Grade 6 World History, Quarter 2, Unit 1 of 3 Early River Valley Civilizations. Overview. (1 day = 55 minutes)

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1 Grade 6 World History, Quarter 2, Unit 1 of 3 Early River Valley Civilizations Overall days: 11 (1 day = 55 minutes) Overview Purpose Between about 4500 and 2000 BCE, complex agricultural societies emerged in three river valleys in the arid lands of western and central Afroeurasia. In this unit, students explore early complex societies in the Tigris Euphrates valley (Mesopotamia), the Nile valley (Egypt), and the Indus valley (Pakistan India). Students will approach this topic from a comparative perspective, considering the question of why dense societies with teeming cities arose in those places, when the human species had flourished without civilizations for hundreds of thousands of years. Students will probe the question of why communities could produce large food surpluses in regions where rainfall was scant. They will also investigate fundamental characteristics that these complex societies shared notably, cities, social class divisions, specialized occupations, trade networks, monumental building, writing systems, complex belief systems, and centralized governments. Content to be learned Understand how agrarian societies developed technologies such as the plow, bronze metallurgy, and writing, and new forms of social organization that led to the emergence of early river valley civilizations. Explain the rise of new agrarian centers in Mesopotamia, Egypt, and the Indus valley in the context of the physical environments of these regions, and the means by which these environments were modified and shaped by human activity. Understand how Mesopotamia, Egypt, and the Indus valley became centers of urbanization. Understand the principal characteristics of these early complex societies (civilizations). Processes to be used Analyze cause-and-effect relationships between key inventions such as bronze, the plow, writing, and the wheel on one hand and the development of early river valley civilizations on the other. Draw upon data in historical maps to analyze why complex agrarian societies arose in regions of extreme aridity. Formulate historical questions to hypothesize how and why early cities arose. Examine historical data to identify the chief characteristics of complex societies, as compared with those of hunter gatherer or early farming societies. Essential questions students should be able to answer by end of unit Why did the Nile, Tigris Euphrates, and Indus river valleys become important centers of dense agrarian populations? How was social and economic life in early cities different from life in farming villages or hunter gatherer communities? Providence Public Schools, in collaboration with the D-23

2 Grade 6 World History, Quarter 2, Unit 1 Early River Valley Civilizations (11 days) Written Curriculum Grade-Span Expectations HP 1: History is an account of human activities that is interpretive in nature. HP 1 (5-6) 1 Students act as historians, using a variety of tools (e.g., artifacts and primary and secondary sources) by b. using sources to support the stories of history (How do we know what we know?) c. asking and answering historical questions, organizing information, and evaluating information in terms of relevance HP 2: History is a chronicle of human activities, diverse people, and the societies they form. HP 2 (5-6) 2 Students chronicle events and conditions by a. placing key events and people of a particular historical era in chronological sequence National Standards for History (World History, Grades 5 12) Era 2 Early Civilizations and the Emergence of Pastoral Peoples, BCE Standard 1: The major characteristics of civilization and how civilizations emerged in Mesopotamia, Egypt and the Indus valley. 1A The student understands how Mesopotamia, Egypt, and the Indus valley became centers of dense population, urbanization, and cultural innovation in the fourth and third millennia BCE. Therefore, the student is able to Analyze how the natural environments of the Tigris-Euphrates, Nile, and Indus valleys shaped the early development of civilization. [Compare and contrast differing sets of ideas] Compare the character of urban development in Mesopotamia, Egypt, and the Indus valley, including the emergence of social hierarchies and occupational specializations, as well as differences in the tasks that urban women and men performed. [Compare and contrast differing values and institutions] Compare the forms of writing that developed in the three civilizations and how written records shaped political, legal, religious, and cultural life. [Compare and contrast differing sets of ideas, values, and institutions] Compare the development of religious and ethical belief systems in the three civilizations and how they legitimized the political and social order. [Compare and contrast differing sets of ideas] Describe architectural, artistic, literary, technological, and scientific achievements of these civilizations and relate these achievements to economic and social life. [Analyze cause-and-effect relationships] Common Core State Standards for Literacy in History/Social Studies Text Types and Purposes WHST Write arguments focused on discipline-specific content. a. Introduce claim(s) about a topic or issue, acknowledge and distinguish the claim(s) from alternate or opposing claims, and organize the reasons and evidence logically. D-24 Providence Public Schools, in collaboration with the

3 Early River Valley Civilizations (11 days) Grade 6 World History, Quarter 2, Unit 1 b. Support claim(s) with logical reasoning and relevant, accurate data and evidence that demonstrate an understanding of the topic or text, using credible sources. c. Use words, phrases, and clauses to create cohesion and clarify the relationships among claim(s), counterclaims, reasons, and evidence. d. Establish and maintain a formal style. e. Provide a concluding statement or section that follows from and supports the argument presented. Range of Writing WHST Write routinely over extended time frames (time for reflection and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of discipline-specific tasks, purposes, and audiences. Notes, Clarifications, and Prerequisites New to the grade span is the placement of events and key people in a chronological sequence. Instruction should include emphasis on eras following each other in a time continuum. Also new to the grade span is telling the story of history through the use of sources. Instruction should include directing students attention to the sources that reveal stories of the river valley civilizations. Students also encounter for the first time the skill of formulating questions in order to probe the stories of history. This entails their evaluation of information for relevance to the people of the era being studied or to the modern era. These units include Common Core Literacy standards in reading and literacy and Historical Thinking Standards. The impact on instruction of these new and additional standards is noted in the Planning and Instructional Delivery Considerations and Assessment sections. Providence Public Schools, in collaboration with the D-25

4 Grade 6 World History, Quarter 2, Unit 1 Early River Valley Civilizations (11 days) Taught Curriculum Learning Objectives Students will be able to: Analyze human environmental interactions in the Nile, Tigris Euphrates, and Indus valley regions that were associated with the emergence of complex societies (dense agrarian civilizations) and cities. (4 days) Identify key elements of technology used in early civilizations. (1 day) Summarize how living in cities affected social and economic relations among individuals and groups. (2 days) Compare and contrast the basic characteristics of complex society in Mesopotamia, Egypt, and the Indus valley, including social class divisions, specialized occupations, monumental building, writing systems, complex belief systems, and centralized governments. (4 days) Resources History of Our World, Pearson, Teacher s Edition, 2010 (pp , 43-47, 80-85, , ) All-in-One Teaching Resources World History for Us All, Big Era 3, Panorama Teaching Unit: Farming and Complex Societies Big Era 3, Landscape Teaching Unit 3.3: River Valleys and the Development of Complex Societies in Afroeurasia, Lessons 1 and 2 Facing History and Ourselves Fishbowl, resources/strategies/fishbowl Identity Charts, resources/strategies/identity-charts Step Up to Writing, Sopris West, 2008 Planning with an Informal Outline (p. 150) Tool 4-5c Expository Essays and Reports Scoring Guide (p. 442) Tools 10-16a to 10-16c Materials Construction paper, scissors, colored pencils, dictionaries D-26 Providence Public Schools, in collaboration with the

5 Early River Valley Civilizations (11 days) Grade 6 World History, Quarter 2, Unit 1 Instructional Considerations Key Vocabulary agrarian culture delta interaction irrigation metallurgy plow religion river valley sedentary society technology Planning and Instructional Delivery Considerations In this unit, students explore early complex societies in the Tigris Euphrates valley (Mesopotamia), the Nile valley (Egypt), and the Indus valley (Pakistan India). Students will approach this topic from a comparative perspective, considering the question of why dense societies with teeming cities arose in those places, when the human species had flourished without civilizations for hundreds of thousands of years. Students will probe the question of why communities could produce large food surpluses in regions where rainfall was scant. They will also investigate fundamental characteristics that these complex societies shared notably, cities, social class divisions, specialized occupations, trade networks, monumental building, writing systems, complex belief systems, and centralized governments. In these activities, students will also investigate fundamental characteristics that these complex societies shared. Students will analyze and discern cause from effect and recognize the significance of human interactions with the environment in history. The strategies listed below represent a menu of choices and possibilities to support each learning objective. The following teaching strategies are aligned to the order of the learning objectives. Select from the activities and readings in the Pearson text to provide students with background information and critical thinking opportunities that align to the learning objectives. To ensure that students will be able to analyze human environmental interactions in the Nile, Tigris Euphrates, and Indus valley regions that were associated with the emergence of complex societies (dense agrarian civilizations) and cities (4 days): Teach Lesson 3 (Who is Civilized?) in World History for Us All, Big Era 3, Panorama Teaching Unit (Farming and Complex Societies). Show the PowerPoint Overview Presentation (Farming and Complex Societies) in World History for Us All, Big Era 3. Lead a discussion in class around this question: What ideas can you infer from the PowerPoint about how, when, and why complex urban societies emerged in certain places in the world, considering that humans had managed to thrive previously without them? Teach Lesson 1 (What Does It Take to Be a Civilization?) in World History for Us All, Big Era 3, Landscape Teaching Unit 3.3 (River Valleys and the Development of Complex Societies in Afroeurasia). Have students locate the Tigris Euphrates, Indus, and Nile river valleys on a map. Compare the geographical features of these valleys in the context of Afroeurasia as a whole. Use maps, photos, and other appropriate pictorial sources. Have students identify common features that may have shaped agricultural production. Discuss why you think civilizations first developed along river valleys in extremely arid regions. Providence Public Schools, in collaboration with the D-27

6 Grade 6 World History, Quarter 2, Unit 1 Early River Valley Civilizations (11 days) Students will create a Venn diagram, T-chart, or flow chart that identifies and compares the geographic and environmental contexts of each area of civilization and how these regions developed into sedentary agrarian societies and productive cities. To ensure that students will be able to identify key elements of technology used in early civilizations (1 day): Research the technology for flood control and irrigation in the Nile and Tigris Euphrates valleys. In groups of 3 or 4, students will discuss why these societies needed irrigation and how it ensured a reliable food supply. Why did large-scale irrigation projects require more complex political and administrative organization? How did irrigation systems in Mesopotamia and Egypt differ? From a list of technologies of our own time, have students in groups research and identify those that had already been invented in some form by 2000 BCE. Have students debate the advantages and disadvantages of technological developments that have been made since 2000 BCE. Have students map places of origin of silver, copper, and tin used in Mesopotamia in the 3rd millennium BCE. With reference to these maps, lead a class discussion of what exports Mesopotamia had available to pay for the metals they imported. Students will recognize and identify the tools used in early civilization development through strategies such as the formation of diagrams and charts. To ensure that students will be able to summarize how living in cities affected social and economic relations among individuals and groups (2 days): Implement an Identity Chart classroom activity. Have students discuss commonalties, differences, and implications of urban living. (See the Facing History and Ourselves website s page on Identity Charts for more information.) The students can create charts and diagrams and form analogies about the impact of living in urban areas. Research and examine the way the Indus people laid out and constructed their cities. Set up a fishbowl and ask students selected for it to discuss what this evidence might suggest about Indus River valley government, economic organization, and levels of skill and technology. (See the Facing History and Ourselves website s page on the Fishbowl strategy for more information.) To ensure that students will be able to compare and contrast the basic characteristics of complex society in Mesopotamia, Egypt, and the Indus valley, including social class divisions, specialized occupations, monumental building, writing systems, complex belief systems, and centralized governments (4 days): Teach Lesson 2 (What Can We Tell from What They Said Themselves?) in World History for Us All, Big Era 3, Landscape Teaching Unit 3.3 (River Valleys and the Development of Complex Societies in Afroeurasia). On a map, students in groups plot the places where Indus valley cities of the 3rd and 2nd millennia BCE have been discovered. Using other maps and images from the archeological sites of the Indus River valley, have students compare the size and characteristics of the Indus valley complex society with that of the Sumerian and Egyptian civilizations. Based on information in the textbook, students will fill in a graphic organizer comparing and contrasting the religions of Mesopotamia, Egypt, and the Indus valley. The students will develop a graphic organizer that leads to various writing samples (4-Step Summary, Narratives, Outlines). D-28 Providence Public Schools, in collaboration with the

7 Early River Valley Civilizations (11 days) Grade 6 World History, Quarter 2, Unit 1 Additional Teaching Strategies Have students read in the textbook and respond to the following questions: Section 3 Assessment, Comprehension and Critical Thinking, questions 1 2 (Pearson, p. 24) Section 3 Assessment, Comprehension and Critical Thinking (Pearson, p. 47) Section 3 Assessment, Comprehension and Critical Thinking (Pearson, p. 85) Sections 2 and 3 Assessments, Comprehension and Critical Thinking (Pearson, pp. 118 and 123) Section 2 Assessment, Comprehension and Critical Thinking (Pearson, p. 148) Have students complete the Writing Activity in the section Assessments (Pearson, pp. 24, 47, 85, 118, 123, and 148). The scoring rubric for each writing activity is in the All-in-One Teaching Resources. Formative Assessments Assessed Curriculum Provide feedback to students through daily monitoring of student understanding using a variety of methods. For example, use exit cards. Have students answer questions on paper before they leave the class. Keep the activity prompt specific and brief to check for understanding of the day s concepts. For instance, to check students comprehension of the importance of river floods, ask students to respond to the following question: When was the flooding of the Tigris and Euphrates beneficial? To assess the progress of understanding: how to analyze human environmental interactions in the Nile, Tigris Euphrates, and Indus valley regions that were associated with the emergence of complex societies (dense agrarian civilizations) and cities, on a blank map, have students in groups locate and identify the main geographic features of the three river valleys. Have each student write a short journal entry or other writing assignment to identify common features that may have shaped agricultural production. Have students answer why they think civilizations first developed along river valleys in extremely arid regions. how to identify key elements of technology used in early civilizations, have students create an advertisement for a specific new technology invented by the Egyptians, Mesopotamians, or people in the Indus River valley. The advertisement should state what functions and advantages are to be had from this new technology. how to summarize how living in cities affected social and economic relations among individuals and groups, have students write a letter from a new urban dweller to his or her family in a rural village that explains how life is different in an urban environment. how to compare and contrast the basic characteristics of complex society in Mesopotamia, Egypt, and the Indus valley, including social class divisions, specialized occupations, monumental building, writing systems, complex belief systems, and centralized governments, in a journal entry or short writing assignment, have students respond to the following question: Why do you think we know less about government, society, and religion in the Indus civilization than about those things in Mesopotamia or Egypt? Providence Public Schools, in collaboration with the D-29

8 Grade 6 World History, Quarter 2, Unit 1 Early River Valley Civilizations (11 days) These formative assessments provide an opportunity to write for a range of topics, purposes, and audiences (WHST ). Summative Assessment Have students write an essay that compares the origins and characteristics of the civilizations of Egypt, Mesopotamia, and the Indus valley. Students should draw upon evidence from the textbook and artifacts from classroom activities to substantiate their claims. Provide the Step Up to Writing Planning With an Informal Outline Tool 4-5c to help students plan their essays. Use the Expository Essay and Report Scoring Guide Tools 10-16a to 10-16c to assess. This summative assessment continues the practice of extended writing (WHST ) and learning to write arguments (WHST.6-8.1). Notes D-30 Providence Public Schools, in collaboration with the