weekly/Biweekly Word Study Games 
  • Weekly/Biweekly Socratic Seminars 
  • Weekly/Biweekly Latin and Greek Roots and Affixes HOT Sheets
  • Weekly/Biweekly Reading Game Cards: Tier 2 and 3 Academic Reading Vocabulary 
  • Daily Reading Fluency Passages: Socratic Seminare STEM questions included
  • Weekly/Biweekly Cornel Notes Word Analysis Journal Pages 
  • Weekly Fiction Literary Elements Hide and Seek Game 
  • Bimonthly Nonfiction Text Features Scavenger Hunt
  • Daily Tier 2 and 3 ELA Reading Glossaries Word Match Game
  • Weekly/Biweekly FUN, Silly, Foolish and Ingaging Reading Passages 
  • Daily Read and Response Reading Logs
  • Bimonthly Standards-Based Reading Comprehension Assessments 

Draft Non-Fiction Close Reading Test Passages: NEEDS EDITING! PLEASE HELP!
  1. 13-year-old Dutch girl, Laura Dekker sails Around the World
  2. Are Dogs Really Man’s Best Friend?
  3. Can you Win Arguments with Your Parents with Facts?
  4. Captain James Cook Mini Biography
  5. Claude Monet French Impressionist Painter
  6. College Knowledge: What do you need to know to succeed in college?
  7. Deforestation: Facts, Causes & Effects
  8. Eating Insects Is Common Around the World
  9. Extraordinary Astronomical Observatories of the World
  10. Getting Organized with Checklist
  11. How can we save the Honey Bee?
  12. How do Vaccines work?
  13. How to Start Your Own Business
  14. Is Clutter and Mess Really Best for Creativity?
  15. Living on the International Space Station
  16. Man’s Future Missions to Mars
  17. Mary Shelley an English novelist: Frankenstein
  18. Mary Stevenson Cassatt an American Painter
  19. Mini Benjamin Franklin Biography
  20. Mini Biography Astronaut Sally Ride
  21. Motivation Using Fear or Reason
  22. Norse explorer Leif Erikson Explores America 500 years before Columbus
  23. Pakistani schoolgirl Malala Yousafzai, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize
  24. RECYCLING FACTS & STATISTICS
  25. Renewable Resources, Wind Solar and Hydroelectric: FACTS & STATISTICS
  26. Sherlock Holmes: Man or mystery?
  27. The Baja 500 off-road race
  28. The Future of High Speed Trains
  29. The history of ice cream
  30. The History of the Taj Mahal
  31. The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World
  32. The Story of the Titans
  33. The Truth about Pirates
  34. What is your carbon footprint?
  35. The History of the Taj Mahal
  36. What will happen if a giant comet hits the Earth?
  37. Who was Socrates?
  38. Why aren’t there more female engineers?
  39. Why We Crave Junk Food: Sugar and Fat?
  40. Will California Survive the Great Drought?
  41. A History of the Hanseatic League
  42. A Short History of the Battle Axe
  43. A Short History of the Cross Bow
  44. A Short History of the Dagger
  45. Child Labour and your Electronics
  46. Child Slavery and your Chocolate Bar
  47. Crocodile & Alligator Differences
  48. Top 10-15 scientists who changed the world: Marie Curie
  49. Myth vs. Fact Ancient Aliens Created the Nazca Lines
  50. Myth vs. Fact the Abominable Snowman
  51. Myth vs. Fact the Roswell Aliens
  52. Myth vs. Fact the Voodoo Zombies
  53. Neil Alden Armstrong the first person to walk on the Moon
  54. The Sonoran Desert Flora and Fauna
  55. Timeline of female labor and education in the early history of the US
  56. What is Project Based Learning?

  57. Coming Soon PAIRED READING PASSAGES WITH EBSR! 

    Top 10 Future Professions: 
    Data Scientist/Engineer (Machine Learning)
    Mechanical Engineer
    Physician.
    Physical Therapist.
    Civil Engineer.
    Information Security Analyst (Internet)
    Computer App Developer.
    Website Designer
    Metallurgical and Materials Engineering
    Database Administrator

    Science Articles: 
    Coastal Estuarine Food Chain/Web
    Tidepool Flora and Fauna
    Kelp Forest Ecosystems
    Coral Reef Systems: Great Barrier Reef
    Renewable Energy Resources Wind Turbine
    Renewable Energy Resources Solar Power
    Arizona Sky Islands Ecosystems
    Australia’s Uluru | Northern Territory
    Natural Phenomena: Earthquakes
    Natural Phenomena: Tsunamis
    Critically Endangered Species: Vaquita
    Critically Endangered Species: White Rhino
    Wilderness Medicine: Outdoor First Aide Essentials
    Medicinal plants
    Physical Phenomena: Electricity
    Physical Phenomena: Magnetism
    Natural Phenomena: Precipitation and The Hydrologic cycle
    Natural Phenomena: Weather and Lightning
    Earth-friendly Diet
    The Sugar Diet: Sugar Addiction

    Inspirational People:
    Anne Frank
    Joan of Arc
    Albert Einstein
    Stephen Hawking
    Nikola Tesla
    Thomas Edison
    World at War: Winston Churchill
    World at War: Franklin Delano Roosevelt
    Benjamin Franklin
    Thomas Jefferson

      Fiction Close Reading Passages