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Oldest Human Fossil Could Be Missing Link in Human Evolution

Human origins

The earliest known fossil that lead to humans was recently discovered in Ethiopia. Scientists have uncovered a lower jaw with five teeth. The jaw is estimated at about 2.8 million years old, and is nearly half a million years older than the previous record for a human-related fossil. This bone could help explain a branch in the human family tree. Listen to the story to find out how this fossil could fill a gap in the history of human evolution.

?L LEXILE AUDIO MEASURE
Scaffolding

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Story Length: 3:31

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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Early Humans in North America

Most scientists agree that human beings originated in Africa. The first humans to come to North and South America have long been believed to be the Clovis people. But a 2002 discovery in the Paisley Caves in Oregon has challenged this view. Archaeologists discovered animal bones and fossilized excrement, known as coprolites. Some of these coprolites included human molecules, providing the earliest human DNA ever found in the Americas. This discovery has given archaeologists new clues to better understand the earliest humans found in North America.

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Lexile Audio Measure

The Lexile Audio Measure is an indicator of the complexity of an audio passage. It is based on a scientifically developed scale with a maximum score of 2000L.

How to Use Lexile Audio Measures

Find stories at the right level of complexity for your students, so that they will be challenged without being frustrated. The measures are categorized into low, medium, or high in order to aid teachers in story selection when they do not know students’ Lexile listening levels.

Listening Level Lexile Audio Measures
0L -1250L
1251L -1555L
1556L-2000L
Recommended Lexile Audio Measures by Grade Level

These recommended ranges are for instructional use of Listenwise audio content in combination with supports such as the interactive transcript, etc.

Grade Lexile Audio Measures (Recommended Ranges)
1 215L - 610L
2 490L - 855L
3 725L - 1060L
4 945L - 1250L
5 1045L - 1350L
6 1125L - 1430L
7 1190L - 1500L
8 1250L - 1555L
9 1300L - 1610L
10 1345L - 1655L
11/12 1385L - 1695L
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