Taj Mahal

High school (ages 12+)
Geography

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/taj-mahal

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. How tall is Taj Mahal?Approximately 35 meters (115 feet)
2. What is the location?Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India, on the southern bank of the Yamuna River
3. What is the commissioned by?Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan
4. Why did Shah Jahan build the Taj Mahal?Shah Jahan wanted to remember his wife after she died in 1631. He built the Taj Mahal as a monument of love and grief.
5. What kind of marble is the Taj Mahal made of?It is made from white Makrana marble from Rajasthan. The marble changes color, looking pinkish at sunrise, bright white at noon, and golden at moonlight.

Mausoleum: A grand and often ornate building constructed as a monument enclosing the burial place of a deceased person or people.
Mughal Architecture: A distinctive style characterized by symmetry, domes, minarets, arches, and intricate decorative elements, blending Persian, Indian, and Islamic influences.
Pietra Dura: An art form using finely cut and fitted, highly polished colored stones to create images or patterns, often inlaid into marble.
Charbagh: A Persian-style garden layout divided into four quadrants by walkways or water channels, symbolizing the four gardens of Paradise.