John F. Kennedy: U.S. President Biography and Assessment

Item description

This “no prep” printable requires students to close read an engaging 1000-word biographical text on one of the most memorable and influential American presidents, John Fitzgerald Kennedy. This article tells his life story, beginning with his large family and its influence, his rise through Congress and the Senate, and the achievements of his short-lived term of office, which was tragically cut short by an assassin’s bullet on November 22, 1963. This US History reading and assessment activity helps address several Common Core ELA Standards that are listed below this introduction and is suitable for Grades 5-8. There are 31 questions, including vocabulary, sequencing, comprehension, and short-answer interpretive questions that require application of Common Core Standards to a thorough close reading of the biography. An additional crossword puzzle to use with early finishers or as an alternative form of assessment is also included with this resource.

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.4.5: Describe the overall structure (e.g., chronology, comparison, cause/effect, problem/solution) of events, ideas, concepts, or information in a text or part of a 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.5.7: Draw on information from multiple print or digital sources, demonstrating the ability to locate an answer to a question quickly or to solve a problem efficiently.