STARI Independent Reading Packets

If you or your district is providing printed packets for students to work on independently at home, you may find the independent reading packets below helpful. These packets integrate the sections of the unit novels usually led by the teacher with guided reading. Students may use the packet independently, working at home.

Independent/Partner Reading Packets

These packets integrate the sections of the novel usually led by the teacher with guided reading. Students may use the packet independently, working at home.

Fluency passages for other units available at the STARI Download Center.

From Unit 1.1:

The Skin I'm In, by Sharon Flake

From Unit 1.2:

Locomotion, by Jacqueline Woodson

From Unit 2.1:

Ghost Boys, by Jewell Parker Rhodes

Download Packet

From Unit 2.2:

The Big Nothing, by Adrian Fogelin

From Unit 2.3:

Bronx Masquerade, by Nikki Grimes .

From Unit 3.1:

Game, by Walter Dean Myers

Download Packet

Using these resources with students

Discussion-based Curriculum

STARI is meant to be a discussion-based curriculum. In fact, our research shows that it is students’ talk about text that builds their comprehension skills. Therefore, we encourage you to try to find any possible opportunities for students to engage in talk about text. Could students connect with their partners virtually, to talk via phone or computer? If you are a parent, could you read the novel yourself and talk about it with your child? If you are a teacher, could you lead online group discussions a couple of times per week? (See resources for talk moves and discussion moves for online learning provided above.) The more students are able to talk about the text, the more improvement in their skills we expect to see.

How can we access the novels?

The STARI accompanying texts are generally easily available for purchase. Your local bookstore or an online retailer may be able to ship it to you, or you can buy a digital copy. If schools are not able to provide individual copies of the unit texts for students to use at home, you may be able to check out a digital copy from your local library. Finally, some schools have directed students to online free libraries such as Open Library and National Emergency Library.

These resources are no substitute for the rich discussion that takes place in STARI classrooms, but we hope that it provides continuing support for students in these difficult times.

Please email us at info@serpinstitute.org if you have any questions.

Development of STARI was led by Lowry Hemphill (Wheelock College) through a SERP collaboration with Harvard University and four Massachusetts school districts. The research reported here was supported by the Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education, through Grant R305F100026 to the Strategic Education Research Partnership as part of the Reading for Understanding Research Initiative. The opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not represent views of the Institute or the U.S. Department of Education.

The STARI Team