• Lessons
    • ELA
    • Social Studies
    • Science
    • Current Events
    • Collections
    • Search Lessons
  • How It Works
    • Product Tour
    • Why Listening
    • Listening Assessment
    • Lexile & Listening
    • English Learners
  • Pricing
  • Support
    • Support Center
    • Blog
    • Webinars
See All Lessons

Image by Rajeev licensed under CC by 2.0

The History of Light and Economic Growth

Economics History Planet Money

How people have made artificial light over the past 4,000 years reflects the history of economic growth in the world. One economist has explored the cost of light, starting in ancient Babylonian times and ending in the 1990s. He discovered that for most of the past four millennia, light was very expensive. Then, in the past 200 years, scientific advances caused the cost of light to drop precipitously, and economies grew with a speed and intensity unknown before. Listen to hear how light became cheap and how its cost helps show how economic growth happens.

?L LEXILE AUDIO MEASURE

Tweet Share on Facebook

Want to Listen?

TEACHERS: Access our daily current events podcasts for free!


To access our podcast library for ELA, Social Studies, and Science including all of our Premium features, choose the free Premium Trial (no credit card required!) option when you join.

Already a Member? Login Now

Story Length: 6:42

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

Social Studies

How an Entrepreneur Created the Big Box Store

Some basic economic norms shape how most retail stores operate. These include: attract as many potential shoppers as possible; make it easy for them to find what they need; and make it appealing for them to return often so that they will spend money at the store. But some members-only warehouse stores break all those rules--and succeed anyway. Listen to find out why these stores do it differently, and why, despite breaking the rules of retail, they thrive.

Read More
Social Studies

The Price of a Hermes Bag

The luxury goods company Hermes makes and sells a high-end purse it calls the Birkin Bag. The Birkin costs $10,000—often more—and it is nearly impossible to find one to buy. Because very few bags are available, the Birkin has become a status symbol, something only very few people can buy. Its scarcity raises its value, which could explain why a purse can cost so much money. Listen to find out why a retail company, that by definition wants to sell things, makes it so difficult to buy their product.

Read More
Social Studies

How The Tooth Fairy Helps Explain The Rising Cost of Parenting

This story explores an important economic question: When a kid loses a tooth, how much should the tooth fairy pay? That may sound like a joke, but the tooth fairy’s payoff provides an example of inflation—the amount the price of goods increases each year—and of the economic principle called “income elasticity of demand.” Listen to the story to find out what teeth are going for these days, and what economists have to say about it.

Read More
 

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
  • listenwise white logo
  • LESSONS
  • ELA
  • Social Studies
  • Science
  • Current Events
  • HOW IT WORKS
  • Product Tour
  • Why Listening
  • Listening Assessment
  • PRICING
  • ABOUT
  • Team
  • Press
  • Careers
  • Contact Us
  • RESOURCE LIBRARY
  • Case Studies
  • Webinars
  • Support Center
  • WAYS TO FOLLOW
  • Listenwise Blog
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
Get our Newsletter
Terms & Privacy
  © Copyright 2021 Listenwise. All Rights reserved.
Image Spp signatory rect sm
ACCEPT AND CLOSE

Listenwise uses cookies to provide the best experience possible. By continuing to use this site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies. Read our Privacy Policy

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