Inca Empire Reading Comprehension Passage - Cored Ed Encyclopedia

This Inca Empire reading comprehension with lesson plan includes:

Visualization (on the front cover)

Start your lesson by taking a minute to think and share something about the topic.

• Read the script aloud (slowly), perhaps prepare some music or sound effects. Student close their eyes and let their imaginations wander.

• Students open their eyes, read the question aloud and give them a few minutes to complete. Ask a few students to share or keep answers until the end to compare with what they learn in the passage.

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Pre-Reading Trivia

Students will write down one thing they already know about the subject and then read five more facts and discuss. These facts are fun, and the students will enjoy learning about the subject before reading more.

• Give 1 minute for students to write what they already know (no pressure—best guess is fine).

• Read the five facts together. After each fact, do ask a student for their opinion, was it surprising?

• Set a purpose by asking students to highlight/underline one fact they want to learn more about during the reading.

Reading Passage

The text is a high-interest reading passage with set paragraphs, roughly three to four paragraphs long. It contains a variety of themes about the topic, anywhere from history to technology. The passage is between 250 and 350 words in length.

• First, ask students to look at the headings and see what they’ll learn about today. What do they know about the topic/heading?

• First read options:

  • Teacher read-aloud (best for support).

  • Partner reading (paragraph by paragraph).

• While reading, students underline important details, and vocabulary words they think may come up in the questions section.

Mixed Questions

The first question page contains four multiple-choice questions, each with a choice of four answers, and three written response questions that require a sentence or two from the student.

• Students complete the mcqs first independently, then review quickly as a class.

• For the 3 written responses, try to get students giving the answer with some form of evidence:

  • “I think ___ because the text says ___.”

• If students get stuck, send them back to check the passage.

Vocabulary Questions

Practice seven key words from the text in this section across two activities. First section is scrambled words where students will unscramble three words given a clue for each. The second section is a word to meaning matching activity.

• Before starting, have some students read out words they underlined in the passage. Ask students to say the word and read aloud the sentence(s) around each word.

• Ask students to do scrambled words and the matching exercise in pairs then go through answers as a class.

• For the scrambled spelling task, get four pairs to come up to the board and write the words for extra practice with the other student reading out the clue.

• For the matching task, prompt students to give full sentences: “I matched ___ with ___ because ___.”

Creative Writing

In this question, the student will be required to write a five to eight sentence paragraph on a question related to the topic.

• Before starting, ask students write down 3 key ideas they are going to include in their piece. Ask students for ideas to share around the class to help those struggling.

• Pro writing expectations:

  • 5–8 sentences

  • At least 2 facts or details from the passage

  • At least 2 vocabulary words from the previous page

• Students read their paragraphs while classmates listen for facts and vocabulary words.

Extension Activities

This page is optional for fast finishers or to take home. There are several activities, each one requiring a different skill. Do some, do none, do all, completely optional - but you will feel reassured knowing every possibility is planned for. Includes summary writting question and additional facts.

Answer Key

There are answers for the multiple-choice questions, written response questions have sample answers, vocabulary answers and if there is a summary question then a sample summary will be provided as well.

Lesson Plan Included

Customized lesson plan for this lesson is included.

Lesson Snapshot

• Title: Inca Empire

• Genre: Nonfiction (informational passage)

• Subject: Social Studies (History) / Reading (Informational Text)

• Primary Topic: Cusco, roads, quipu records, terraces, legacy

• Estimated Guided Reading Level (A–Z): S

What This Lesson Teaches Best

• How Cusco grew from a small kingdom into a larger Inca state in the 1400s under a leader named Pachacuti, and how the state was called Tawantinsuyu (the Realm of the Four Parts).

• How Inca engineers built a wide road system with stairs cut into rock and bridges, plus storehouses and resting places that helped the empire spread across western South America.

• How the Inca kept records without an English-like alphabet by using a quipu (cords with knots and colors for counts and notes).

• How terraces were used on hillsides to hold soil and water for crops like potatoes and corn, and how work was organized by the state as a kind of tax.

• How the empire ended after conflict and Spanish conquest, while people and culture continued (Quechua still spoken; terraces and stone places remain).

Learning Goals

• Describe how Cusco changed in the 1400s and name the Inca state described in the passage.

• Explain how roads, bridges, and storehouses helped the Inca move messages, supplies, and armies.

• Explain what a quipu is and what it could record, based on the text.

• Describe what terraces are used for and how they helped farming on hillsides.

• Identify what happened in the 1500s that led to the end of the empire and one way Inca life continued afterward.

Key Vocabulary From the Text

• Tawantinsuyu — the Inca state called the Realm of the Four Parts.

• chasquis — runners who carried messages from stop to stop.

• quipu — cords with knots and colors for records.

• terraces — flat steps that hold soil and water.

• storehouses — places along routes that kept needed supplies.

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