Welcome to Ancient Mesopotamia!
Grade and Subject
6th Grade History of Ancient Civilizations
California State Content Standards
6.2 Students analyze the geographic, political, economic, religious, and social structures of the early civilizations of Mesopotamia, Egypt, and Kush.
1. Locate and describe the major river systems and discuss the physical settings that supported permanent settlement and early civilizations.
2. Trace the development of agricultural techniques that permitted the production of economic surplus and the emergence of cities as centers of culture and power.
3. Understand the relationship between religion and the social and political order in Mesopotamia and Egypt.
4. Know the significance of Hammurabi’s Code.
9. Trace the evolution of language and its written forms.
1. Locate and describe the major river systems and discuss the physical settings that supported permanent settlement and early civilizations.
2. Trace the development of agricultural techniques that permitted the production of economic surplus and the emergence of cities as centers of culture and power.
3. Understand the relationship between religion and the social and political order in Mesopotamia and Egypt.
4. Know the significance of Hammurabi’s Code.
9. Trace the evolution of language and its written forms.
Common Core State Standards
- RL61: Cite textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.
- RI62: Determine a central idea of a text and how it is conveyed through particular details; provide a summary of the text distinct from personal opinions or judgments.
- RI63: Analyze in detail how a key individual, event, or idea is introduced, illustrated, and elaborated in a text (e.g., through examples or anecdotes).
- RI67: Integrate information presented in different media or formats (e.g., visually, quantitatively) as well as in words to develop a coherent understanding of a topic or issue.
- W63: Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence.
- a. Introduce claim(s) and organize the reasons and evidence clearly.
- b. Support claim(s) with clear reasons and relevant evidence, using credible sources and demonstrating an understanding of the topic or text.
- c. Use words, phrases, and clauses to clarify the relationships among claim(s) and reasons.
- d. Establish and maintain a formal style.
- e. Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from the argument presented.
- W64: Produce clear and coherent writing in which the development, organization, and style are appropriate to task, purpose, and audience. (Grade-specific expectations for writing types are defined in standards 1–3 above.)
Unit Goals and Objectives
- Students will understand the agricultural techniques used to create food surpluses that eventually led to denser populations and the development of cities.
- Students will understand why river valleys were important to the development of early civilizations.
- Students will learn about the political and physical geography of ancient Mesopotamia.
- Students will understand the political, social and religious beliefs and practices of the Sumerians.
- Students will learn the variety of inventions and contributions made by the civilizations of Mesopotamia.
- Students will learn about the leaders (Sargon, Hammurabi, and Nebuchadnezzar) and peoples (Assyrians, Chaldean's) who built the first empires in ancient Mesopotamia.
Assessments
- Fill out a concept map showing the agricultural techniques and their influences on the social, political and religious ideas of early civilizations.
- Label important physical and political geographic areas on a map of the Middle East.
- Draw and color a poster depicting a city-state within Sumer which accurately illustrates the geographic setting of the area and some religious, social and political symbols (ziggurats) as well as architectural designs (walled cities, moats) and technologies.
- Write in a double entry journal describing some of the laws in Hammurabi’s Code and your response to them.
- Fill out a timeline that accurately shows the order of leaders and empires that emerged in ancient Mesopotamia.
Big Ideas and Essential Historical Questions
Big Ideas
Essential Historical Questions
- Geographical circumstances affected the beliefs and lifestyles of early civilizations including the ones living in ancient Mesopotamia.
- The agricultural revolution influenced early civilizations in a number of similar ways.
- Geography and weather influenced both the development of city-states as well as the character of the gods they believed in.
- The Mesopotamia's made a variety of contributions to future civilizations including writing, the wheel and several advances in science and math.
- The creation of empires is usually violent, but once created can often bring peace and unity to large geographical regions.
Essential Historical Questions
- How does the physical geographic location influence the beliefs and lifestyle practices, (including political, social and religious) of the civilizations that develop in the region?
- How has the agricultural revolution influenced the way people lived in the past as well as how they live today?
- What are the contributions of the first civilizations and how have we adapted them to the needs of today?
- How are the goals or motive of past empires similar or different from the goals or motives of modern “empires”?