Overview
This is a self-contained, no-technology substitute packet in which students read
two short original informational texts about the same topic — light pollution — and
analyze the central idea of each, make an inference, find the sentence that
best supports a claim, and compare what the texts agree on and how they
differ. Working alone with a pencil, students predict from the titles, read both texts,
answer central-idea and inference questions, choose the strongest text evidence, and write a
short evidence-based paragraph that states a shared central idea and supports it with
one piece of evidence from each text. Every text-dependent question can be answered
directly from the printed texts.
Accessible version of the student activity
The full student activity, including both complete texts, is reproduced below in
plain, screen-reader-friendly HTML. It reflows on phones and at 200% zoom. Write your
answers on the printed packet.
Start (5 minutes) — Notice & Predict
- From the two titles alone — "The Return of the Night Sky" and "Cities That Turned Off
the Lights" — write one thing you notice and one thing you predict both texts might be
about.
- The central idea of a text is the most important point the writer makes about the
topic, not just the topic word. In your own words, explain the difference between a topic
(like "dogs") and a central idea (like "dogs can be trained to help people").
Build (10 minutes) — Read two texts
Words to know (from the texts)
- artificial
- made by people, not natural.
- glare
- strong, harsh light that is hard to look at.
- migrate
- to travel from one place to another, often with the seasons.
- ordinance
- a local law or rule made by a city or town.
- shield
- a cover that blocks or aims light in one direction.
Text A: "The Return of the Night Sky" — an original informational text
Paragraph 1. On a clear night far from any city, you can see thousands of stars.
Closer to town, most of those stars disappear. The reason is light pollution — the extra
brightness that fills the sky when artificial lights from streets, signs, and buildings
shine upward. Scientists say the glow now hides the stars from most people who live in or
near cities.
Paragraph 2. Light pollution is not only a problem for stargazers. Many animals
depend on natural darkness. Baby sea turtles hatch at night and crawl toward the brightest
light, which used to be the moon reflecting on the ocean. Near lit-up beaches, they crawl
the wrong way and never reach the water. Birds that migrate at night can become confused
by bright city lights and crash into buildings.
Paragraph 3. The good news is that this kind of pollution is one of the easiest
to fix. Unlike smoke in the air or trash in a river, extra light disappears the instant a
bulb is switched off or pointed downward. A simple shield on a streetlight can send light
to the ground, where it is needed, instead of up into the sky. When people aim lights
carefully, the stars begin to return — sometimes within a single night.
Text B: "Cities That Turned Off the Lights" — an original informational text
Paragraph 1. Some communities have decided to take action against light
pollution. In 2001, the town of Flagstaff, Arizona, passed one of the first "dark sky"
ordinances in the world. The rules limit how bright outdoor lights can be and require many
lights to point downward. Today Flagstaff is known as a place where visitors can still see
the Milky Way stretch across the sky.
Paragraph 2. Cutting light does more than reveal stars. A light that shines
sideways into your eyes creates glare, which can actually make it harder to see at night.
Lights that are shielded and aimed down light the sidewalk without blinding drivers.
Cities that switched to these lights report that streets feel safer and easier to see, not
darker.
Paragraph 3. There is another reason cities act: money. A light pointed at the
sky wastes the electricity used to make it. When a town replaces old fixtures with
shielded, lower-power lights, it can cut its energy bill by a large amount each year. For
many city leaders, saving money is the argument that finally turns off the extra lights —
and gives the night sky back at the same time.
- Retrieval: According to Text A, paragraph 1, what causes light pollution? Answer using
details from the text.
Apply (20 minutes) — Read closely
- Central idea — Text A: What is the central idea of Text A? Write it as a full sentence
(not just a topic word), and name one paragraph that helped you decide.
- Central idea — Text B: What is the central idea of Text B? Write it as a full sentence,
and name one paragraph that helped you decide.
- Inference: In Text B, paragraph 3, the writer says money "is the argument that finally
turns off the extra lights." What can you infer about why some city leaders act on saving
money more than on saving the stars? Explain your thinking.
- Text evidence: Which sentence best supports the idea that light pollution is easier to
fix than other kinds of pollution? Choose one.
- A. "On a clear night far from any city, you can see thousands of stars." (Text A, paragraph 1)
- B. "Extra light disappears the instant a bulb is switched off or pointed downward." (Text A, paragraph 3)
- C. "Birds that migrate at night can become confused by bright city lights." (Text A, paragraph 2)
- D. "Today Flagstaff is known as a place where visitors can still see the Milky Way." (Text B, paragraph 1)
Then (7b) explain in one sentence why the sentence you chose supports that idea.
- Compare the two texts: (a) name one idea both texts agree on, with a paragraph from
each; and (b) name one thing each text focuses on that the other does not, with the text
and paragraph. Answer only from the texts.
Explain (5–10 minutes) — Write an evidence-based paragraph
Question 9. Both texts share a central idea about light pollution. Write one
sentence stating that shared central idea, then support it with one piece of evidence from
Text A and one piece of evidence from Text B (name the paragraph for each), and explain how
your evidence supports the idea.
Sentence stems you may use: "A central idea shared by both texts is…"; "Evidence from Text
A is… (paragraph ___)."; "Evidence from Text B is… (paragraph ___)."; "This evidence
supports the central idea because…"
Close (5 minutes) — ACE
- Articulate: say the shared central idea of the two texts in your own words, in one sentence.
- Connect: point to one sentence in either text (name the text and paragraph) that shows that central idea most clearly.
- Extend: name one thing your school or town could do about light pollution, based on what you read.
Continue (optional, ~15 minutes) — Early finisher
Write a newspaper headline (one line) that captures the shared central idea of both texts.
Then write a two-sentence caption that uses one detail from Text A and one detail from Text
B. Underline the two details and label each with its text and paragraph number.
Turn in
Hand in the whole packet with your name, class period, and date, with questions 1–9 and
the ACE box answered. Include the optional headline if you did it.