Lesson 1 _ History Article Emperor Nero
6
Lesson 2 _ Travel Journal
Lost in Rome 10
Lesson 1 _ Science Article
Killer Plants 14
Lesson 2 _ Fantasy
A Bug’s Life 18
Lesson 1 _ History Article
The History of Domestic Cats 22
Lesson 2 _ Short Story
Magoo 26
Lesson 1 _ Art History Article
The Cellist Named Yo-Yo Ma 30
Lesson 2 _ Short Story
A Music Lesson 34
Lesson 1 _ History Article
Pirate Adventures 38
Lesson 2 _ Travel Journal
Life at Sea 42
Lesson 1 _ History Article
Tower of Terror 46
Lesson 2 _ Travel Journal
The Tower Ravens 50
Lesson 1 _ Geography Article
Alcatraz Island 54
Lesson 2 _ Autobiography
Sweet Home, Alcatraz 58
Lesson 1 _ History Article
The Story of Elevators 62
Lesson 2 _ Short Story
Stuck in an Elevator 66
Lesson 1 _ History Article
Greek Gods 70
Lesson 2 _ Diary Entry
Greek Day in School 74
Lesson 1 _ Social Science Article
Fear of Heights 78
Lesson 2 _ Short Story
The Gigantic Tree 82
Unit 1
Unit 2
Unit 3
Unit 4
Unit 5
Unit 6
Unit 7
Unit 8
Unit 9
Unit 10
T
wo thousand years ago, kings called emperors ruled the city of Rome. At that time, Rome was one of the strongest cities in the world. The city’s governmentruled many other countries. Some emperors were intelligent and kind. Other emperors were foolish and mean. One of the worst emperors in historywas Nero.In 54 CE, Nero’s mother murdered the old emperor, Nero’s stepfather. Later, Nero became worse than his mother. He murdered his stepbrother, his stepsister (who was his first wife), his second wife, and even his mother, Agrippina. First, he tried to leave Agrippina in the middle of the sea. She swam safely to the beach.
Then, he told his servant to kill her with a club.
In 64 CE, a fire started in Rome. Many buildings burned down. Nero sang songs during the fire. Later, he built a giant castle for himself where the fire had been. Nero was greedy and did not care about the poor people who lost their
homes. Many people said that Nero started the fire.
Nero lied and said that Christians started the fire.
Finally, the people of Rome wanted a new emperor. The army came to Rome to murder Nero. Nero decided to kill himself. Before he died, he cried, “What a great artist the world is losing!”
▶government
the system that rules a country or state
▶intelligent
smart
▶mean
not kind
▶history
the story of the past
▶murder
to kill
▶wife
a married woman
▶servant
a slave or worker
▶greedy
selfish
Pre-Reading
Look at the picture and answer the questions.
1. What is happening in this picture?
2. Do you know the name of the city in this picture?
3. What would you do if something like this happened in your hometown?
▶Marble head of Nero (37- 68 CE) Roman Emperor from 54 to 68 CE
1.
1.
1.
1.
A. What would be the best title for the passage?
a. The Castle of Rome b.Why Nero Murdered People c. The Worst Emperor d.The Government of Rome
B. Choose the main idea of each paragraph. One choice will NOT be used.
The 1stparagraph
The 2ndparagraph
The 3rdparagraph
The 4thparagraph
a. Nero ended his own life because the army was coming to kill him.
b.Nero was one of the worst emperors in history.
c. Nero put many members of his own family to death.
d.A fire destroyed a large part of Rome, and Nero built a castle for himself.
e. Nero was remembered by some people for his artistic talent.
Fill in the blanks with the key vocabulary words.
1. The ______________ emperor cared only about himself.
2. Nero ______________ many members of his own family.
3. Nero was not ______________, nor was he a kind emperor.
4. Nero was one of the worst emperors in ______________.
5. Nero told his ______________ to kill Agrippina with a club.
6. Rome’s ______________ ruled many other countries thousands of years ago.
7. Nero killed both his first ______________ and his second one.
8. Some emperors were kind to their people, but Nero was ______________.
greedy government intelligent servant murdered history wife mean
1.
2.
3.
4.
Track 1
Authors support main ideas with supporting details. Choose the details from the box that support the following five main ideas.
a. The emperor told his servant to kill his mother.
b. Nero said, “What a great artist the world is losing!”
c. The emperor did not like Christian people.
d. Nero built a giant castle for himself after a large fire.
e. The Roman government ruled many other countries.
Complete the summary by filling in the blanks.
Two thousand years ago, 1___________ ruled the city of 2___________. One of the 3___________ Roman rulers was Nero. He murdered many members of his own 4___________. He even put his own 5___________ to death. In 64 CE, a 6___________ burned a part of Rome. Nero built a 7___________ for himself and said that Christians had 8___________ the disaster. Finally, he killed himself. His last words were, “What a great artist the world is losing!”
family emperors castle worst started fire mother Rome
Choose the best answer.
1. Thousands of years ago, _____________ called emperors ruled the city of Rome.
a. soldiers b.governments c. kings d.presidents
2. Nero tried to leave his mother in the middle of the sea; however, _____________.
a. she was drowned b.she did not die
c. she was killed d.Nero regretted it
3. Which of the following did Nero NOT do?
a. He killed his first wife.
b.He built a giant palace for himself.
c. He murdered his friends.
d.He sang while Rome burned.
4. What can you guess from Nero’s final words?
a. He did not see himself as a bad ruler.
b.He felt sorry for his crimes.
c. He admitted to having burned part of Rome.
d.He felt guilty for destroying art.
Answer the following questions in 1 or 2 sentences.
1. At first, how did Nero try to murder his mother?
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________. 2. Whom did Nero blame for burning Rome?
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________. 3. Why do you think Nero killed himself?
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________.
Main Ideas Supporting Details
Nero murdered many members of his own family.
Nero blamed others for a major fire in Rome.
Even when he died, he did not understand that he was a bad emperor.
Nero’s city of Rome was one of the most powerful cities in history.
Nero was a greedy ruler.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Match each of the vocabulary words with the correct definition.
A. What would be the best title for the passage?
a. A Letter from The Colosseum b.A Day of Awful Entertainment c. Getting Lost in Rome d.The Story of The Colosseum
B. Choose the main idea of each paragraph. One choice will NOT be used.
a. The girl talks about how scary it was to get lost inside the Colosseum.
b.The girl describes waking up and their plans for the tour.
c. The girl talks about the noise and the heat at the Colosseum.
d.The girl describes returning to the hotel.
e. The girl gets lost after buying some ice cream.
Vocabulary Word 1. memorable
2. tour group 3. exhausted 4. gladiators 5. entertainment 6. crowd
7. cone 8. relieved
Definition a. a type of amusement b.an ice cream holder c. less worried
d.not easy to forget e. visitors to a location f. needing rest
g. a large group of people h.Roman warriors
T
oday was really memorable. Our tour group woke up at 7:00 a.m. At breakfast, Mom and Dad were exhausted. I was excited, though. We were going to visit the Colosseum. Two thousand years ago, gladiatorsfought each other to the death there. Can you imagine people murdering each other for entertainment?The Colosseum was full of other tour groups when we got there. I thought it was much too hot and noisy. Our tour leader, Julia, carried a big purple umbrella, so we could find her in the crowd.
Near the entrance to the Colosseum, there was a man selling gelato---that’s the Italian word for ice cream. I ran to buy myself a cone. When I turned around, I didn’t see Mom and Dad. Far away, though, I saw a purple umbrella. But, when I ran to the umbrella, I saw that a different tour leader was carrying it!
I felt like a scared little girl. Then, I remembered that I had a card with the hotel’s name on it. I used my money to get a taxi back to the hotel. The man who works in the front of the hotel called Julia for me. Julia told my parents where I was. They were really
relieved! Mom cried when she saw me.
▶memorable
hard to forget
▶tour group
a group of people visiting a place together
▶exhausted
tired
▶gladiator
a Roman warrior who fought to the death
▶entertainment
fun and amusement
▶crowd
a large group of people
▶cone
something that you can eat ice cream out of
▶relieved
free from pain or worry
Pre-Reading
Look at the picture and answer the questions.
1. Where in the world is this building?
2. Do you know the name of this building?
3. What do you think people did in this building?
The 1stparagraph
The 2ndparagraph
The 3rdparagraph
The 4thparagraph 1.
2.
3.
4.
Track 2
When authors write stories they often describe a series of events in chronological order. Put the following events in the correct order.
Complete the summary by filling in the blanks.
The girl describes a family visit to 1___________. The tour group wakes 2___________ at 7:00 a.m. and goes to the Colosseum after 3___________.
The tour leader, Julia, carries a 4___________ umbrella. At the Colosseum, the girl buys 5___________ gelato and then follows a purple umbrella.
Unfortunately, a 6___________ tour leader is carrying it. The girl takes a taxi back 7___________ the hotel, and the man who works there 8___________
Julia to explain the story to her.
calls different breakfast up some Rome purple to
Choose the best answer.
1. The girl was _____________ after waking up at 7:00 a.m.
a. fresh b.tired c. eager d.angry
2. The tour leader carried a purple umbrella so that _____________.
a. the members of her group would not get wet b.the members of her group could see her
c. the members of her group could visit the Colosseum d.the members of her group could have some shade 3. Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the passage?
a. What the Colosseum was once used for b.How the girl’s parents felt in the morning
c. The girl’s feelings about the Colosseum’s temperature d.Whether or not she liked visiting the Colosseum
4. What is probably true about entertainment in Rome two thousand years ago?
a. Many people enjoyed watching gladiators fight.
b.People usually did not enjoy the battles in the Colosseum.
c. The Romans liked gelato very much.
d.Fights between gladiators were only held in the summertime.
Answer the following questions in 1 or 2 sentences.
1. Why did the girl get lost?
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________. 2. How did the girl return to the hotel?
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________. 3. Why do you think the girl’s mother cried at the end of the passage?
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________.
EVENTS
a. The girl accidentally followed the wrong tour leader.
b. The tour group reached the Colosseum.
c. The girl took a taxi back to the hotel.
d. The girl bought some gelato.
e. The girl’s parents met her at the hotel.
