The English Content Team has released a number of new reading sets. Some of these sets contain two reading passages accompanied by a series of questions that challenge students’ critical thinking skills. The reading selections come from our partner Cobblestone & Cricket Media, an award winning producer of 15 magazines.
These passages are housed at levels “G-I” in the Castle Learning Reading Set database, but could be appropriate in both high school and middle school classes. All of the reading sets in this series focus on scientific mysteries – The Moai of Easter Island, Megaliths, Big Foot, UFOs, and other mysterious paranormal happenings. The reading sets contain extended response writing prompts, as well as several other question types that can assist students in the creation of their extended response answers.
Titles
- A Lake Monster or Two – Do they exist? The Lock Ness Monster, Champ, and Memphre’s sightings are all examined in this reading passage.
- Dragons in the Night – Presents and examines pseudoscience and possible UFO sightings.
- Paranormal Hoax/In Search of Monsters! – (comparison set: two reading passages) Cryptozoology, the search for hidden or extinct animals (like Big Foot), is discussed.
- Moving Big Rocks into Small Places/Digging Deeper: Interviewing the Experts – (comparison set: two reading passages) Examines how ancient people created and moved these gigantic stones and monuments with very simple tools – if any tools at all!
- The Moai of Easter Island/The Mystery of Easter Island – (comparison set: two reading passages) Examines how the mysterious statues of Easter Island came to be.
Sample Question
