82 Early World Civilizations: Supplemental Guide 4A | The Hanging Gardens of Babylon
Discussing the Read-Aloud 15 minutes
Comprehension Questions 10 minutes
If students have diffi culty responding to questions, reread pertinent
passages of the read-aloud and/or refer to specifi c images. If
students give one-word answers and/or fail to use read-aloud
or domain vocabulary in their responses, acknowledge correct
responses by expanding the students’ responses using richer
and more complex language. Ask students to answer in complete
sentences by having them restate the question in their responses.
- Literal Where did today’s read-aloud take place? (Babylon)
- Literal This read-aloud begins with a narrator (with whom we
are pretending to travel) telling us the story. Which character
also narrates the story at times? (Ili, the merchant) - Inferential What is Mesopotamia called? (the cradle of
civilization) Why is it called the cradle of civilization? (It is one
of the fi rst-known civilizations.) - Literal What was the name of the king who ruled Babylon at
the time of today’s read-aloud? (Nebuchadnezzar) - Inferential How was the entrance to the city of Babylon different
from the entrance to cities today? (Babylon was surrounded by
a high wall, and people entered through a gate.) - Inferential When the travelers fi rst entered the city, why did the
streets feel funny to them? (The streets were made of stone, and
they had been walking for weeks through the sandy desert.) - Inferential Why did Ili call the Hanging Gardens “the most
amazing sight in all of Babylon”? (elaborate engineering—
built on platforms, plants not native to desert area, required
elaborate system of watering) - Literal According to Ili, why did King Nebuchadnezzar have
the Hanging Gardens built? (He built them for his wife, the
queen, who missed the green hills and beautiful fl owers in her
native land.)