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Why a Hillside Theater Carried a Whisper

5th grade nonfiction passage about ancient greek theaters: 200 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

5th grade nonfiction ancient greek theaters 200 words

Why a Hillside Theater Carried a Whisper

Long ago in Greece, people built large open-air theaters without microphones or speakers. Thousands of people sat together to watch a play, and even those in the top rows could often hear the actors. How was that possible?

The builders were clever about the shape of the land. Many of these theaters were cut into the side of a hill. The seats rose in curved rows, like the inside of a giant bowl, so every listener faced the stage. A famous example stands at Epidaurus in Greece.

The slope helped in several ways. Sound spreads out in all directions, and a flat field lets much of it drift away. On a hillside, the rows rise up toward the sky, so the actors' voices travel up to every level without being blocked by people sitting in front. The curve also kept the audience close to the stage instead of strung out in a long line.

The hard stone seats and the smooth floor in front of them bounced some sound back toward the crowd. Actors also learned to speak slowly and clearly, so each word reached the back rows. Careful planning, rather than machines, made a quiet voice travel far.

Questions

  1. Where were many of the Greek theaters built? in the text

  2. How were the seats arranged? in the text

  3. Why did the slope help voices reach every level? think about it

  4. What did the stone seats and smooth floor do with sound? in the text

  5. What did actors do so that their words reached the back rows? in the text

  6. What made the theaters work instead of machines? in the text

Words to know

microphones
tools that make a voice louder
slope
ground that tilts up or down
audience
the people who watch or listen to a show
bounced
hit something and sprang back
clever
smart at solving problems
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One passage, three levels

The same topic and facts written three ways, so a mixed class can read and talk about one text. Each group’s sheet shows only a shape; the key says which is which.

● Easier · 181 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3

Long ago in Greece, people built big theaters outdoors. They had no microphones or speakers. Thousands of people sat to watch a play. Even those in the top rows could often hear the actors. How could that be?

The builders were clever about the shape of the land. Many theaters were cut into the side of a hill. The seats rose in curved rows, like the inside of a giant bowl. Every listener faced the stage. A famous one is at Epidaurus in Greece.

The slope helped in a few ways. Sound spreads out in all directions. On a flat field, much of it drifts away. On a hillside, the rows rise up. The voices of the actors travel up to each level. People in front do not block the sound. The curve also kept the crowd close to the stage.

The hard stone seats and the smooth floor sent some sound back to the crowd. Actors also learned to speak slowly and clearly. Each word then reached the back rows. Careful planning, not machines, made a quiet voice travel far.

▲ This passage · 200 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 5.9

Long ago in Greece, people built large open-air theaters without microphones or speakers. Thousands of people sat together to watch a play, and even those in the top rows could often hear the actors. How was that possible?

The builders were clever about the shape of the land. Many of these theaters were cut into the side of a hill. The seats rose in curved rows, like the inside of a giant bowl, so every listener faced the stage. A famous example stands at Epidaurus in Greece.

The slope helped in several ways. Sound spreads out in all directions, and a flat field lets much of it drift away. On a hillside, the rows rise up toward the sky, so the actors' voices travel up to every level without being blocked by people sitting in front. The curve also kept the audience close to the stage instead of strung out in a long line.

The hard stone seats and the smooth floor in front of them bounced some sound back toward the crowd. Actors also learned to speak slowly and clearly, so each word reached the back rows. Careful planning, rather than machines, made a quiet voice travel far.

■ Harder · 219 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 8.5

Long ago in Greece, people constructed enormous open-air theaters that had neither microphones nor speakers. Thousands of spectators gathered to watch a play, and even those in the highest rows could often hear the actors without difficulty. How was that possible?

The builders were remarkably clever about the shape of the land. Many of these theaters were carved into the side of a hill, and the seats ascended in curved rows, like the inside of a giant bowl, so that every listener faced the stage. A famous example still stands at Epidaurus in Greece.

The slope helped in several important ways. Sound spreads outward in all directions, and across a flat field a great deal of it simply drifts away. On a hillside, however, the rows climb toward the sky, so the actors' voices travel upward to every level without being blocked by the people seated in front. The curve also kept the audience gathered near the stage instead of strung out in a long line.

The hard stone seats and the smooth floor in front of them bounced some of the sound back toward the crowd, and actors learned to speak slowly and clearly so that each word would reach the back rows. Careful planning, rather than machinery, allowed a quiet voice to travel a long way.

Download as one PDF

How to use it

  1. Press Read it big (or B) to put the text on the projector, or Full screen (F) to fill the whole screen.
  2. Ask the questions one at a time and use Show answer when the class has decided. A shows or hides every answer.
  3. Print student copy for the class, or Print with answers for yourself.

Ideas for class

  • Before reading, put microphones, slope, audience, bounced and clever on the board with their meanings from the Words to know section and have students predict what the text will be about.
  • Read it aloud once while students follow along, then have them reread it alone or with a partner. At a calm 100 words a minute it takes about 2 minutes to read aloud.
  • Use the Read it big button (or B) to put the text on the projector, and Show answer on one question at a time so the class commits to an answer first.
  • Question 3 asks the reader to infer. Ask students to point to the words in the passage that led them to their answer.
  • Ask students to write one question the passage did not answer, then look for the answer in a book or on a classroom screen.
  • Print the student copy for independent work and keep the answer-key copy for yourself.

Related

Questions

What reading level is "Why a Hillside Theater Carried a Whisper"?

It was written for 5th grade. It has 200 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 5.9. That is a formula's estimate from sentence length and syllables, and it is not a Lexile or a guided reading level, so check it against your students.

What do the questions ask?

There are six. 5 ask for something the text says directly and 1 ask the reader to work something out from clues. Each has an answer in the key, and the answers are written as a teacher would accept them, not as the only possible wording.

How long does it take to read?

About 2 minutes read aloud at 100 words a minute. For a one-minute fluency check, paste it into the fluency timer and use the word count.

Can I print it?

Yes. Print student copy gives the passage, the questions with lines to write on, and the word meanings. Print with answers gives the same page with the answers filled in. Both are made in your browser.

Is this passage from a published book?

No. It was written for Peabody Teach, so there is no book to buy and no login to read it.

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