Enhance close reading skills with 60 professionally written passages for 3rd-5th graders. Includes print and digital options, differentiation, audio support, and paired passages. Ideal for morning work, centers, homework, or test prep. Developed by a published children’s author.
$25.97
These close reading comprehension passages are the perfect no-prep, standards-based, and high interest way to strengthen your students’ close reading skills!
This resource includes 60 (x2 for 2 reading levels) passages professionally written by a published children’s author with more than 100 books in print!
WHATโS INCLUDED:
โ๏ธ PRINT:
DIGITAL:
DIFFERENTIATION OPTIONS:
Great for 3rd, 4th, or 5th grade!
CHECK OUT THE PREVIEW TO SEE A LOT MORE!
NOTE: This resource uses American English and is not editable.
About the Passages
There are 60 passages, each presented at two reading levels (grades 3-4 and 4-5) for a total of 120 passages. The passages are a mix of high-interest and curriculum-based topics and include informational text, literature, and poetry. The included text-dependent questions address a variety of close reading skills.
Text Dependent Questions
The Show What You Know, text-dependent questions are identical for both reading levels. This allows you to discuss the passages altogether, even if you have students using different reading levels. Note that some questions may be challenging for third-grade students, especially near the start of the year.
Audio Support
Audio support is included through links or QR codes. These are recordings created with the most advanced AI text to talk technology on the market for a natural human-like sound. You can click here for an example of what the audio sounds like.
Use in 3 Ways
Teacher instructions, student pages, and answer keys are all included in the PDF. There are two versions of printable pages: with and without QR codes.
Links to the digital versions are included in your download. Click the links for your own copy of the resources. 2 Google Slide files are included: with and without audio support.
You can open an *Easel Activity (only available if you purchase on TPT) from the TpT product page. Text boxes are built-in for student input. One advantage of using Easel is that students can easily annotate the text using the pen and highlight tools.
More about the reading passages:
The passages are sequenced in cycles of six as follows:
Breakdown by type: 1/2 Informational Text, 1/3 Literature, and 1/6 Poetry.
Within the 60 passages, there are five sets of paired passages. The paired passages appear adjacent to each other and address a similar topic for comparing and contrasting. Three additional printables are included to use with these paired passages. These passages will also work as stand-alone activities if you do not want to use them together.
The skills addressed in each passage are written in small print at the bottom on the left-hand side. The skills address most of the RI and RL Common Core Standards and include: reading for details, main idea, summarizing, inference, predicting, genre setting/character/plot, theme, context clues/vocabulary, figurative language, authorโs style, authorโs purpose, point of view, mood/tone, text structure, comparing and contrasting, interpreting an illustration (map, chart, diagram, table, or photo), analysis, and evaluation. They are also listed in the table of contents for easy reference.
If you would like consistent practice all year long, use two Text Time pages per week, perhaps on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Another option is to use them three times a week, possibly Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, which will get you through most of the school year. A third possibility is to go ala carte, selecting passages for their subjects or the skills addressed, as needed.
These passages could be used for morning work, at a center or station, as part of a reading packet, with a small group, as homework, as enrichment for younger, highly capable students, as remediation for struggling students, or as test prep. For interactive notebooks, just cut the two sections apart.
Parents and Caregivers:
This resource will work best if your child is already familiar with the reading skills in this product (you can see them in the table of contents in the free preview). This product is meant to reinforce those concepts, not to teach them. If you feel your student would benefit by being able to reference specific reading skills, you might also consider these reading posters/charts.
Hereโs what teachers are saying:
โ๏ธ “Thanks for a great resource–I love that there are 2 versions of the same text with the same questions so we can discuss those together no matter which version my students had.” -Eilidh H.
โ๏ธ “This is an amazing resource!! It is comprehensive and full of engaging articles that I know my students will love! It also has metric conversions in the articles, which I HUGELY appreciate as a Canadian teacher. Thank you so much for all your hard work!! This resource is absolutely worth the price and then some!” -Candace E.
โ๏ธ “I love that these are differentiated and so well thought out. Excellent. I use these for morning work and students walk in and do the work, the expectation is clear, and no time is lost getting on track with literacy.” -Kerri C.
Passage Titles:
1 A Real Life Batman
2 At the Amusement Park
3 Be a Tree Detective
4 California Bound!
5 So Many Satellites!
6 Victory
7 Insects for Dinner
8 The Gorilla and the Monkey
9 Alligator or Crocodile?
10 Why I am Afraid of Balloons
11 Author Louis Sachar
12 A Boyโs Summer Song
13 The Pony Express (paired)
14 My Brother the Rider (paired)
15 One Country or Four?
16 The Case of the Missing Poodle
17 A Quarterback Who Gives Back
18 Little-Girl-Two-Little-Girls
19 Mission to Mars (paired)
20 A New Life on Mars (paired)
21 The Layers of the Earth
22 Pandoraโs Box
23 Coniferous and Deciduous Trees
24 Brother and Sister
25 The Invention of Earmuffs
26 Hamster Adventures
27 Too Much Sugar!
28 Kirlaโs Quest
29 Mountain Food Chains
30 Which are You?
31 Sojourner Truth
32 Snow Day
33 Animal Bedtimes
34 The Best Day Ever!
35 Our Incredible Sun
36 Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening
37 Amazing Anacondas (paired)
38 I Saw an Anaconda (paired)
39 The Population of Australia
40 Sam and the Swim Team
41 The Early Life of Benjamin Franklin
42 Chicago Poet
43 Conductors and Insulators (paired)
44 Safety First (paired)
45 Hurricanes
46 Jamie and the Bear
47 Staying Safe in the Sun
48 The Wind
49 Reading to Rover
50 Super Cheese Man to the Rescue!
51 Chinaโs Terracotta Soldiers (paired)
52 An Ancient Soldier(paired)
53 Ice Cream in a Baggie
54 The Grass So Little Has to Do
55 Machu Picchu
56 Lizzyโs Lemonade Stand
57 Wind Power
58 The Wind and the Sun
59 Hooray for Peanut Butter!
60 The Fisherman
YOU MIGHT ALSO LOVEโฆ
Need Text Time at a lower level? Check out
Text Time for Grades 1-3
Love Text Time but need more paired passages? Then you need:
Text Time Triples
Check out 35 ways to use post it notes in your classroom here!
____________________________________
Be the first to know about discounts, freebies and new resources!
Get TPT credit to use on future purchases:
โญโญโญโญโญ WE STRIVE FOR 5 STARS! โญโญโญโญโญ
NEED HELP? Before leaving feedback:
About the Author
These passages were written by me, Rachel Lynette. I am a published author of over 120 nonfiction books for children on a variety of subjects, as well as several teacher resource books. I have written for publishers such as Harcourt, Thompson-Gale, Rosen, Childrenโs Press, Evan-Moor, Kagan, and several others. These passages reflect more than a decade of professional writing experience.
Terms of Use
This resource was created by Rachel Lynette and Cassi Noack for Minds in Bloom INC., all rights reserved. It may be used by the original purchaser for single class use only. Teachers may distribute this product in email, through google classroom or over the Internet to their students (and parents) as long as the site is password protected. In other words, you may distribute it to your own students, but may not put it on the Internet where it could be publicly found and downloaded.
If you want to share this resource with colleagues, please purchase additional licenses from TpT. Thank you for respecting these terms of use.
This product is happily brought to you by Rachel Lynette and Cassi Noack of Minds in Bloom
SKU: 1987225
“
| Main Subjects | |
|---|---|
| Grade Level | |
| Resource Type |
Only logged in customers who have purchased this product may leave a review.
Taylor S. –
This resource is amazing! I used it as homework, center work, independent work, and for my emerging readers! Having the audio file attached to a physical text is so helpful and it makes implementing it incredibly easy! Thank you for an amazing resource!
Jodean H. –
Engaging passages! Perfect fit for in my reading groups. This is the second resource of this type that I have bought from this seller.
Robin G. –
Great passages and comprehension questions. I love the audio feature! I downloaded the Google sheets as a PowerPoint to assign in Teams and it still worked- thank you!
Abby D. –
I LOVE this resource! It relieves so much stress on my end trying to find passages and ask questions that will benefit the learning of my students. It is so nice to have as a time filler, small group, or morning work! I love how organized it is and I can easily find the standard or topic I am looking for and can just print and go! Thank you for creating such a wonderful resource!
lisa B. –
Wonderful for differentiation during IE. Solid and interesting passages and practice using text evidence to answer questions< Great for small group or individual independent work!
Katherine Z. –
I use this resource nearly every single day. The quality of the passages and questions is extremely high. I am very confident that I am giving my students the best materials when I use this resource. Thank you!
Rachel L. –
I love using this resource. It is definitely timeless and will be using it every year with all age groups. The worksheets were excellent for my age group and will carry it out all through the year. Thank you!!
Alexis Nelson –
My students and I have loved these close reading passages! This different levels has made differentiation a breeze and has allowed my students confidence in finding evidence skyrocket! I can’t wait to continue using these in class and there are plenty for the whole year!
Danielle L. –
Used as a teaching tool to help my students who continue to struggle with comprehension. Thank you!
Nicole M. –
This is my favorite resource of all time to use with small groups! I love the differentiated passages and how it helps with all reading comprehension skills. Highly recommend for any upper elementary teacher!