What is the main idea of the passage?

Chinampas were carefully built, canal-bordered farm plots that supported food production around Tenochtitlan. (The passage explains construction, corrects the floating-garden label, and describes farming and transport.)

Why can “floating gardens” be misleading?

The established plots were fixed constructed beds rather than drifting rafts. (The second paragraph explicitly contrasts constructed canal beds with rafts that float freely.)

What does “renewed” mean in the second paragraph?

restored or added to again (Farmers repeatedly added and cared for the fertile soil so the plots remained productive.)

How did farmers travel among plots?

by canoe (The second paragraph directly states that farmers traveled by canoe.)

A City Built on Garden Islands: Level 1 Reading Comprehension Questions

Around Tenochtitlan, farmers built chinampas in shallow lake areas. They marked long plots with posts and woven branches, then added mud and plant material. Willow trees helped hold the edges.

People sometimes call chinampas “floating gardens,” but established plots did not drift like rafts. They were constructed beds surrounded by canals. Farmers traveled by canoe, tended crops, cleared waterways, and renewed the rich soil.

Chinampas supported intensive farming near the city. They grew foods and flowers while canals moved people and materials. Canal water also helped keep the surrounding soil moist. The system required knowledge and steady labor. It changed a wet landscape into a network of productive beds without making the beds truly float.

Comprehension questions