Arts & Humanities
--Architecture
--Language Arts
--Visual Arts
Mathematics
--Applied Math
--Measurement
--Statistics
Social Studies
--Current Events
--Economics
--Geography
--Government
--Regions/Cultures
Grades
Grades 2-up
News Content
A new building in the growing emirate of Dubai is the worlds tallest skyscraper.
Anticipation Guide
Write these words on a board or chart.
United Arab Emirates (say EM-ur-its)
Persian Gulf
Dubai (say doo-BUY)
Muslim
mosque
Arabic
Reading the News
You might use a variety of approaches to reading the news:
Read aloud the news story to students as they follow along.
Students might first read the news story to themselves; then you might call on individual students to read sections of the news aloud for the class.
Photocopy the news story onto a transparency and project it onto a screen. (Or use your classroom computer's projector to project the story.) Read the story aloud as a class, or ask students to take turns reading it.
Arrange students into small groups. Each student in the group will read a paragraph of the story. As that student reads, others might underline important information or write notes in the margin of the story. After each student finishes reading, others in the group might say something -- a comment, a question, a clarification -- about the text.
Inform students that this weeks News for You article takes place in a country called the United Arab Emirates. Point out the location of the United Arab Emirates on a world map. Ask students to help you identify the countries that border the UAE (Saudi Arabia and Oman) and to point out the body of water (the Persian Gulf) on which the UAE is located. As the United States comprises 50 states, so the United Arab Emirates comprises seven emirates. The second largest and most highly populated of those emirates is Dubai. Most of the people in Dubai are members of the Muslim faith who worship in buildings called mosques. The national language of the people is Arabic.
After sharing this information with students, review the words by randomly pointing to them and asking students to define them.
News Words
Next, introduce these words that appear in the News Word Box on the students printable page: engineering, concrete, maintain, occupied, observation, and worship. Discuss the meanings of any of those words that might be unfamiliar. Then ask students to use one of those words to complete each of these sentences:
It costs a lot of money to _____ a car in good shape. (maintain)
Jewish members of our community _____ at the synagogue on Maple Street. (worship)
The Cherokee Indian statue was carved from a giant block of _____. (concrete)
My uncle wants to study _____ when he goes to college. (engineering)
So many people are coming for the convention that every single hotel room in town will be _____. (occupied)
The top of White Mountain is the best _____ point in our region. (observation)
Welcome to Dubai
You might use the information in this video to give your students a sense of life in Dubai.
You might share these additional facts with students after they have read this weeks news story.
The tallest skyscraper in the world, which opened on January 4, 2010, is located in the emirate of Dubai. Formerly referred to as Burj Dubai, the new skyscraper is now called Burj Kahlifa, or The Burj" for short. The burj stands as a symbol of progress in the region and a new and prosperous Middle East.
The Burj holds many records in the world of architecture. It is the tallest building in the world (see a visual comparison to other skyscrapers) and the tallest free-standing structure in the world. It has the highest number of stories, the highest occupied floor, and the highest outdoor observation deck in the world. It also includes the elevator with the longest travel distance in the world.
The primary contractor was Samsung C&T of South Korea, the same company that built the Taipei 101 and Petronas Twin Towers. The tower was designed by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, which also designed the Willis Tower (formerly the Sears Tower) in Chicago, Illinois, and 1 World Trade Center in New York City, among numerous other famous high-rises.
The park that greets visitors to The Burj offers a record-setting fountain system designed by California-based WET Design, the same company that designed the fountains at the Bellagio Hotel Lake in Las Vegas. The system is illuminated by 6,600 lights and 50 colored projectors; it is 900 feet long and shoots water almost 500 feet into the air to a background of classical and contemporary Arabic and world music.
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is a federation of seven emirates: Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm al-Quwain, Ras al-Khaimah and Fujairah. The capital and second largest city of the United Arab Emirates is Abu Dhabi. It is also the country's center of political, industrial, and cultural activities.
The emirate of Dubai the second largest in area and has the largest population; it is home to 2.3 million people (2008). The makeup of that population is largely Indian (42%), Arab (26%), and Pakistani (13%). Dubais main sources of revenue include tourism and financial services. Although its economy was originally built on the oil industry, revenues from petroleum and natural gas currently contribute less than 6% of the emirates economy. The emirates climate is hot and arid. Summers in Dubai are extremely hot, windy and dry; winters are warm.
Use the News: Answer Key Comprehension Check. For many years, Dubai has been an active port city and a popular vacation spot. But Dubais skyline has changed a lot in the past 30 years. Many new buildings constructed of glass, steel, and concrete tower over the land. Dubai is a truly international place too. People from around the world make their home in the emirate of Dubai. As a matter of fact, more than 80 percent of the people who live there were not born there. Most people who live in Dubai are Muslims who worship in mosques, but churches and temples can be found in Dubai too. All kinds of foods -- from fast food to Chinese and Indian food -- can be found in hundreds of restaurants along Dubais busy streets. But the thing about Dubai that stands out most is the towering skyscraper known as The Burj." More than anything else, I would like to visit The Burj and catch the view Dubai from its observation deck. The Burj is an engineering wonder that would be well worth a visit! Vocabulary Builder. 1.b, 2.b, 3.d, 4.c. Main Idea. The growing emirate of Dubai is home to a new and most amazing skyscraper.
Assessment
Use the Comprehension Check (above) as an assessment. Or have students work on their own (in their journals) or in their small groups to respond to the Think About the News question on the news story page.
Lesson Plan Source
Education World
National Standards
FINE ARTS: Visual Arts GRADES K - 4 NA-VA.K-4.1 Understanding and Applying Media, Techniques, and Processes NA-VA.K-4.3 Choosing and Evaluating A Range of Subject Matter, Symbols, and Ideas NA-VA.K-4.5 Reflecting Upon and Assessing the Characteristics and Merits of Their Work and the Work of Others NA-VA.K-4.6 Making Connections Between Visual Arts and Other Disciplines GRADES 5 - 8 NA-VA.5-8.1 Understanding and Applying Media, Techniques, and Processes NA-VA.5-8.3 Choosing and Evaluating A Range of Subject Matter, Symbols, and Ideas NA-VA.5-8.5 Reflecting Upon and Assessing the Characteristics and Merits of Their Work and the Work of Others NA-VA.5-8.6 Making Connections Between Visual Arts and Other Disciplines GRADES 9 - 12 NA-VA.9-12.1 Understanding and Applying Media, Techniques, and Processes NA-VA.9-12.3 Choosing and Evaluating A Range of Subject Matter, Symbols, and Ideas NA-VA.9-12.5 Reflecting Upon and Assessing the Characteristics and Merits of Their Work and the Work of Others NA-VA.9-12.6 Making Connections Between Visual Arts and Other Disciplines