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Written at Four Different Levels!

Six Common Core Aligned Activities!
Created for Close Reading
©  24/7  Teacher  LLC  
 This freebie comes from a much larger unit which contains
are differentiated and have five or more activities per passage.

Each passage is
designed for
students to get
the practice they
need with citing
textual evidence.

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check them out.
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 1st grade units
are created with
extra love!

The March Close Reading unit below is

100% aligned to Common Core Standards!
It has 20 passages written at four different levels.
Each passage has 8 activities designed to meet
every Common Core Category! For 2nd and up!
Word Count 169
Lexile 450

Name __________________________  

The first day of spring is March 20th. On

this day, the length of day and night are equal.
This is called the spring equinox. It happens
because of the Earth’s tilt and orbit around the
sun. Science is a big part of this season.
Plants, animals, and people adapt to spring.

In March, the weather is warmer. There is more rain in the

spring. Many plants become dormant during the winter. This
helps them save energy. In some places, the ground is frozen
over during the winter. When the ground thaws, the seeds
underground start to sprout. Plants and flowers grow again.

In the spring, there is more food for animals. Hibernating

animals become active. Migrating animals that went south
return. Some animals build new nests. Others dig new burrows.

After the spring equinox, the daylight hours grow longer.

Children are outside more. Because there is more rain, people
are careful of storms. In some places, there are severe
thunderstorms or even tornadoes. Many things change in the
spring.
Word Count 179
Lexile 560

Name _________________________  
The first day of spring is March 20th. On this
day, the length of day and night are equal. This is
called the spring equinox. It happens because of
the Earth’s tilt, orbit, and revolution around the
sun. Science is a major part of this season.
Plants, animals, and people adapt to spring.

In spring, there is more precipitation and the weather

becomes warmer. Many plants were dormant and stopped
growing during the winter. Some lost all their leaves. This helped
them save energy. In some places, the ground is frozen during
the winter. As the ground thaws during the spring, the seeds
underground will sprout. Plants and flowers grow again.

In the spring, there is more food for animals to eat.

Hibernating animals become active. Migrating animals that went
south return. Some animals build new nests and others dig new
burrows.

After the spring equinox, the daylight hours grow longer.

Because there is more rain, people are careful of storms. In
some places, there are severe thunderstorms or even tornadoes.
Many things change because of the new season.
Word Count 203
Lexile 630

Name __________________________  

The first day of spring is March 20th. On this

day, the length of daylight and night are equal. This
day is called the spring equinox. It happens because
of the Earth’s tilt, orbit, and revolution around the
sun. Science is a significant part of this season.
Plants, animals, and people adapt to spring.

In the spring, there is more precipitation and the weather begins

to become warmer. In the winter, many plants are dormant and
stopped growing. Some plants lost all of their leaves. Losing leaves
helped them to save energy. In some places, the ground is frozen
during the winter. As the ground thaws during the spring, the seeds
underground will sprout. Plants and flowers start to grow and
bloom.

In the spring, there is more food for animals to eat. Animals

that hibernated in the winter become active again. Animals that
migrated away from the cold to the south return. Some animals build
new nests and others dig new burrows.

After the spring equinox, the daylight hours grow longer and
longer. Because there is more rain, people are careful of storms. In
some places, there are severe thunderstorms or even tornadoes.
Many things change because of the new spring season.
Word Count 200
Lexile 780

Name ___________________________  
The first day of spring is March 20th. This
day is called the spring equinox. It is when the
length of daylight and night are equal. It
happens because of the Earth’s tilt, orbit, and
revolution around the sun. Science is a
significant part of this changing season. Plants,
animals, and people must adapt to spring.

In the spring, there is more precipitation and the weather begins

to become warmer. In the winter, many plants are dormant and
discontinue to grow. Most plants will lose all of their leaves to help
conserve energy. In some places, the ground is frozen all winter and
will thaw with the return of spring. This stimulates seeds, plants, and
flowers to grow and thrive.

In the spring, there is more food for animals to eat. Animals that
hibernated in the winter become active again. Animals that migrated
away from the cold to the south return. Birds will return and build
new nests and mammals will dig new burrows.

After the spring equinox, the daylight hours grow longer and
longer. Because of the sudden change of weather, people must be
cautious of severe storms, rain, and tornadoes. Many things change
because of the new spring season.
 Key Ideas & Details
Name _______________________  
Directions: Complete each section.

RI.1

RI.1

2. Write a question
1. Write an inference about the text.
about the passage.

RI.3
RI.2

4. What is the connection

between the spring equinox
and the changes that
3. What is the main idea of the text? happen in the spring?
RI.1
Spring
Name _____________________ Directions: Write complete sentences for each.  

1. Cite evidence from the text to tell what the spring equinox is.
________________________________________________________!
________________________________________________________!
________________________________________________________!
________________________________________________________!
________________________________________________________!
2. What happens to the ground in places where it is frozen over
when spring starts?
________________________________________________________!
________________________________________________________!
________________________________________________________!
________________________________________________________!
________________________________________________________!
3. According to the text, why does the spring equinox happen?
________________________________________________________!
________________________________________________________!
________________________________________________________!
________________________________________________________!
________________________________________________________!
4. What do animals do in the spring?
________________________________________________________!
________________________________________________________!
________________________________________________________!
________________________________________________________!
________________________________________________________!
•  Restate the question or prompt where appropriate.
•  Answer in a complete sentence.
•  Cite evidence to prove the answer.
 Spring
Name _____________________ Key Ideas and Details
Directions: Write complete sentences for each.  
1. What is the focus of the first paragraph?
________________________________________________________!
________________________________________________________!
________________________________________________________!
________________________________________________________!
________________________________________________________!
2. What is the focus of the second paragraph?
________________________________________________________!
________________________________________________________!
________________________________________________________!
________________________________________________________!
________________________________________________________!
3. What is the focus of the third paragraph?
________________________________________________________!
________________________________________________________!
________________________________________________________!
________________________________________________________!
________________________________________________________!
4. What is the focus of the fourth paragraph?
________________________________________________________!
________________________________________________________!
________________________________________________________!
________________________________________________________!
________________________________________________________!
 Spring
Craft and Structure
Name _____________________
Directions: Write complete sentences for each.  
1. Find the underlined word “adapt” in the text.
RI.4 How does the author show you the meaning of this word?

2. Find the underlined word “dormant” in the text.

RI.4 How does the author show the meaning of this word?

3. Find the underlined word “thaw” or "thaws" in the text.

RI.4 How does the author show the meaning of this word?

4. Find the underlined word “spring equinox” in the text.

RI.4 How does the author show the meaning of this word?
 Spring
Name _____________________ Integration of Knowledge & Ideas
RI.7 Directions: Write complete sentences for each.  
1. Does the image connect to the text?
Cite evidence from the text to support your answer.
!________________________________________________________!
________________________________________________________!
________________________________________________________!
RI.2.8 RI.3.1 RI.4.8
2. The author made the point about animals adapting in the spring.
What reason or evidence does the author give to support this?
________________________________________________________!
________________________________________________________!
________________________________________________________!
________________________________________________________!
________________________________________________________!
RI.2.8 RI.3.1 RI.4.8
3. How does the author support the point made in the last sentence
of the second paragraph?
________________________________________________________!
________________________________________________________!
________________________________________________________!
________________________________________________________!
________________________________________________________!
RI.2.8 RI.3.1 RI.4.8
4. The author made the point that people adapt to spring.
What reason or evidence does the author give to support this?
!________________________________________________________!
________________________________________________________!
________________________________________________________!
•  Restate the question or prompt where appropriate.
•  Answer in a complete sentence.
•  Cite evidence to prove the answer.
 Name___________________________________________  

Directions: Do you think anything else changes in the spring? Combine your thinking
with evidence from the text to tell about other things that change in the spring.

________________________________________________________!
________________________________________________________!
________________________________________________________!
________________________________________________________!
________________________________________________________!
________________________________________________________!
________________________________________________________!
________________________________________________________!
________________________________________________________!
________________________________________________________!
________________________________________________________!
________________________________________________________!
________________________________________________________!
________________________________________________________!
________________________________________________________!
________________________________________________________!
________________________________________________________!
________________________________________________________!
________________________________________________________!
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________!
 Spring Answer Key
RI.1
1. The spring equinox is when the length of day and night are equal.
2. In places where the ground is frozen over the snow will melt off the ground and
seeds will start to sprout.
3. According to the text, the spring equinox happens because of the Earth's tilt and
orbit around the sun.
4. In the spring, animals hibernating animals become active, migrating animals, that
went south, return. Some animals build new nests. Others dig new burrows.
Key Ideas and Details (Graphic Organizer)
1.  Student inference/generated. RI.1
2.  Student question/generated. RI.1
3.  The main idea of the text is how spring begins to change things in March. RI.2
4. Spring will come every year because of the spring equinox. Or the spring equinox
will bring spring every year. RI.3
Key Ideas and Details (Paragraph Focus) RI.2
1.  The focus of the 1st paragraph is spring begins in March.
2.  The focus of the 2nd paragraph is the weather begins to change.
3.  In spring, animals will come out more for many reasons.
4. The spring equinox will change the weather, sometimes make it severe.
The full unit has text coding tools for RI.5.
Craft and Structure RI.4
1.  The underlined word adapt means to change because the author describes the
change of weather.
2.  The underlined word dormant means to stop growing and the author describes it
by using the words “stopped growing”.
3.  The underlined word thaws means to become unfrozen. It is defined by stating
how places are frozen in the previous sentence.
4. The underlined word spring equinox means that daylight and night will become
equal as described in both the 1st and last paragraphs.
The full unit has paired passage tools for RI.9
Integrate Knowledge and Ideas
1.  The image connects to the text by showing the planet, because the planet goes
through changes during spring. RI.7
2.  Animals will come out from hibernation, return, or become more active. RI.8
3.  Plants grow because of more rain/warmer/sunlight. RI.8
4. People have to adapt to spring by being careful of storms and even tornadoes.
RI.8
 ©  24/7  Teacher  LLC  

Over two years ago, I received a multi-day training by FLDOE. At the time, I was in the role of Instructional/
Academic Coach. After extensive training I facilitated several professional development opportunities for teachers in my
district. To keep my practice current, I am attending the International Reading Association’s 59th annual conference. In
March of 2013, I began my journey creating Close Reading passage units and tools for teachers on TpT. My units mature
more and more with each new creation. I hope you enjoy this freebie and learning a little about me. More to come soon!

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