Incorporate historical nonfiction into the English Language Arts classroom and support the development of high school close reading skills with this set of questions covering “The First Basketball Game.” The essay addresses the origins of basketball, as well as the sport’s gradual evolution. An answer key is provided. Materials are delivered in printable Word Document and PDF formats. By completing this close reading activity, students will do the following: Make active reading visible by annotating text Accurately restate what the text says explicitly Analyze a passage to determine tone Make sense of unfamiliar phrases and idiomatic expressions Make and support a claim using relevant and compelling textual evidence Compare and contrast Discern author’s purpose Apply a literary device to the text (situational irony) Discern meaning from nonfiction text features including graphs and charts