Los Angeles Unified School District
Secondary Literacy/English Language Arts
Pompeii Text Passage
Directions: Listed below are strategies you can use to help you better analyze the text. Write
your notes in the “Notes” column. Underline or highlight text associated with your notes.
 Write down the main idea of a paragraph.
 Rewrite a section in your own words.
 Make any inferences.
 Use context clues to define unknown words or write ideas for what a word might mean.
 Record ideas or questions you have about the text you want to share with others.
 Write any reactions to the text.
Text
Notes
“A Day in Pompeii – What Nature Destroyed,
It Also Preserved” – The Cincinnati Museum
Center
The city of Pompeii is a partially buried Roman
city in Italy. Pompeii and the nearby city of
Herculaneum were destroyed when Mt.
Vesuvius erupted in A.D. 79. The eruption
buried Pompeii under 13 to 20 feet of ash and
pumice. The city was lost for almost 1700 years
before it was accidentally discovered in 1749.
Since then, its excavation has provided
extraordinarily detailed insight into the life of a
city at the height of the Roman Empire. Today,
the city of Pompeii is one of the most popular
tourist attractions in Italy.
The excavated town offers a snapshot of Roman
life in the 1st century, frozen at the moment it
was buried on August 24, A.D. 79. The Forum,
the baths, many houses, and some villas on the
edge of town remain very well preserved.
Mosaics in homes and businesses remain intact.
Even carbonized food has been found. The
evidence that remains here shows that Pompeii
was a lively place.
At the time of the eruption, the town probably
had around 20,000 inhabitants. In addition,
Romans had their holiday villas in the area.
ELA Grade 6 Interim Assessment: “A Day in Pompeii – What Nature Destroyed It Also Preserved”
Los Angeles Unified School District
Secondary Literacy/English Language Arts
Pompeii is the only ancient town of which we
know the original topographic structure. Nothing
has been added or changed since the time of
the eruption. The streets are straight and lay out
in a grid. Houses and shops line both sides of
the street. The Forum was the economic,
religious, and political center of Pompeii. The
main temples, municipal buildings, law courts,
market and the Mensa Ponderaria were grouped
around it. Besides the Forum, many other
services were found in the city, including the
Macellum (great food market), the Pistrinum
(mill), the Thermopolium (bar that served hot
and cold beverages), and cauponae (small
restaurants). An amphitheater and two theaters
have also been found, along with a palestra
(gymnasium). A hotel, now called the “Grand
Hotel Murecine,” was discovered a short
distance from the town.
August 24, A.D. 79, began as any other summer
day in Pompeii. The town Forum was bustling
with commercial and political activity. The baths
temples, theaters and taverns were full of
patrons. Just after the lunch hour, the ground
shook. A great explosion thundered over the
town. Mount Vesuvius had erupted, spewing
volcanic materials over the city and surrounding
region. A column of ash and gases rose miles
into the sky. Small volcanic rocks and ash
rained down on the city. The debris was so thick
it blocked out the sun.
The ash and rock continued falling all through
the night. Everything in the town was covered,
and roofs collapsed under the weight. People
who tried to endure the deluge were trapped
inside buildings. People who tried to flee in
darkness were stranded.
The next day, catastrophic waves of fast moving
toxic gases and hot, wet mud flowed into the
ELA Grade 6 Interim Assessment: “A Day in Pompeii – What Nature Destroyed It Also Preserved”
Los Angeles Unified School District
Secondary Literacy/English Language Arts
city. People who had fled early probably
escaped, but those who stayed behind did not.
Pompeii remained buried and forgotten for 1700
years.
In 1709, a workman sinking a well in a nearby
town struck the marble seats of Herculaneum’s
theater. Herculaneum is five miles from
Pompeii, near the Bay of Naples. This discovery
initiated the excavations of the two lost cities.
Renaissance collectors were very interested in
finding precious, authentic classical objects like
those that had been buried.
The first excavators were opportunists, but by
the 19th century, scholars and tourists were
more interested in the history of the lost city and
its people. The focus was no longer on the
value of found objects. Instead, attention
focused on the past lives the artifacts revealed.
By 1827, a street plan of the uncovered areas of
Pompeii was developed and the first tourist
guidebook was published.
Today, archaeologists have widened their
interest. They wonder about Roman society and
politics and hope that Pompeii can help them
learn more. How many homes and gardens
were there? How many people had access to
fresh water? What does the presence of sacred
objects from other countries say about tolerance
and diversity in Roman society?
Pompeii has been a popular tourist destination
for 250 years. By 2008, it was one of the most
popular tourist sites in Italy. More than 2.6
million visitors come to Pompeii every year. It is
part of a larger Vesuvius National Park, and was
declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in
1997.
ELA Grade 6 Interim Assessment: “A Day in Pompeii – What Nature Destroyed It Also Preserved”
Los Angeles Unified School District
Secondary Literacy/English Language Arts
Graphic Organizer
Directions: Read the four questions below. As you address each question, re-read the paragraphs in “A
Day in Pompeii” that the question is about. Using the text, write your responses in the "My Thoughts"
and “Evidence From the Text” sections. You will then be given time to talk to a classmate, share ideas
and take notes. Based on your conversation, you will complete the "My Thoughts Now" section.
1. What type of information is presented in paragraphs 1-3? What does this
information tell us about Pompeii? Cite evidence from the text to support your
response.
My Thoughts
Evidence From the Text
My Thoughts Now (Confirmations, new ideas, or differences after talking with a partner)
2. What type of information is presented in paragraphs 7-9? What does this
information tell us about Pompeii? Cite evidence from the text to support your
response.
My Thoughts
Evidence From the Text
ELA Grade 6 Interim Assessment: “A Day in Pompeii – What Nature Destroyed It Also Preserved”
Los Angeles Unified School District
Secondary Literacy/English Language Arts
My Thoughts Now (Confirmations, new ideas, or differences after talking with a partner)
3. Paragraphs 4-6 present information in a narrative structure. How is this
structure different than the rest of the text? What effect does it have on the
reader?
My Thoughts
Evidence From the Text
My Thoughts Now (Confirmations, new ideas, or differences after talking with a partner)
4. How does the information presented in paragraph 10 connect to the
information presented in the first paragraph?
My Response
Evidence From the Text
ELA Grade 6 Interim Assessment: “A Day in Pompeii – What Nature Destroyed It Also Preserved”
Los Angeles Unified School District
Secondary Literacy/English Language Arts
My Thoughts Now (Confirmations, new ideas, or differences after talking with a partner)
5. How do the visuals that accompany the article support your understanding of
each section of the text?
My Response
Evidence From the Text
My Thoughts Now (Confirmations, new ideas, or differences after talking with a partner)
ELA Grade 6 Writing Assessment
Evidence-Based Questions
Directions:
Answer the questions below on a separate sheet of lined paper. You may use this sheet to
make any notes or draft your response. You may refer to the reading passage and your
graphic organizer to help you answer the questions.
ELA Grade 6 Interim Assessment: “A Day in Pompeii – What Nature Destroyed It Also Preserved”
Los Angeles Unified School District
Secondary Literacy/English Language Arts
1. How does the information about the artifacts found in Pompeii help the reader
understand what life was like for people who lived there? Cite evidence from the text to
support your response?
2. Paragraphs 4 – 6, contain words like “thundered,” “rained,” “deluge,” and
“catastrophic” to describe the eruption and its devastation, and words like “bustling,”
“endure,” and “flee” to describe the actions of the people in the city. What is the effect
of this word choice on the reader? How does this word choice impact our
understanding of this historical event?
3. Paragraphs 7-9 describe a shift in the interest people have had in the ruins of Pompeii.
What is this shift? How does this shift contribute to your understanding of the central
idea that the study of the ruins of Pompeii can help us to better understand our human
story? Cite evidence from the text to support your response.
4. The subtitle of the article is, “What nature destroyed, it also preserved.” How does this
contribute to your understanding of the central idea that the study of the ruins of
Pompeii can help us to better understand our human story? Provide evidence from the
text to support your response.
ELA Grade 6 Writing Assessment
Writing Task
Directions:
You will have 50 minutes to respond to the prompt below in writing. Use your graphic
organizer, evidence-based questions, and/or other notes to inform your writing. You may
take notes on this paper but you should write your entire response on lined paper.
Writing Prompt
As humans, we are interested in the past not only because it can give us information about
important historical events, but also because understanding those events helps us better
understand the human story.
In the excerpt from the article, “A Day in Pompeii – What Nature Destroyed, It Also Preserved,”
by the Cincinnati Museum Center (CMC), the destruction and re-discovery of the ancient city of
Pompeii are described. In a well-organized essay, analyze how the structure of the text
contributes to the development of the central idea that the study of the ruins of Pompeii can
help us to better understand our human story. In your essay, be sure to address how
ELA Grade 6 Interim Assessment: “A Day in Pompeii – What Nature Destroyed It Also Preserved”
Los Angeles Unified School District
Secondary Literacy/English Language Arts
paragraphs 4-6 fit into the overall structure of the text and contribute to the development of
the central idea. Be sure to cite evidence from the text to support your analysis.
Be Sure To:
 Include relevant facts, definitions, concrete details, quotes or other information
 Use appropriate transitions
 Use precise language and vocabulary to inform or explain your topic
 Establish and maintain a formal style
 Provide a concluding section that follows from and supports your explanation
ELA Grade 6 Interim Assessment: “A Day in Pompeii – What Nature Destroyed It Also Preserved”