The growth of trade, construction and writing in Mesopotamia
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can explain how farming in Mesopotamia led to the growth of trade, writing and building.
Key learning points
- Mesopotamian civilisations like the Sumerians were able to trade their extra food with people who lived far away.
- Archaeologists think that as these civilisations traded more they needed a way of recording what was being traded.
- They began to write down and count what they were giving and receiving in a special writing called cuneiform.
- Because their farming was productive, they could stay in one place, and so they built cities with large stone buildings.
- Some of the biggest of these stone buildings were called ziggurats, which were large, stepped religious buildings.
Keywords
Trade - people trade by buying or selling items they need or want
Record - people write or draw to record ideas, events and memories
Cuneiform - a type of ancient writing invented in Sumer was called cuneiform
Ziggurat - a ziggurat is a large religious building made from stone during Mesopotamian civilisations
Common misconception
Writing is only created with pens or pencils.
Discuss different forms of writing such as print on a poster, graffiti, and lettering on clothing.
Teacher tip
Use modelling clay or salt dough and practise cuneiform writing by pressing a wedge to make the marks.
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.What do farmers grow?
Q2.Match the starter sentences to the word to complete each sentence.
civilisation.
Mesopotamia.
farmers.
Q3.Mesopotamia means 'the land between two ...'
Q4.Which two rivers was Mesopotamia between?
Q5.Why was farming successful in Mesopotamia?
Q6.Successful farmers grew more than they needed.
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Match the keywords to the definitions.
when people buy or sell items they need and want
to write or draw ideas, events and memories
an ancient form of writing
a large ancient religious stone building
Q2.What were some effects of successful farming?
Q3.Writing was first invented to record how much was ...
Q4.Cuneiform writing was made on tablets using a stylus.
Q5.Which of these were ancient cities in Mesopotamia?
Q6.Choose the words that describe a ziggurat.
To help you plan your 3 history lesson on: The growth of trade, construction and writing in Mesopotamia, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 3 history lesson on: The growth of trade, construction and writing in Mesopotamia, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 2 history lessons from the Sumer and other early civilisations: what made them similar? unit, dive into the full primary history curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.