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History of the hanging gardens

Image licensed under Public Domain Mark 1.0

SOCIAL STUDIES | MIDDLE SCHOOL

U.S. Military Preserves Historic Sites in Ancient Mesopotamia

Ancient Civilization Ancient Middle East Geography Middle East

War time chaos often puts cultural heritage at risk with looting and pillaging of historic artifacts. This radio story tells of an unusual partnership between two groups: the military and archaeologists. They are working together to educate soldiers in order to help protect cultural heritage and artifacts in war zones in Iraq, and other nearby countries. It’s a modern-day story of protecting artifacts in war zones and is tied to the many ancient artifacts that have been lost over the centuries.

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Story Length: 4:45

Listen to the Story:

Listening Comprehension Questions

  • In what ways did Andrew Carnegie’s libraries serve their communities?
  • How did Carnegie benefit from a library when he was growing up?
  • Which personality traits helped propel Carnegie from poverty to riches? Bring specific details from the story to support your ideas.
  • According to Carnegie, what should rich people do with their money and why? Why was Carnegie known as both generous and “brutal”?

Discussion Themes

  • In your opinion, what should really rich people do with their fortunes?
  • What does it take for a person to rise from “rags to riches”?

Socrative users can import these questions using the following code: SOC-1234

Listening Organizers

  • Fact, Question, Response

  • Language Identification Organizer

  • Deeper Meaning Chart

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NOTE: Listenwise stories are intended for students in grades 5-12 and for English learners with intermediate language skills or higher.


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These stories have challenging vocabulary and complex language structure.

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