Mesopotamia, the land 'between two rivers'
I can describe the area of Mesopotamia and how it was farmed by civilisations like the Sumerians.
- Year 3
Mesopotamia, the land 'between two rivers'
I can describe the area of Mesopotamia and how it was farmed by civilisations like the Sumerians.
Lesson details
Key learning points
- Around 3,000 years before Jesus was born, an ancient civilisation was flourishing between two large rivers.
- It was called Sumer, and it sat between the Tigris and the Euphrates rivers in a place called Mesopotamia.
- These rivers made it an ideal place to grow crops due to the soil being fertile, just like the Nile in Egypt.
- The Sumerians did not just rely on the flooding of the rivers to make farming better.
- They built ditches and channels to divert water from the rivers to their fields, creating a reliable water supply.
Keywords
Civilisation - a civilisation is when humans live together in large groups in a highly organised way
Sumer - Sumer was an ancient civilisation that existed 5000 years ago in the Middle East
Mesopotamia - meaning 'between two rivers', Mesopotamia is the name given to the region between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers
Reliable - something that is reliable can be trusted and is high in quality
Surplus - surplus means extra or more than is needed
Common misconception
Pupils may think floods are only destructive.
Explain that floodwaters can be very dangerous and cause much damage, but they also bring water and nutrients to the land for growing crops.
Equipment
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.What does ancient mean?
Q2.Match the labels with the correct definitions.
Common Era - the time since Jesus was born
Before the Common Era - the time before Jesus was born
the year Jesus was born
Q3.Put the following years in order, starting with the oldest.
Q4.How can rivers help farmers?
Q5.How does farming help people to live in large groups?
Q6.How do historians study the lives of ancient people?
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Match the keywords with the correct definitions.
an ancient civilisation
a person who lived in Sumer
the place where Sumerians lived
