These five reading passages introduce students to first-person narratives through fun, fascinating topics that are guaranteed to hold their interest. Each passage includes five Common Core-aligned questions, testing your students’ ability to:
Use Context Clues • Interpret Figurative Language • Draw Inferences
Recall Supporting Facts • Identify the Main Idea • Analyze Perspective
Passage 1: Moving Day
The narrator is excited to move to a new home. But as he explores his strange and unfamiliar new house, he learns that sometimes you don’t appreciate what you have until it’s gone! View Resource…
Passage 2: Summer in Managua
The narrator’s home is snowy Buffalo, New York, but her parents are from sunny Nicaragua. When she visits her family home for the summer, the narrator sees a different side of her parents. This passage is a great conversation starter for bilingual classes! View Resource…
Passage 3: Trash Patrol
The narrator and his sister have an odd summertime hobby. They go on “trash patrol,” collecting discarded electronics to dissect in their garage. View Resource…
Passage 4: My Odd Upbringing
The narrator of My Odd Upbringing comes from strange family. Not only did she grow up on a houseboat, but her father once made a solo journey across the Atlantic Ocean in a homemade ship! This fiction story is inspired by the real-life story of legendary oddball Poppa Neutrino. View Resource…
Passage 5: A Highly Unique Career
“My career is highly unique,” begins the narrator. “I use a specialized skill set that took me an entire lifetime to learn. I can earn thousands of dollars in a single day, and the tools of my trade can fit into a single briefcase.” What is he? Read on to find out! View Resource…
PS: If your students enjoyed “A Highly Unique Career,” I recommend the story that inspired it: “The Hitch-Hiker” by Roald Dahl. It can be found in fantastic collection The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar.
Looking for more fun and fascinating reading passages to help your students build Common Core reading skills? Find more here, and even more below:
Do your students need a break after all that reading? Try out a learning game.