Ancient Mesopotamia
Some of the most destructive flooding of recent times has occurred in Bangladesh, on the Indian subcontinent. Locate Bangladesh on a map and make a drawing of it. Tell how the geographic features resemble Mesopotamia’s. Trace the course of the Ganges and the Brahmaputra rivers that flow into the Bay of Bengal. Compare their flow with the Tigris and Euphrates into the Persian Gulf.
Clip an article about a current flood from a newspaper or invite a resource person in the community to describe the effects of a flood. Make a list of at least 5 of problems that floods create for people.
Punch in any city and it will give you the exact date and time
there. Find the date and time for a city that is now in what you used to
be the Fertile Cresent.
ANCIENT MESOPOTAMIA
UNIT: http://www.ci.shrewsbury.ma.us/Sps/Schools/Central/Curriculum/
ELEMENTARY/SOCIALSTUDIES/Mesopotamia%20html/ancient_mesopotamia.htm
Read
about daily life, culture, contributions, and geography of Ancient Mesopotamia,
followed by several student exploration activities. Topics cover religion, trade
and commerce, geography, clothing, and more, along with an excellent selection
of related resources for further investigations and research. Tell the class five
things you learned from this site.
Mesopotamia-The British Museum: http://www.mesopotamia.co.uk/
Mesopotamia
in the Electronic Passport: http://www.mrdowling.com/603mesopotamia.html
Look at the bottom of the page for more links about Mesopotamia. Tell
the class five things you learned from this site.
Think of yourself as a news reporter who has been sent to cover the annual flooding of the Tigris and Euphrates in both northern and southern Mesopotamia. Write a news story in which you describe the different effects in each region.
Perhaps the closest American counterpart to the Tigris and Euphrates is the Mississippi River. It too has a history of all too often overflowing its banks an causing widespread devastation. Do research on “Big Muddy” to learn about its flood history and about efforts to control its flood. Write up you findings in a report.
Finish a paragraph that begins: The Sumerians were like us because . . ., they were different because . .
In our society we as citizens have the power to create or change the laws under which we live by electing representatives to do it for us. Rewrite the lasw quoted from the Code of Hammurabi as they might appear in the American justice system. Suggest what makes your version appropriate to the United States and therefore different from Hammurabi’s laws.
HAMMURABI'S
CODE -- YOU BE THE JUDGE: http://www.phillipmartin.info/hammurabi/
Click on the "View the stela" link and then go tho the "solve some
of the problems Hammurabi faced" link and consider some of the same problems
Hammurabi solved. Offer solutions first before learning what the Babylonian king
proclaimed.
HAMMURABI'S LAW -- A STUDENT
PLAY: http://socialstudies.com/c/@2l09BecdIRI7M/Pages/article.html?article@JWW951A
Journey back with your class to the royal court at Babylon almost 4000 years ago,
and explore one of the first written codes of law. With six friends put on this
play for the class.
E-Book: Epic of
Gilgamesh (from Mesopotamia) with SOUND: http://gilgamesh.psnc.pl/index.html
Awsome
Ancient Wonders: http://tqjunior.thinkquest.org/5983/pages/ancient.htm
At this site you'll find excellent background information on what most recognize
as the ancient wonders of the world. Read about these historical marvels and tell
the class about one of them.
Make a chart titled: “Achievements of Mesopotamian Civilization”. Divide the chart into these four sections: government, religion, architecture, writing. Fill in the chart to tell about each section.
Find one place in Mesopotamia that you would like to have visited. Write three journal entries describing a visit there.
Research one of the following topics, using both encyclopedias and library books on Mesopotamia. Prepare an illustration to go with your writing. Sumerian art, Sumerian toys, the Standard of Ur, the Tower of Babel, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon.
Draw a self-portait entitled “[Your Name] with a Wheel.” In it, show yourself doing something that involves the wheel.
Although there is no solid proof, many expers believe that the wheel was invented only once and that it spread out from Sumer to other societies. Do research on this theory of the spread of the wheel to major civilizations and present you findings in a report.
Using these subjects: Abraham, Moses, monotheism, the Ten Commandments, Solomon make a poster showing the role each subject played in Juaism’s development.
Prepare your own illustrated time line of events in the founding of Judaism. Some events are Abraham’s journey to Canaan, Egyptian captivity, Moses leading them from Egypt, Moses receiving the torah on Mount Sinai, the Babylonian captivity, and Solomon’s reign. You might use TIMELINE GENERATOR: http://teachers.teach-nology.com/web_tools/materials/timelines/ to create either a vertical or a horizontal time line with this online template and timeline generator.
Babylonian
mathematics: http://www-history.mcs.st-andrews.ac.uk/history/Indexes/Babylonians.html
History and mathematics merge at this online exploration of mathematics in antiquity.
Here you'll get an overview of both Babylonian mathematics, a look at each civilization's
handling of the concept of zero, and other related mathematical history.
Board
Games of the Ancient World: http://students.itec.sfsu.edu/edt628/dstorz/index1.html
Learn to play the game Ur and teach it to the class.
Does the mysterious 'lost' Ark of the Covenant survive in Ethiopia?: http://www.naplesnews.com/02/08/neapolitan/d810296a.htm
This site began in March
1998 and was created by Janet Luch.
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