Houghton Mifflin Social Studies
A Message of Ancient Days
Lesson at a Glance
Chapter 6, Lesson 1: The Land Between Two Rivers (pp. 150-155)
The Big Idea
Framework Concept: Technology Because of irrigation, the Sumerians were able
to create city-states.
- Review the location of Sumer with students, then discuss how both river flooding
and irrigation transformed the land. Be sure students understand how this led to surplus
food and freed people to do other kinds of work.
Lesson Outline
Use the Lesson Outline to preview the content of the lesson. You may wish to print it for your students as a guide during reading.
Check for Understanding
- Have students write a paragraph describing how the Sumerians created city-states.
- Have students draw a cause-and-effect diagram to connect the advances of the
Sumerians in government, technology, and communication to the availability of surplus
food. Encourage volunteers to explain how one thing led to another: the irrigation
system produced surplus food and needed managers, the surplus grain needed storage
in places built of materials gotten through trade, trade required record-keeping, etc.
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