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Great Zimbabwe and Its Walls of Stone

6th grade nonfiction passage about great zimbabwe city: 215 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

6th grade nonfiction great zimbabwe city 215 words

Great Zimbabwe and Its Walls of Stone

In southern Africa, in the country now called Zimbabwe, stand the ruins of a once-great city. Today it is known as Great Zimbabwe. Many centuries ago, thousands of people lived there, and it was an important center of trade and power.

The most striking thing about the city is its stone walls. Builders cut granite into blocks and stacked them in tidy rows, and they used no mortar to hold the blocks together. One curving wall in the area called the Great Enclosure is taller than a house, and it circles a wide space. People still wonder exactly how each wall was used, but they surely showed the strength of the rulers who ordered them built.

Great Zimbabwe grew rich through trade. People there raised cattle, and merchants carried gold and ivory from the region toward cities on the coast of the Indian Ocean. From the coast, goods traveled by ship to lands far away. Archaeologists have found glass beads and pottery that came from distant places buried in the ruins, which is evidence of this long-distance trade.

Scholars have also shown that the ancestors of today's Shona-speaking people built the city. In time, people moved away from Great Zimbabwe, perhaps because food or firewood ran short, but nobody knows for sure.

Questions

  1. Where are the ruins of Great Zimbabwe? in the text

  2. How did the builders hold the stone blocks together? in the text

  3. What did merchants carry toward the coast? in the text

  4. What have archaeologists found in the ruins that shows trade? in the text

  5. Who built Great Zimbabwe? in the text

  6. Why would beads from far away be proof of long-distance trade? think about it

Words to know

granite
a very hard gray rock used for building
mortar
a paste that holds bricks or stones together
merchants
people who buy and sell goods
ivory
the hard white material that makes up elephant tusks
archaeologists
scientists who study the past by digging up old objects
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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 · 157 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 3.7

In southern Africa, in the country called Zimbabwe, there are the ruins of a big old city. It is called Great Zimbabwe. Many centuries ago, thousands of people lived there. It was a center of trade and power.

The city is famous for its stone walls. Builders cut granite into blocks. They stacked the blocks in tidy rows. They used no mortar to hold them. One curved wall, in the Great Enclosure, is taller than a house. It circles a wide space. The walls showed the strength of the rulers.

The city grew rich from trade. People raised cattle. Merchants carried gold and ivory toward the coast of the Indian Ocean. Ships took goods to far lands. Archaeologists found glass beads and pottery from far places in the ruins. This shows the trade.

The ancestors of today's Shona-speaking people built the city. Later, people moved away. Maybe food or firewood ran short. Nobody knows for sure.

▲ This passage · 215 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 7.6

In southern Africa, in the country now called Zimbabwe, stand the ruins of a once-great city. Today it is known as Great Zimbabwe. Many centuries ago, thousands of people lived there, and it was an important center of trade and power.

The most striking thing about the city is its stone walls. Builders cut granite into blocks and stacked them in tidy rows, and they used no mortar to hold the blocks together. One curving wall in the area called the Great Enclosure is taller than a house, and it circles a wide space. People still wonder exactly how each wall was used, but they surely showed the strength of the rulers who ordered them built.

Great Zimbabwe grew rich through trade. People there raised cattle, and merchants carried gold and ivory from the region toward cities on the coast of the Indian Ocean. From the coast, goods traveled by ship to lands far away. Archaeologists have found glass beads and pottery that came from distant places buried in the ruins, which is evidence of this long-distance trade.

Scholars have also shown that the ancestors of today's Shona-speaking people built the city. In time, people moved away from Great Zimbabwe, perhaps because food or firewood ran short, but nobody knows for sure.

■ Harder · 230 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 10

In southern Africa, within the borders of the country now called Zimbabwe, lie the remains of a once-magnificent city. Today it is known as Great Zimbabwe. Many centuries ago, thousands of people made their homes there, and the city served as an important center of both commerce and political power.

The most impressive aspect of the city is its stone walls. Builders cut granite into blocks and arranged them in neat rows, and they used no mortar whatsoever to bind the blocks together. One curving wall in the section known as the Great Enclosure is taller than a house, and it encircles a wide space. Scholars still debate precisely how each wall was used, but the walls undoubtedly displayed the strength of the rulers who commanded their construction.

Great Zimbabwe prospered through trade. Its people raised cattle, and merchants transported gold and ivory from the surrounding region toward the cities along the coast of the Indian Ocean. From those coastal ports, goods traveled by ship to lands far across the water. Archaeologists have uncovered glass beads and pottery originating from distant places among the ruins, which provides evidence of this long-distance trade.

Scholars have also demonstrated that the ancestors of today's Shona-speaking people built the city. Eventually, the population moved away from Great Zimbabwe, perhaps because food or firewood became scarce, but nobody can say for certain.

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 granite, mortar, merchants, ivory and archaeologists 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 6 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 "Great Zimbabwe and Its Walls of Stone"?

It was written for 6th grade. It has 215 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 7.6. 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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