Answers and an explanation for each question appear once you add this activity to your own library.

📌 How to use this lesson

👩‍🏫 For the Teacher

What to do: Spend 8 minutes on this reading activity. Have students read the passage first, then guide them through the 8 questions.

How to check: Check answers by asking students to highlight the exact evidence from the text for each question.

🎓 For the Learner

First: Read the short story about Southdale indoor shopping mall carefully and check the word list below it.

Next: Answer the 8 questions below and check the clues in the explanation box to see if you got them right!

Reading Passage

Southdale: The First Indoor Mall

Southdale opened on October 8, 1956, in Edina, Minnesota. Victor Gruen designed it. It was the first fully enclosed shopping mall in the United States. Builders made it so shoppers could stay warm during the cold Minnesota winters. Inside, you could walk under real trees and see a big bird cage.

A 1950s style illustration of an indoor shopping mall with lush green trees inside, a large bird cage, and shoppers walk

📖 Useful Words to Know

enclosed

Covered with walls and a roof all around; inside a building.

designed

Planned and drew how a building or object should look.

mall

A large building containing many different shops.

shopper

A person who goes to shops to look for and buy things.

bird cage

A special box or frame made of wire to hold birds inside.

Example Pattern

Where things are in a mall

💡 "The kiosk is in front of the cafe."

Practice Questions (1–8)

Answer each question based on the story above.

True or False: Southdale opened in Edina, Minnesota.

____ True ____ False

True or False: Southdale was an open-air outdoor market.

____ True ____ False

In what year did Southdale open?

____ a. 1946 ____ b. 1956 ____ c. 1966

Who designed the Southdale shopping mall?

____ a. Victor Gruen ____ b. Edina Minnesota ____ c. A group of shoppers

Why was Southdale built inside a fully enclosed building?

____ a. To keep birds safe ____ b. So shoppers could stay warm during cold winters ____ c. To build bigger cafes

Fill in the blank:

Inside, you could walk under real ____ and see a big bird cage.

Fill in the blank:

Shoppers could look at a big ____ cage inside Southdale.

Fill in the blank:

Southdale was the first fully ____ shopping mall in the United States.

Reading: The First Shopping Mall

📌 How to use this lesson

👩‍🏫 For the Teacher

🎓 For the Learner

Southdale: The First Indoor Mall

📖 Useful Words to Know

Where things are in a mall

Practice Questions (1–8)

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