Time capsules are carefully-sealed containers filled with things from the present time and that are meant to be opened by people at some time in the future. American time capsules can be simple and created to be opened in a few decades, or they may be very large, complex units of storage designed to be opened thousands of years from now! This mystery and wonder article introduces American time capsules to students and then traces the story and contents of seven famous time capsules, four of which are still sealed and three that have been opened.
This passage and assessment can be used in Grades 4-8 depending on your students' ability levels and in a number of ways by teachers (close reading, teacher-directed study in class, independent practice, homework, test prep, etc). This is a very high-interest article designed for use with reluctant readers or in any regular classroom! Please download the Preview to see part of the text and ALL the questions included in the printable.
This passage and assessment is ideal as part of a close reading program in your classroom based around mastery of the Common Core Informational Text Standards! What does that mean to you as a classroom teacher? It means that this is not the typical “one reading I'm done” comprehension work often given before the Common Core Standards were created. To complete the assessment for the passage, students will need "to undertake the close, attentive reading and re-reading that is at the heart of understanding and enjoying complex and worthy works.”
This product is part of a larger bundled collection on Mysteries and Wonders. The bundle can be purchased at a huge 50% discount to the price of the individual resources that are included by clicking and purchasing the resource below!
Mysteries and Wonders Informational Passage and Assessment Collection
The printable includes:
1) An engaging, high-interest informational text of 900+ words entitled “Time Capsules in America.” Flesch Kincaid Reading Level = 6.6
2) A set of 27 questions, from simple to more challenging, written to align with these Common Core Informational Text Standards:
RI.4.1. Refer to details and examples in a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.
RI.5.4. Determine the meaning of general academic and domain-specific words and phrases in a text relevant to a grade 5 topic or subject area.
RI.6.8. Trace and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, distinguishing claims that are supported by reasons and evidence from claims that are not.
3) Answers to every question.
Grab the attention of your reluctant readers with any or all of the following individual Mysteries and Wonders passages and assessments! These articles with questions give you no-prep, ready to go printables right at your fingertips. Answer keys are provided for each resource.
The Loch Ness Monster
The Bermuda Triangle
Dowsing For Water
The Town The Earth Swallowed
The Mystery of Amelia Earhart
The Caves of Altamira
Tower of London Ghosts
Graphology: Science or Nonsense?
The Strange and Funny World of Names
Hiroo Onoda: The Last Samurai
America's Time Capsules
Palm Reading: Science or Nonsense?
Atlantis: Legend and Fact
The Great Martian Invasion
The Krakatoa Volcano Disaster
The Winchester Mystery House
The Abominable Snowman
The Giants of Easter Island
The Truth About Vampires
Werewolves of London
Swallowed By A Whale?
UFOs: Aliens, Hallucinations, or Natural Phenomena?
Mermaids: The Maidens of the Sea
Ludwig: The Mad Castle Builder
Secrets of Stonehenge
Machu Picchu: Inca Citadel
The Shroud of Turin
The Year Without a Summer
The "Human Calculators"
Dragons of the World
The Truth About Dragons
Alexander Selkirk: "Robinson Crusoe"
The Hindenburg Disaster
Our Human Cousins: Neanderthals
Mummies: The Unwrapping
The Search for Noah’s Ark
Alchemy and The Philosopher's Stone
SHC: Spontaneous Human Combustion
This item is a PAID digital download from my TpT store. As such, it is for use in one classroom only. This item is also bound by copyright laws and redistributing, editing, selling, or posting this item (or any part thereof) on the Internet are all strictly prohibited without first gaining permission from the author. Violations are subject to the penalties of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act.
Any claims of correlation or alignment to the Common Core State Standards are solely those of Mark Aaron and have not been evaluated or endorsed by the NGA. Mark Aaron is the sole creator of this product and does not claim endorsement or association with the creators of the CCSS.