According to the Common Core State Standards, students should be able to read closely to determine what a text says explicitly, make logical references from it, and cite specific textual evidence to support conclusions drawn from the text. Each of the 40 short, fiction and nonfiction passages in this collection includes companion comprehension questions that target these critical reading skills and give students the repeated practice they need to build mastery in identifying main idea and details, using context clues, distinguishing between fact and opinion, and more. Boosts comprehension skills - Topics include: context clues, compare and contrast, main idea & details, fact & opinion, inference, predicting, point of view - Short, high-interest reading passages. - Passages includes test-formatted questions making them ideal for test prep - Aligned with the Common Core State Standards - Flexible and easy to use as independent practice or as homework Linda Ward Beech is a New York City–based writer and editor who has written more than 70 titles for Scholastic Teaching Resources.