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The Dome Roman Builders Poured in Concrete

7th grade nonfiction passage about roman concrete and the pantheon: 241 words, six questions, an answer key and vocabulary.

7th grade nonfiction roman concrete and the pantheon 241 words

The Dome Roman Builders Poured in Concrete

A visitor to Rome can still step beneath a great dome that has stood for almost two thousand years. The Pantheon, a temple completed in the early second century, has a roof of solid concrete, and engineers still study how its builders managed such a feat.

Roman concrete was not the same as the concrete poured today. Workers mixed lime with a special volcanic ash found near the Bay of Naples, then added water and chunks of stone or broken brick. The ash reacted with the lime and water and slowly turned the mixture into a rock-like mass. This recipe even hardened underwater, which allowed Romans to build harbors and piers right into the sea.

The Pantheon's builders were also clever about weight. They made the walls at the base very thick and the dome thinner as it rose. Near the bottom they used heavy stone in the mix, but near the top they chose lighter rock, so that the highest part pressed down less on the rest. Rows of sunken square panels inside the dome removed even more weight without weakening it.

At the very top, a round opening called the oculus lets in sunlight and rain. The beam of light moves slowly across the interior as the day passes. Modern builders usually add steel bars to strengthen concrete, yet this dome has no such bars. Its long survival shows how carefully the Romans planned their materials and shapes.

Questions

  1. What is the Pantheon? in the text

  2. What special material did Roman workers mix with lime? in the text

  3. What was unusual about the Roman recipe for concrete? in the text

  4. How did the builders keep the dome from being too heavy? in the text

  5. Why was the ability to harden underwater useful to the Romans? think about it

  6. What does the dome's long life suggest about its builders? think about it

Words to know

engineers
people who design and build things like bridges and buildings
volcanic
coming from a volcano
harbors
sheltered places where ships can stay safely
interior
the inside of a building
survival
continuing to exist for a long time
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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

You can visit Rome and stand under a big dome. It has stood for almost two thousand years. It is part of the Pantheon, a Roman temple. The roof is made of concrete. Engineers still study how it was built.

Roman concrete was not like ours. Workers mixed lime with a special volcanic ash from near the Bay of Naples. They added water and bits of stone or broken brick. The ash reacted with the lime and water. The mix slowly turned hard like rock. It could even harden underwater. So the Romans could build harbors and piers in the sea.

The builders also thought about weight. The walls at the bottom are thick. The dome gets thinner as it goes up. Near the top they used lighter rock. Rows of sunken square panels inside the dome took away more weight.

At the top is a round opening called the oculus. Sunlight and rain come in. A beam of light moves across the inside during the day. The dome has no steel bars. It lasted because the Romans planned so well.

▲ This passage · 241 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 7.7

A visitor to Rome can still step beneath a great dome that has stood for almost two thousand years. The Pantheon, a temple completed in the early second century, has a roof of solid concrete, and engineers still study how its builders managed such a feat.

Roman concrete was not the same as the concrete poured today. Workers mixed lime with a special volcanic ash found near the Bay of Naples, then added water and chunks of stone or broken brick. The ash reacted with the lime and water and slowly turned the mixture into a rock-like mass. This recipe even hardened underwater, which allowed Romans to build harbors and piers right into the sea.

The Pantheon's builders were also clever about weight. They made the walls at the base very thick and the dome thinner as it rose. Near the bottom they used heavy stone in the mix, but near the top they chose lighter rock, so that the highest part pressed down less on the rest. Rows of sunken square panels inside the dome removed even more weight without weakening it.

At the very top, a round opening called the oculus lets in sunlight and rain. The beam of light moves slowly across the interior as the day passes. Modern builders usually add steel bars to strengthen concrete, yet this dome has no such bars. Its long survival shows how carefully the Romans planned their materials and shapes.

■ Harder · 255 words · Flesch-Kincaid grade 10.4

A visitor to Rome can still step beneath a vast dome that has endured for nearly two thousand years. The Pantheon, a temple completed in the early second century, is crowned with a roof of solid concrete, and modern engineers continue to investigate how its builders accomplished such an extraordinary feat.

Roman concrete was not identical to the concrete poured today. Workers combined lime with a distinctive volcanic ash gathered near the Bay of Naples, and then they added water along with chunks of stone or broken brick. The ash reacted chemically with the lime and the water, and the mixture slowly transformed into a rock-like mass. This recipe hardened even underwater, which allowed the Romans to construct harbors and piers directly in the sea.

The architects of the Pantheon were equally ingenious about weight. They made the walls at the base extremely thick and the dome progressively thinner as it rose. Near the bottom they included heavy stone in the mix, whereas near the summit they selected lighter rock, so that the highest portion pressed down less upon the structure below. Rows of recessed square panels inside the dome removed still more weight without weakening it.

At the very crown, a circular opening known as the oculus admits sunlight, and occasionally rain. A beam of light drifts slowly across the interior as the hours pass. Builders today usually reinforce concrete with steel bars, yet this dome contains none. Its remarkable survival demonstrates how carefully the Romans planned both their materials and their shapes.

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 engineers, volcanic, harbors, interior and survival 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 5 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 "The Dome Roman Builders Poured in Concrete"?

It was written for 7th grade. It has 241 words and works out to a Flesch-Kincaid grade level of about 7.7. 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. 4 ask for something the text says directly and 2 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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