Grade 6 Lesson at a Glance: Chapter 6, Lesson 4

Houghton Mifflin Social Studies
A Message of Ancient Days

Lesson at a Glance
Chapter 6, Lesson 4: New Empires (pp. 175-180)

The Big Idea
Framework Concept: Conflict The Assyrians and Babylonians gained their empires by military might, but lost them as they could not be bound together.

Review the growth and downfall of the Assyrian and Babylonian empires. Talk about the projects that were important to each. Discuss the ways in which each empire dealt with the people it conquered. Ask students what role that played in each empire's downfall.

Discuss the importance of the scientific achievements of the Babylonians in the areas of astronomy, calendar development, time-keeping, and mathematics. Remind students that some of these achievements are still in use thousands of years later.

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 in one half of the room write down aspects of each of the two empires that helped them grow, while students in the other half write down those aspects that led to the empires' downfalls. Alternate presentation of positive and negative aspects by students. Discuss.
Ask each student to draw a scene showing Babylonian scientists and/or mathematicians as they make their discoveries. Write captions explaining how things work.

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