CKHG Unit 2: Mesopotamia
Focus:
In this unit students will be introduced to Mesopotamia, an ancient civilization that developed in the land between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers.
Students will learn that Mesopotamians began to rely less on hunting animals and gathering plants in favor of developing agricultural methods that enabled them to feed the population. Over time, some people were able to stop working on the land and instead were employed in other ways in the growing towns and cities.
Students will discover that building, governing, making and selling things, and writing all became alternative occupations in Mesopotamia, and that these jobs were often pursued by people living in the towns and cities. Such social centers were crucial to building what was one of the world’s oldest civilizations.
In the unit’s five chapters, students will study the development of writing in this “land between the rivers,” which allowed the Mesopotamians to pass along their laws and traditions. They will learn about King Hammurabi’s written laws, as well as about city life and the gods, goddesses, and temples of this ancient civilization.
Number of Lessons: 5
Instruction Time:
We have intentionally left the pacing and timing needed to teach the content presented in the Teacher Guide and Student Book very flexible. Teachers can choose how much they read aloud and discuss in a single instructional period, as well as how often each week they use the CKHG materials.
Additional Search Terms:
social studies • geography • civics • map skills • nonfiction • informational text • ancient • civilization • farming • cities • flood/flooded • floodwater • cuneiform • writing • archaeologists • reeds • laws • temples • gods • goddesses • ruins • half-god • Hammurabi • Code of Hammurabi • rivers • king • queen • Tigris River • Euphrates River • headdress • temples • Temple of Ur • Babylon • Ishtar • Gilgamesh
