New
New
Year 3

The growth of trade, construction and writing in Mesopotamia

I can explain how farming in Mesopotamia led to the growth of trade, writing and building.

New
New
Year 3

The growth of trade, construction and writing in Mesopotamia

I can explain how farming in Mesopotamia led to the growth of trade, writing and building.

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Lesson details

Key learning points

  1. Mesopotamian civilisations like the Sumerians were able to trade their extra food with people who lived far away.
  2. Archaeologists think that as these civilisations traded more they needed a way of recording what was being traded.
  3. They began to write down and count what they were giving and receiving in a special writing called cuneiform.
  4. Because their farming was productive, they could stay in one place, and so they built cities with large stone buildings.
  5. 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.

Use modelling clay or salt dough and practise cuneiform writing by pressing a wedge to make the marks.
Teacher tip

Licence

This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2024), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0 except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions (Collection 2).

Lesson video

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6 Questions

Q1.
What do farmers grow?
rivers
cities
Correct answer: crops
houses
Q2.
Match the starter sentences to the word to complete each sentence.
Correct Answer:Sumer was an ancient,civilisation.

civilisation.

Correct Answer:Sumer was in,Mesopotamia.

Mesopotamia.

Correct Answer:Sumerians were excellent,farmers.

farmers.

Q3.
Mesopotamia means 'the land between two ...'
Correct Answer: rivers, Rivers, river
Q4.
Which two rivers was Mesopotamia between?
Correct answer: Tigris
Mesopotamia
Sumer
Correct answer: Euphrates
Q5.
Why was farming successful in Mesopotamia?
Correct answer: The land was fertile between the two rivers
There were more people to grow food
Correct answer: The farmers learned to control the water
The farmers relied on the flood waters
Q6.
Successful farmers grew more than they needed.
Correct Answer: food, crops, food to eat

6 Questions

Q1.
Match the keywords to the definitions.
Correct Answer:trade,when people buy or sell items they need and want

when people buy or sell items they need and want

Correct Answer:record,to write or draw ideas, events and memories

to write or draw ideas, events and memories

Correct Answer:cuneiform,an ancient form of writing

an ancient form of writing

Correct Answer:ziggurat,a large ancient religious stone building

a large ancient religious stone building

Q2.
What were some effects of successful farming?
less food
Correct answer: trade
Correct answer: inventions
Correct answer: building
hunger
Q3.
Writing was first invented to record how much was ...
Correct Answer: traded, trade, Traded
Q4.
Cuneiform writing was made on tablets using a stylus.
Correct Answer: clay, Clay
Q5.
Which of these were ancient cities in Mesopotamia?
Sumer
Correct answer: Ur
London
Correct answer: Uruk
Q6.
Choose the words that describe a ziggurat.
surplus
Correct answer: religious
Correct answer: tiers
Correct answer: stone
river

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