Education:K-8
Below is a sample social studies lesson for sixth grade...
boc_hei_pro1 Teacher: Ms. Heidi Bockus
Subject: Social Science Grade: 6
Approx. Time: 50 min. (30 min. for lesson, 20 for worksheet)
Objective:
The students will correctly identify the vocabulary terms and answer the reflective questions on Early Mesopotamia using text, class notes, small discussion groups, and the worksheet. The worksheet will serve as the basis for a future quiz.
Formative.Vocabulary:
Mesopotamia, civilization, Sumer, iku, cuneiform, city-state, monarchy, polytheistic, ziggurat
Early Civilization in Mesopotamia
WHAT DO YOU THINK OF WHEN YOU HEAR THE WORD CIVILIZATION? How many syllables does it have?
Along time ago, before written history, people either hunted or farmed for food in small family units. That is, until around 3500 B.C. In the Tigris-Euphrates River Valley of Southeast Asia, in the area of Sumer (in Mesopotamia), was probably the first civilization on earth.
Mesopotamia means "between the rivers." This makes sense, doesn't it? Have someone find it on a large world map. A civilization is a centralized society with developed forms of learning, ways of governing,and religion.
People moved to Mesopotamia, and lived in cities instead of small villiages.
Because they lived in Sumer, which is in southeast Mesopotamia, they were called Sumerians. Instead of making all their own household necessities, they could become specialized in a trade(farmer, weaver, potter, miller, etc.) and then trade their goods for other things they needed. This gave them more leisure or free time which they could spend doing other things besides just surviving. They could then devote more time to develop their education, government, and religion.
The Sumerians contributed some important inventions. Since the Tigris and and canals to divert floodwaters away from their crops. If a farmer lost all his crops, there was no grocery store to buy more.They would starve! The Sumerian farmers also wanted to make sure that their farmland wasn't "borrowed" by someone else. So they made boundries and measured their land with ikus, or acres. Does anyone know how many acres their family property is? We still use this measurement today, don't we?
The Sumerians also built cargo boats with sails which they used for trading their goods with other trading ports on the banks of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.
But perhaps their greatest invention was writing. The first writing started out as picture symbols (or pictographs) on pieces of wet clay. Later,the pictographs were simplified to wedge-shaped strokes known as cuneiform. The scribes, who were like professional writers, wrote cuneiform on clay tablets with reeds.Imagine if each sheet in your textbooks was made of clay. That would be pretty heavy wouldn't it? The Egyptians were the ones who invented paper (or papyrus) scrolls.
The people of Sumer belonged to different city-states, which is a city and the surrounding farms.When these city-states were attacked, the leaders couldn't always agree on what to do. In order to strengthen their government, each city-state appointed a king. When one person has complete authority in a government,it is called a monarchy.
Religion was the most important part of Sumerian life. The Sumerians believed in many different gods, which means they were polytheistic. These gods were like people, but they had the power to flood rivers, cause sickness, as well as cause good harvests. In order to pacify their gods, they appointed priests to perform religious rituals. The priests had great power and authoritiy, rivaling the royal family. Each city had a temple or ziggurat, which was the center of activity for each city-state.
Are there any questions?
Okey, let's review some things we learned today.Oral Review Questions
1. Where is Mesopotamia located? (in the Tigris-Euphrates valley)
2. What did the Sumarians invent? (dikes and canals, iku, cargoboats with sails, and cuniform)
3. How did living in cities help the Sumarians become more civilized (Main answer: Because of trade, they had more time to devote to developing education, government, and religion.
This hand out is meant to be a supplement and reinforcement to the above lesson.The students can work in small groups to answer the questions, especially Part II, but they all must fill out their own sheets.The students should have about 20 minutes to work on the hand out.
Materials: world map
(Optional): The day before the lesson, have students construct and paint a Sumerian city model out of cardboard as a hands-on project for Math class. Divide the class into groups of two, each responsible for one item. Provide a picture as a model.Lesson source: Harcourt Brace, Social Studies (The World), Teacher's Edition, vol. 1, chapter 2(pgs. 72-78), c.2000
WORKSHEET:
Name_________
Directions: Define each of these words from your book or class notes.
Part I1. Mesopotamia:
2. civilization:
3. Sumer:
4. cuniform:
5. city-states:
6. monarchy:
7. polytheistic:
8. ziggurat:
Directions: Read and answer the three questions below. Feel free to discuss this with your group members.
Part II1. According to the above definition of civilized, why were the Sumarians considered civilized?
2. What economic activity enabled them to have more time to devote to the three features of society? Why was this such an important step for the Sumarians?
Nebraska S.S. standard:
8.2.2 Students will describe the impact of ancient river valley civilizations (Mesopotamia,Egypt, India, and China) on the development of world cultures.
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Page last updated:3/3/04
Contact author at hbockus@kdsi.net
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