Download Mesopotamia UbD

Mesopotamia
The Ancient World
By Megan Foster & Carolyn DiSalvatore
The purpose of this unit plan is to introduce students to the civilizations of Mesopotamia. This will include the geography and
how it effects human settlement and development; civilization and how artifacts can lead to conclusions about history of a
civilization; and empires and how and why different accomplishments lead to the rise and fall of empires. Students will be
introduced to the content through a variety of primary source analysis, both visual and written documents. Students will be
asked to think critically about the information they are presented with. At the conclusion of the unit, student groups will
create ABC books about Mesopotamia.
It is assumed heading into this unit that students will be knowledgeable about emerging societies of people in the ancient
world, as well as the themes of geography. This unit is designed to provide students with the framework for understanding the
most essential aspects of Mesopotamia.
Stage 1 Desired Results
ESTABLISHED GOALS
Transfer Goals
Students will be able to independently use their learning to…
History Frameworks:
G
7.6 Identify the characteristics of civilizations.
(H,G,E)
 The presence of geographic
boundaries and political institutions
 An economy that produces food
surpluses
 A concentration of a population in
distinct areas or cities
 The existence of social classes
 Developed systems of religion,
learning, art, and architecture
 A system of record keeping
 Identify polytheism as the religious
belief of the people in Mesopotamian
civilizations. (H)
7.7 On a historical map, locate the Tigris and
Euphrates Rivers and identify Sumer, Babylon,
and Assyria as successive civilizations and
empires in this region, and explain why the
region is sometimes called “the Fertile
Crescent.” On a modern map of western Asia,
identify the modern countries in the region
(Iraq, Iran, and Turkey). (H, G, E)
Understand how recurring patterns in history can inform judgments about current
events and other issues.
Understand how physical and human geography can inform responsible interactions
with environment.
Critically appraise historical and contemporary claims/decisions.
T
Meaning
UNDERSTANDINGS
Students will understand that…
U
U1…people must solve geographic
challenges in their environment to live
there successfully.
ESSENTIAL QUESTIONS
Q
E1. How would you solve the geographic
challenges faces by the Sumerians? How
would farming be different if irrigation
systems were not developed?
E2. Why are these characteristics
necessary for a society to be considered a
U2…a society is considered a civilization
civilization? Must all the characteristics be
when a complex set of characteristics exist present in a society for it to be called a
in the community.
civilization? Can one be missing?
U3…strong political and military forces will
allow for the rise of empires, however,
E3. Which achievement was the most
important to the rise and success of
empires? What is the most important
cause for the failure of empires?
7.9 Describe how irrigation, metalsmithing,
slavery, the domestication of animals, and
inventions such as the wheel, the sail, and the
plow contributed to the growth of
Mesopotamian civilizations. (H,E)
7.10 Describe important Mesopotamian
achievements. (H,C,E)



Its system of writing (and its
importance in the record keeping and
tax collection)
Monumental architecture (the
ziggurat)
Art (large relief sculptures, mosaics,
and cylinder seals)
7.11 Describe who Hammurabi was and
explain the basic principle of justice in
Hammurabi’s Code (“an eye for an eye”). (H,
C, E)
problems within often lead to the fall of
these empires.
Students will know…
E4. Why has Mesopotamia changed from
the cradle of civilization to a war torn
country? How has farming, government,
culture, writing, technology effected the
civilization?
Acquisition
K Students will be skilled at…
K1. Key Terms: Mesopotamia, Tigris River,
Euphrates River, Sumer, irrigation, levee,
silt, city-state, complex, maintain, culture,
civilization, social structure, technology,
status, chariot, scribe, ziggurat, lyre ,
Standard of Ur, polytheism, arch,
cuneiform, pictograph, empire, Akkadian
Empire, Babylonian Empire, Assyrian
Empire, Neo-Babylonian Empire, capital,
tribute, stele, Hammurabi’s Code of Laws,
economy, siege, strategy, aqueduct, basrelief, invader, unify
S
Map Skill: interpret maps to explain
relationships between landforms, water
features, climatic characteristics, and
historical events.
Critical Thinking: analyzing geographic
problems ancient Mesopotamians and
evaluating potential solutions.
Primary Source Analysis: examine
artifacts to discover the history of a
civilization; write hypotheses and support
opinions with detailed evidence.
K2. Mesopotamia was located between
Note Taking Skills: determine main idea
the Tigris and Euphrates River.
and supporting details in describing the
W. 1. Write arguments to support claims with Mesopotamians faced and solved a variety
history of an empire.
of geographic challenges as they
clear reasons and relevant evidence.
developed into city-states.
Compare and Contrast: identify the
SL. 1. Engage effectively in a range of
collaborative discussions with diverse partners K3. Sumer had the seven characteristics of similarities and differences between each
empires success and failures.
on grade 7 topics, texts and issues, building on a civilization present: stable food supply,
others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly. social structure, government, religion,
Vocabulary: use content based vocabulary
ELA & Literacy Frameworks:
R. 1. Cite specific textual evidence to support
analysis of primary and secondary sources.
culture, technology, and writing.
in order to communicate understanding of
key concepts.
K4. Mesopotamia had a variety of political,
military and cultural achievements during
the height of these empires: Akkadian
Empire, Babylonian Empire, Assyrian
Empire, and Neo-Babylonian Empire.
Stage 2 – Evidence
Evaluative Criteria





Historically Accurate
Well Crafted
Revealing and informative
Good Detail
Mechanically sound



Historically Accurate
Well Crafted
Revealing and informative
Assessment Evidence
CURRICULUM EMBEDED PERFOMANCE ASSESSMENT (PERFORMANCE TASKS)
PT
You will be part of a group authoring an ABC book on Mesopotamia for young readers. Your
group will assign jobs to all members: historian, artistic director, editor, and publisher
(everyone will contribute to each part of the book, but each role holds responsibility that work
for each part is completed).
 Content (Historian)- Your group must first come up with a word or phrase for each
letter of the alphabet that represents the geography and history of Mesopotamia. The
historian must verify all information is accurate. (If you are stuck on a letter {q, x, etc}
use adjectives to describe something else)
 Visuals (Artistic Director)- Each page or letter of your ABC book(including the cover)
must be accompanied by a colorful picture. Artistic director must decide if pictures are
appropriate for letter/word and audience. Pictures can be hand drawn or printed.
 Review (Editor)- All pages must be in alphabetical order, appropriate for audience, and
free of any errors (spelling, grammar, accuracy). Editor should complete a review
before final drafts are completed.
 Print (Publisher)- Group’s book should be ready to “print” with a cover followed by
pages covering 26 letters of Mesopotamia and bound with yarn or staples. Publisher
should ensure all pages are neat and well presented.
OTHER EVIDENCE:
OE


Create a map of a Sumerian city-state
Analyze the Standard of Ur in an “I See it Means”


Good Detail
Mechanically sound


Analysis and ranking of empires in “Empire Report Card”
Chapter Tests
Stage 3 – Learning Plan
Summary of Key Learning Events and Instruction
Lesson 1: Introduction and Preview to Mesopotamia- In this lesson, students will preview the geography of Mesopotamia and the major themes
of the unit.
 Map: History Alive! Geography Challenge: Interactive Notebook pg 4-7
 Vocabulary Preview: Mesopotamia Wordle
Lesson 2: Geography & Development of Mesopotamia- In this lesson, students will analyze problems faced by early Sumerians and evaluate
possible solutions.
 Critical Thinking: Analysis of four geography based problems in Mesopotamia and student created solutions (History Alive Chapter 4
lesson)
 Map Skill: Create a map of a Sumerian city-state that labels and details the “solutions” to geographic problems.
Lesson 3: Characteristics of a Civilization- In this lesson, students will identify civilization and decide if Sumerian city-states qualify as a
civilization.
 Vocabulary: Frayer Model- civilization, city-state
 Primary Source Analysis: Analysis of Sumerian artifacts to determine whether Sumerian city-states had the characteristics of a
civilization.
 Visual Analysis: I See, It Means- Standard of Ur
Lesson 4: Empires of Mesopotamia- In this lesson, students will identify empire and be able to describe and detail the four empires of
Mesopotamia.
 Vocabulary: Frayer Model- empire
 Content/ Response Notes: identify the accomplishments(details) of the Akkadian Empire, Babylonian Empire, Assyrian Empire and NeoBabylonian Empire, accompanied by a summary of the empire (main idea).
Lesson 5: Empires of Mesopotamia II- In this lesson, students will analyze and rank the accomplishments of the empires.
 Primary Source Analysis: Hammurabi’s Code
 Compare & Contrast: Rank the accomplishments of each empire using an Empire Report Card.
 Critical Thinking: Discussion of empires and what causes empires to rise and fall, also introduce the effects.
Lesson 6: ABC of Mesopotamia- In this lesson, students will work in groups of four to write a children’s book on Mesopotamia in an ABC format.