September 11 Differentiated Close Reading Comprehension Passages Patriot Day

September 11 is a day that we will never forget in America! Help your young students learn about and remember this tragic day in a thoughtful and meaningful way that. Incorporate history with reading as you celebrate Patriot Day with these close reading passages and activities. Each passage was written especially for students so that they can learn about and understand the impacts of this day. 

PLEASE NOTE: Due to request, I have 2 versions of these passages. Some teachers wanted a resource with a more specific time frame of events from this day. I try really hard to make sure teachers have what they need for their classrooms. I’m always willing to add or change anything when it comes to my products. Never hesitate to reach out to me! 

In this download, you will find:

• Version 1: These passages and activities focus on the terrorist group Al Qaeda and how their actions changed American forever. The text explains what terrorists are, Al Qaeda’s beliefs and ideas, why they attacked the U.S., what happened during the attacks, and how brave Americans showed great courage as they helped with the rescue. 
• Version 2: These passages focus on the main events of this day. Each event (terrorist attack) is broken down by a time frame. The text explains what happened on this day, how Americans felt, the actions of Americans throughout the country, how heroes showed great courage as they helped with the rescue, and why we celebrate Patriot Day each year.

These reading comprehension passages and activities are the perfect tools to help students practice close reading skills during the month of September. This week-long lesson on Remembering 9/11: We Will Never Forget follows a close reading model and includes a teacher guide and notes to make teaching the lesson easy!

Students will be required to use close reading skills to practice making logical inferences, citing textual evidence, and drawing conclusions from the text. These differentiated informational text passages about September 11 (Patriot Day) will engage students and spark interest! 

PRINT & GO! Easily differentiate instruction with the leveled reading passages for grades 3-5. Includes everything you need to teach a week-long close reading lesson.

⭐A digital Google Classroom option is included! (Google Slides™)

⭐⭐Bundle and Save! This resource is also included in the following bundle.

Close Reading Comprehension Passages & Questions | September Bundle

Close Reading Lesson:

Remembering 9/11: We Will Never Forget!

This high-interest and engaging topic will captivate the interest of students!

Step-by-Step instructions (for teacher and students) are included that follows a close reading model.

Step 1: First Reading: Determine what the text says.

Step 2: Second Reading: Determine how the text says it.

Step 3: Third Reading: Determine what the text means.

Step 4: Written Comprehension: Write and Respond

Includes:

• Implementation Guide (Steps to Close Reading)
• Teacher Guide and Notes
• Classroom Posters
• Mark It Up! Annotation Cards
• 2 Differentiated Reading Passages
• Text-Dependent Questions
• Vocabulary Practice
• Written Response
• Close Reading Graphic Organizers

Easily Differentiate Instruction!

These close reading comprehension passages are written at 2 different levels to allow for differentiation during instruction. The content of the 2 passages is the same, but the reading levels are different. Questions about the content are the same. This makes it easy for you to provide students with the same questions and activity sheets while also allowing students to practice close reading skills on their reading level.

All answer keys are included!

⭐ Note: Each reading passage is leveled with special symbols at the bottom left corner to denote difficulty levels.

This resource is aligned to the anchor standard that refers to reading text closely:

ELA Reading Standard 1: “Read closely to determine what the text says explicitly and to make logical inferences from it, cite specific textual evidence when writing or speaking to support conclusions drawn from the text.”