Boston Common
Choose a PDF, read on screen, and try the word game.
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All four include an image, vocabulary, comprehension questions, a follow-up reading, and teacher guidance. These English PDFs have selectable text; use the reading below for adjustable text and listening tools.
Read on this page
Words to know
- public
- connected to people as a whole
- space
- an area or room; also the universe beyond Earth’s atmosphere
- change
- become different
Boston set aside the Common in 1634. Cows once grazed there. People used the open land for work and gatherings. Today people walk and play there. It is commonly called the nation’s oldest public park.
Talk about the reading
What happened? Point to a detail that supports your answer. What does the picture help you understand? What would you like to investigate next?
Follow-up: Boston Latin School opens
Boston Latin School began in 1635. Boys studied subjects such as Latin. It is the oldest public school in what is now the United States. Girls did not have the same chance to attend.
How are the two events connected or different? Their order does not prove that one caused the other.
Read the follow-up event →Word match: use the reading
Select a word, then select its meaning. You can use a keyboard or tap. Read the word bank if you need a clue.
Choose a word to begin.
Check the evidence
Research source for this event ↗
Original site illustration. Image source and rights ↗
Historical images, later portraits, reconstructions, and modern topic illustrations are identified in their captions. They are different kinds of evidence.
Try a source investigationVisit a Massachusetts place
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