Topic: Mesopotamian civilization

Target group

5th‑grade students of elementary school

Core curriculum

I. Ancient civilizations. Pupil:

1. compares the nomadic lifestyle with the settled and explains the effects of the Neolithic revolution;

2. localizes civilizations of the ancient East in time and space (...);

3. (...) explains the difference between polytheism and monotheism.

General aim of education

Students will learn about the ancient civilizations that lived in Mesopotamia and what inventions we owe to them.

Key competences

• communication in foreign languages;

• digital competence;

• learning to learn.

Criteria for success
The student will learn:

• to explain who lived in the ancient Middle East;

• to set the time of antiquity;

• to characterize the principles of the Hammurabi Code;

• to describe the most important inventions of the peoples of ancient Mesopotamia;

• to explain why ancient civilizations developed in the Tigris and Euphrates basin.

Methods/techniques

• expository

  • talk.

• activating

  • discussion.

• programmed

  • with computer;

  • with e‑textbook.

• practical

  • exercices concerned.

Forms of work

• individual activity;

• activity in pairs;

• activity in groups;

• collective activity.

Teaching aids

• e‑textbook;

• notebook and crayons/felt‑tip pens;

• interactive whiteboard, tablets/computers.

Lesson plan overview

Before classes

1. Students will learn about the civilizations that lived in Mesopotamia and what inventions we owe to them.

Introduction

1. The teacher states the subject of the lesson, explains the aim of the lesson and together with students determines the success criteria to be achieved.

2. Referring to the homework, the teacher asks students to recall what the Neolithic revolution was and why was it such a breakthrough.

Realization

1. The teacher begins the discussion by asking students for ideas on why were the first human settlements created in Mesopotamia? What else is the area called? (Fertile Crescent). Students should mention favorable conditions for farming and breeding animals: a basin of large rivers, fertile soil, etc. Referring to students' answers, the teacher asks how the rivers were used and why they were so important. For the sake of ease, the teacher can display the map of Mesopotamia in III‑II thous. BC. Students supplement their knowledge on the subject by reading the text from ** Exercise 1 ** and following the instructions.

2. The teacher asks what civilization is according to students. What characterizes them (in general) and what characterizes the first civilizations of Mesopotamia? Asking questions, he remembers to formulate them to be key questions.

3. The teacher explains to the students that the ancient civilizations of the Middle East were not big countries with dozens of cities and villages, but their existence was concentrated around city‑states. Then he explains how they functioned, how they looked and what role they played. He also asks students, what elements abd buildings were in such a city. Students get acquainted with the illustration showing a ziggurat and perform ** Task 1 **.

4. Then the teacher presents the social pyramid of Mesopotamia and asks students to name each of its layers – ** Task 2 ** (ruler / priests, officials and dignitaries / craftsmen and traders / farmers and fishermen / slaves). The teacher makes sure that the task has been correctly completed and gives feedback.

5. The teacher asks students to find information on the inventions of the ancient civilizations of the Middle East on the Internet. He reminds the students about the irrigation systems. Do we use them today? Students should mention, among others, the wheel, writing, law, calendar, glass, math, architecture, system of measures and weights, sundial, potter's wheel, chariot, etc. Then the teacher asks about how they were used and supplements students' knowledge, for example, while discussing architecture and ziggurats, he could mention one of the wonders of the world: the hanging gardens of Semiramis.

6. The teacher pauses at the invention of the law and writing. He discusses the Code of Hammurabi. He points out that this was not the first law code in the world, but it is the oldest preserved in its entirety to this day. Students get acquainted with the information contained in the interactive illustration in ** Task 3 **. Then the teacher draws the attention to the invention of writing – as a breakthrough in the history of mankind, meaning the end of prehistory and the beginning of antiquity. He asks students to start brainstorming, why was it such a breakthrough that it led to the „end of an era” and the start of a new one? Next, the teacher mentions the Epos about Gilgamesh as an example of Sumerian literature (for example he can read a passage about the flood). Students execute ** Task 4 ** and ** Exercise 2 **. The teacher makes sure that the tasks have been correctly completed and gives feedback.

7. While working on exercises and tasks, the teacher uses a set of cards in three colors: green, yellow and red. Thanks to the cards, the students signal to the teacher if they have difficulties in carrying out the orders (green color – I'm doing great, yellow - I have doubts, red - I'm asking for help).

Summary

1. To sum up the lesson, the teacher asks students what characterizes the civilization of Mesopotamia and what it has brought to the history of mankind.

2. Students carry out ** Exercise 3 **, linking the events and facts with given dates.

3. The teacher assesses the students' work during the lesson, taking into account their input and commitment. For this purpose, he may prepare a self‑assessment questionnaire.

Homework

1. The teacher tasks willing students with homework: The civilizations of the ancient Near East had an extensive belief system. These communities professed faith in many deities and mythical figures. Look for examples and spheres for which these deities were responsible? Are their names also used today? If so, by whom and why?.

The following terms and recordings will be used during this lesson

Terms

Texts and recordings

Mesopotamian civilization

In the 4th millennium BCE, in Mesopotamia (from Greek mesos ‘middle’ + potamos ‘river’), a land located between the great rivers Euphrates and Tigris (in the territory of today’s Iraq), the Sumerians appeared. They came up with many inventions, the most important of which were writing and bronze. The Mesopotamians also developed a system of canals that brought water from rivers to fields, which led to the development of agriculture. They lived in numerous city‑states, in which they built huge ziggurats – buildings resembling pyramids, on top of which there were temples dedicated to various gods. Later, Mesopotamia came under the rule of the kings of the city of Babylon. The most famous of them was Hammurabi, who ordered that a code, i.e., a set of laws, be written down. This is one of the oldest known codes. In the 8th century BCE, Mesopotamia was conquered by Assyrians who, thanks to a well‑trained army, formed the first great empire of antiquity with its capital in the city of Nineveh.