Download Mesopotamia lesson

Teacher’s name: Lauren Frantz
Date: _____11/13/06
th
Subject: World History Grade Level: 9 Topic: _Introduction to Mesopotamia
Essential Questions:
1. Where is Mesopotamia located?
2. What factors allowed Mesopotamia to flourish?
General Objectives:
VA SOL:
WHI.3 The student will demonstrate knowledge of ancient river valley civilizations,
including Egypt, Mesopotamia, the Indus River Valley, and China and the
civilizations of the Hebrews, Phoenicians, and Kush, by
a) locating these civilizations in time and place;
NCSS:
III. People, Places, and Environments
Learning Outcomes:
1. In the study of the Ancient River Valley civilizations, SWBAT produce a map
that includes spatial information about people, places, and environments of the
Ancient River Valley. (APPLICATION)
Assessment:
I will be able to asses if this lesson was successful by the responses that the students put
down in the “L” section of the KWL chart. Using the rubric that I created I will be able to
assess if the students located and colored their maps to my specifications.
Content Outline:
I.
Mesopotamia
a. Mesopotamia is a Greek word meaning 'between the rivers'. The rivers are
the Tigris and Euphrates which flow through modern Iraq. The Euphrates
also flows through much of Syria
b. Mesopotamia is made up of different regions, each with its own geography.
The geography of each area and the natural resources found there affected
the ways that people lived.
c. Northern Mesopotamia is made up of hills and plains. The land is quite
fertile due to seasonal rains, and the rivers and streams flowing from the
mountains. Early settlers farmed the land and used timber, metals and
stone from the mountains nearby Southern Mesopotamia is made up of
marshy areas and wide, flat, barren plains. Cities developed along the
rivers which flow through the region. Early settlers had to irrigate the land
along the banks of the rivers in order for their crops to grow. Since they
did not have many natural resources, contact with neighboring lands was
important.
II.
Where is Mesopotamia Located?
a. Babylonia was situated in the area known as Mesopotamia (Greek for
"between the rivers"). Mesopotamia was in the Near East in roughly the
same geographical position as modern Iraq. Two great rivers flowed
through this land: the Tigris and the Euphrates. Along these two rivers
were many great trading cities such as Ur and Babylon on the Euphrates
b. Mesopotamia was approximately 300 miles long and 150 miles wide. It
was located between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. These rivers flow
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.
h.
into the Persian Gulf. The word Mesopotamia means "The land between
the rivers"
The climate for the region ranged from seasons of cool to hot seasons with
temperatures often over 110 degrees Fahrenheit. Mesopotamia
experienced moderate rainfall.
Most of Mesopotamia was located in the present day country of Iraq. The
land of Mesopotamia was once dominated by floods, but today is mostly
desert. The seasonal flooding was a challenge to the farmers of
Mesopotamia. These farmers learned to control the flooding to some
degree. The fertile land along the rivers produced such crops as wheat,
barley, sesame, flax, and various fruits and vegetables.
The land that was once marshes and channels that provided food,
protection, and life to the people there, no longer exists.
Tigris and Euphrates
i. Babylonia rests on a flat plain with the two large rivers flowing
through it, the Tigris and Euphrates. Their course runs from
Anatolia and Syria to the Persian Gulf. Mountains surround the
East and North sides of the plain, the Zagros chain and Kurdistan,
and the Syrian and Arabian deserts guard the west and south.
Climate
i. In the summertime the climate is hot and dry, and the winter is
cold and wet. In the spring the Tigris and Euphrates rivers
overflow their banks, flooding great portions of the plain. Lots of
water and proper control enabled man in ancient times to produce
abundant crops, mostly barley and sesame, with abundant grazing
land in the lush meadows for the cattle, sheep and goats.
ii. As the hot dry south wind came faithfully the date palm was
cultivated and its fruit was ripened. The abundant clay was formed
into bricks to build houses and monumental structures, and also
provided clay tablets for writing purposes.
iii. In order to acquire precious metals, stones and sturdy timber the
inhabitants engaged in foreign trade. The vast resource of
petroleum was all but useless to ancient man. Today the physical
features of the region along with its climate are similar to how it
was in the ancient world, and the Arabs who live there still live in
a manner very similar to their ancient predecessors.
Ideal for Trade
i. Because Babylon was situated on the river Euphrates it was an
ideal place for trade. To the north they could trade up the river to
Syria and beyond and could act as a staging post with the cities of
Sumer to the south. When Babylon became important, people
would have wanted to live there because of the economic benefits
it would give being in a large city with lots of merchants and
tradesmen passing through. An important city like Babylon would
also give a greater degree of security to its inhabitants.
ii. In Babylonia and in all of southern Mesopotamia there is lots of
clay which people could bake and make into bricks with which to
build houses. This helped the development of civilization in the
area
Student and Teacher Activities:
Time
Teacher
Hook: What do you think are the most
important geographic features that a
place must have when are starting a
civilization? Lets see if these features
played a role in formation of
Mesopotamia.
Steps 1-3:
1. Today we are going to be learning
15-20
about the geography of
minutes.
Mesopotamia. We will be
locating important physical
features that define the region.
2. I will pass out a KWL chart. I
will put the students into small
groups based on readiness as
measured in the list-group-label
pre-assessment. I will monitor the
students to make sure they are on
Step 4: 30
task while they complete the
minutes.
chart.
3. I will bring the class back
together and each group can share
their “K” column with the class.
Step 5-7: 30
minutes
4. “Today we are going to read
about the Geography of
Mesopotamia. One thing that
good readers do as they read is,
they think about the most
important events or ideas in the
text. This strategy is known as
summarizing. When readers
summarize, they focus only on
the main ideas or events in the
text. So let’s do an activity that
practices summarizing.” I will
have the students read sections of
the text and summarize each of
Students
The students will tell me
different features that think
are important in forming
civilization
1. The students will be
getting settled and
getting their books and
notebooks out on their
desks.
2. The students complete
the “K” and “W”
sections of the chart in
small groups.
3. The small groups will
share what they know
about the region with
the entire class.
4. The students are
practicing a
summarizing strategy
by summarizing the
paragraphs in the text
on page 30-31. They
are summarizing in a
sentence or two.
the paragraphs into a sentence or
two. Have the students take out a
sheet of notebook paper and open
their books to page 30-31, “The
Land: Its Geography and
Importance.”
5. I will pass out the atlases; outline
maps, lists of places to identify,
and the map rubric.
6. I will divide the class into four
groups and have the students
become experts on their quadrant
of the map. I will use the
overhead map to identify which
groups are assigned to which
quadrant.
7. After the small groups have
correctly labeled their quadrants
we will come back together as a
class and have the individual
groups teach and label their area
of the map to the entire class
using the overhead so that all of
the students can label the map
correctly.
8. After the students have located all
of the important places and
features of the region on their
maps I will have the students fill
out the “L” column in the KWL
chart in their small groups.
9. We will then come back together
as a class and make a class “L”
5. The students will be
moving their desks and
joining their groups.
The students are
responsible for
becoming experts on
their section of the
map. The students
need to identify all of
the places and features
on the sheet that are
found in their section
of the map. They are
labeling all of the
places and features in
black, water is colored
blue, land is colored
green, and mountains
are colored brown and
represented by the
mountain symbol ۸.
6. The small groups are
having me check their
maps to make sure
they have labeled
correctly. Then they
are able to present
their quadrant to the
rest of the class. All of
the students should be
labeling their maps as
they quadrants are
presented.
7. Students will complete
the “L” column of the
KWL chart.
8. Students will raise
hands to fill in “L”
column on the board
chart on the board to make sure
that everyone grasps the
important issues from today’s
class.
10. I will pass out the Mesopotamia
quiz and have the students
complete it and hand it to me on
the way out of the class.
9. Students will take the
quiz
Materials:
KWL chart for the geography of Mesopotamia, outline map of Mesopotamia, overhead
map of Mesopotamia, atlas, list of places and features to identify, Mesopotamia quiz
Differentiation:
Depending on the students in the class, some students with disabilities may have a
difficult time completing this lesson without adaptations. Students with visual
impairments or Asperger’s syndrome would require assistance in completing the
assignment. Students may have difficulty differentiating between water and land masses
on the two dimensional black and white map.
Subject Matter Integration/Extension:
The geography of River Valley Civilizations is similar no matter where the civilization is
located. Locating important characteristics and features of one civilization will illustrate
the similarities with the other river valley civilizations.
Reflections:
When teaching a lesson that requires students to create something artistically it is
important to have and example to show the students. It is also important to demonstrate
what I expect students to do and using an overhead of the map and providing the students
with an example will help to scaffold the directions for the students.