Logo sm
  • Lessons
    • All Lessons
    • Social Studies
    • Science
    • ELA
    • Search Lessons
  • Current Events
  • About
    • About Us
    • Research
    • Teacher Resources
    • Contact Us
  • How It Works
    • How Listenwise Works
    • Features
    • Plans and Pricing
    • Listening Assessment
See All Lessons
Queen cleopatra

Image licensed under CC BY 2.0

SOCIAL STUDIES | MIDDLE SCHOOL

Who Was Cleopatra?

Gender Ancient Rome

In modern times, we often remember the ancient Egyptian queen Cleopatra as a beautiful temptress largely defined by the men in her life. But a new biography presents another, more complicated picture of this intriguing historical figure. The author reminds us that historians have agendas and biases, and that Cleopatra’s traditional depiction may not be complete or entirely accurate. He explains that Cleopatra was a skilled diplomat and leader, who was very well-educated, strategic, and articulate. Listen to learn more about the many, surprising sides of Cleopatra.

High
Language Challenge

Tweet Share on Facebook

Want to Listen?

TEACHERS: Access our entire library of lessons and current events!

With a free teacher account, you get:
  • Our lesson collections for Social Studies, ELA, and Science
  • Authentic audio news stories curated for the classroom
  • Teaching resources to check for understanding
  • And new Current Events every school day
Teachers Join Free

Already a Member? Login Now

Story Length: 6:56

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

Related Lessons

History of the hanging gardens
Social Studies • ELL

U.S. Military Preserves Historic Sites in Ancient Mesopotamia

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.

Read More
Camels kaleshes and tourism in egypt
Social Studies • ELL

Camels, Caleshes, and Tourism in Egypt

There have been many consequences of the political upheaval of the Arab Spring movement in Egypt in 2011. One of them is the severe drop in tourism as a result of the violence. This has hurt the country's camels and horses that used to carry tourists around ancient Egyptian sites. They are losing their jobs and going hungry. In this public radio story you hear from Egyptians who are struggling to make a living off tourism and are wondering when things will improve.

Read More
What can the us learn from ancient rome
Social Studies

What can the United States Learn from Ancient Rome?

America’s Founders borrowed from the ancient Roman Republic when they created the U.S. Government. The Senate, separation of powers, and checks and balances all came from the Romans. The Founders hoped that America would one day be as strong as the great Roman Republic had been. But every empire rises and then falls, and the author interviewed in this audio story says that Americans today can learn a lot about where the United States may be heading by studying the fall of Rome.

Read More
 

Language Challenge Level

These levels of listening complexity can help teachers choose stories for their students. The levels do not relate to the content of the story, but to the complexity of the vocabulary, sentence structure and language in the audio story.

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


Low

These stories are easier to understand and are a good starting point for everyone.


Medium

These stories have an average language challenge for students and can be scaffolded for English learners.


High

These stories have challenging vocabulary and complex language structure.

Award Winning Technology


Codie 2017

SIIA CODiE AWARDS FINALIST – Best Source for Reference or Education Resources

Aap award

AAP Revere Award WINNER – Classroom Supplemental Resources: News and Current Issues

Codie

SIIA CODiE AWARDS FINALIST – Best ESL, ELL or World Language Acquisition Solution

Tasa

TASA – Innovation Zone Award


  • About
  • Team
  • Press
  • Jobs
  • Partners
  • Contact Us
  • Teaching
  • Teacher Resources
  • See Current Events
  • See Lesson Plans
  • Research
  • Connect
  • Blog
  • Facebook
  • Twitter

Spp signatory rect sm
Terms & Privacy
© Copyright 2018 Listenwise. All Rights reserved.

Join For Free

Welcome

Sign up for a free account.


I am a Teacher
I am a Student

Welcome Back

Let's get you logged in.


I am a Teacher
I am a Student