The Fertile Crescent Activity 3

River Systems: Then and Now
The Fertile Crescent
THE FERTILE CRESCENT

The Euphrates and Tigris Rivers
Grade: 6
Lesson Objective
Students will write a short
response to expository text
with supporting evidence
from the text.
Materials
Video: Mesopotamia: From

Nomads to Farmers. http://
youtu.be/OZ8qOZURfiI?
list=PLFA20A15BF7B4B8F5
Overview
Nonfiction text: The Fertile

Crescent
In this lesson, students will read and analyze informative text
Cornell Notes Template
rivers. They will read about the effects of the river system on
Perfect Paragraph Template

(Leveled)
Google Documents
Standards
CCSS W.6.2 Write

informative/explanatory
texts to examine a topic
and convey ideas,
concepts, and information
through the selection,
organization, and analysis
of relevant content.
to learn facts about Mesopotamia, the land between two

the land, its people, and the rise of the first civilization. They
will then write response to inform about the topic.
Key Vocabulary:
nomad
irrigation

Mesopotamia
plow canal city-state barter
Engage the Learner

Time: 15 minutes
Show the video Mesopotamia: From Nomads to Farmers.
Tell students that they will watch a video about Ancient
Mesopotamia and what life was like for a Sumerian child.
This video will give background knowledge for the
nonfiction reading text.
Explore the Concept

Interacting with Text
Universal Access
First Read Session: 20 minutes

Distribute The Fertile Crescent. Students will read this text with a
partner. As student read, tell them to keep in mind the many
ways people used the river and its resources over time.
Partners should be
heterogeneously paired to
assist students who are
Approaching Grade Level
or English Language
Learners
Model: Choose a student to role play Partner Reading with the

teacher.
Partner A will read a paragraph, while Partner B follows along.
At the end of the paragraph, Partner B will paraphrase what was just read.
Partners switch roles.
Partners continue until the finish the selection.
Explain the Concept and Define the Terms
Universal Access
Advanced learners may

not need modeling and
may annotate
independently.
For At Grade Level or

Advanced students, use a
blank Cornell Notes
template.
For Approaching Grade

Level or English Language
Learners, use the template
with sentence starters.
Second Read Session: 30 minutes

The teacher reads the text aloud. During the read aloud, model
how to highlight important ideas, concepts, or questions from
the text. Students should copy the highlighting in their own copy
of the text.
Elaborate on the Concept

Time: 20 minutes
Using the annotated text, The Fertile Crescent, students will take
notes using the Cornell Notes template. With their partner,
students extract the central ideas and details from the text. Their
notes should include examples from the text. Keep the notes
because they will be a resource for the culminating assessment for Activity 3.
Evaluate Understanding of the Concept
Universal Access
Time: 45-60 minutes
Using their annotated text and Cornell Notes, students will

respond to the following question, making sure to cite at least 3
pieces of evidence from the text to support their answer.
Use the Writing Templates

to differentiate writing
scaffolds for all learners.
How did geography encourage the rise of civilization?

Students may use the provided template or create their responses in Google Documents.
Closure
Time: 20 minutes
Tell students that they have learned many facts about Mesopotamia and its rivers. Have them think
about the first Activity that explored California. Ask them to jot down some similarities and
differences about the two places that are so far apart on the globe. Discuss the similarities and
differences.
Pose this question: Why is it important to take care of our rivers?
Possible responses:
They give us clean drinking water.
They are home to fish and wildlife.
They are fun!
They are part of our history.
They are good for our economy.
There are many things kids can help protect rivers. Ask students to think about ways they can
assure our rivers stay healthy? Record their notes on chart paper.
Possible responses:
Conserve water: close faucet when brushing teeth, short showers
Picking up trash in the community or along river banks.
Go play by the river! When people are aware of the beauty of the rivers, they are more likely to
take care of them.

Background Knowledge: When people first learned to farm, their farming methods were simple. But
over many years, these methods improved. In this section, you will read about some of these
improvements. You will also learn how better farming methods led to the rise of cities and the worlds
first civilization in a land known as Mesopotamia.
The Land Between the Rivers

The first civilizations arose on a wide, flat plain between two great rivers, the Tigris (tgrihs) and
Euphrates (yoo fray teez). These rivers flow from the mountains of present-day Turkey into the
Persian Gulf. In ancient times, this plain was called Mesopotamia (mehs uh puh tay mee uh). The
name comes from a Greek word that means land between the rivers.
Mesopotamia was part of a larger region that historians call the Fertile Crescent. This area of fertile
land stretched in a large curve from the Persian Gulf to the Mediterranean Sea. The Fertile Crescent
gave birth to the worlds first farming communities.
According to many scholars, a people known as Sumerians (soo mihr ee uhnz) migrated to
Mesopotamia thousands of years ago. The land they settled became known as Sumer (soo muhr).
A Challenging Place to Farm

Mesopotamia offered the Sumerians fertile soil for farming. The Tigris and Euphrates both carried
fine, fertile soil called silt down from the mountains. Each year, the rivers flooded their banks. Flood
waters carrying this silt spread across the plain. When the flood waters finally went down, they left
behind a fresh layer of moist, rich earth.
However, Mesopotamias geography also posed challenges to Sumerian farmers. The same spring
floods that brought fresh soil also brought danger. In years of heavy flooding, whole villages might be
swept away by the flood waters.
In addition, most of the region beyond the rivers was a desert. During the summer, the ground baked
rock-hard in the hot sun. With no rain for months, plants withered and died. Winds blowing out of the
mountains whipped up dust and sand into gritty clouds that turned day into night.
New Agricultural Techniques

Despite these challenges, the Sumerians turned Mesopotamia into productive farmland. Two new
agricultural techniques made this possible.
The first of these techniques was irrigation, or a system for watering crops. With irrigation, farmers
could keep their crops alive through the hot, dry summer. The Sumerians dug many miles of irrigation
canals to carry water from the rivers to their fields. These canals allowed them to plant crops far from
the rivers.
The second technique was a new way of preparing the ground for planting by using a plow. Before
Sumerian farmers invented the plow, they used digging sticks to poke holes in the damp ground. Then
they dropped seeds into these holes. Sowing seeds in this way was hard, slow work.
A farmer using a plow cut a long, shallow furrow, or trench, in the earth. It was much easier to drop
seeds into this furrow than into small holes. The plow also loosened the soil so that roots could grow
more quickly. By hitching oxen to their plows, the Sumerians made this invention even more useful. A
farmer using an oxen-powered plow could prepare much more land for planting each spring than
could a farmer using a digging stick.
The Emergence of Cities

Improved agricultural techniques helped the Sumerians produce a food surplus. With a dependable
food supply, families increased in size. Over time, the population, or number of people, in farm
settlements increased. Villages that began as groups of mud huts grew into towns of neat mud-brick
houses.
Around 3000 b.c., the Mesopotamian plain saw the emergence of cities. Uruk was the first of these
cities. It had a population of as many as 40,000 people. But Uruk was soon joined by other cities such
as Ur, Lagash, Sippar, Nippur, and Babylon.
The Sumerian City-States

As cities continued to grow, some became powerful city-states. A city-state is made up of a city and
the surrounding land and villages that it controls. Each Sumerian city-state was independent of its
neighbors. It had its own government and laws. Its people worshiped gods that were special to that
city. Each city-state was also a center of trade. Although Mesopotamia was rich in fertile soil, it
lacked wood, stone, and metals. Sumerian traders traveled far to find these resources and bring them
back to their cities.
Two advances made such widespread trade possiblethe wheel and the sail. With wheeled carts and
sailing ships, Sumerians could carry their surplus grain and wool over long distances. They could also
bring home heavy trade goods like lumber, metals, and precious stones. Trade gave Sumerians access
to products that were not produced in Mesopotamia.
Most trade was done by barter. Barter is a trading system in which people exchange goods directly
without using money. By bartering their farming surplus for needed resources, the Sumerian citystates grew in wealth and power. Increased travel also meant that ideas traveled faster from one
community to another.
Source: Textbook Ancient Civilizations, Prentice Hall 2006

5

Main Idea
Notes: Supporting Details, Examples, Definitions
Conclusions/Inferences/Questions from Text

Main Idea
Notes: Supporting Details, Examples, Definitions
The term Mesoptamia means
What is the Fertile Crescent?
Sumerians were
An advantage of living in between the Tigris and

the Euphrates Rivers was
A disadvantage of living in between the Tigris and

Euphrates Rivers was
10
Sumerian agricultural techniques were
These techniques helped the Sumerians by
Sumerian city-states were
Conclusions/Inferences/Questions from Text

I can conclude that ______________________ because ________________ and _______________________.
11
Ancient Mesopotamia
Directions: Thoroughly respond to the following question, making
sure to cite at least 3 pieces of evidence from the text to support
your answer.
How did geography encourage the rise of civilization in

Mesopotamia?
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
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__________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
12
Name
Date
Perfect Paragraph
@OWZVKÔ#
.K]SM<K\KQ\KZR
Directions: Use the template to create your rough draft. Paste or write one sentence in each box.
Topic Sentence (yellow): Tells the main idea.
Supporting Sentence #1 (blue): Gives a reason, example, or event to explain the topic.
Super Sentences and Perfect Paragraphs 2009 by Mack Lewis. Scholastic Teaching Resources
Detail Sentence #1 (green): Gives a detail about the first supporting sentence.
Supporting Sentence #2 (blue): Gives another reason, example, or event to explain the topic.
Detail Sentence #2 (green): Gives a detail about the second supporting sentence.
Conclusion Sentence (red): Repeats the main idea in different words.
89
13
Name
@OWZVKÔ#
Perfect Paragraph
7. Detail Sentence (green)
6. Supporting Sentence (blue)
Super Sentences and Perfect Paragraphs 2009 by Mack Lewis. Scholastic Teaching Resources (page 90)
8. Concluding
Sentence
(red)
1. Topic
Sentence
(yellow)
Directions: Use the template to create your rough draft. Paste or write one sentence in each box.
5XÔ\WONSKÔ<K\KQ\KZR
Date

14
Name
Perfect Paragraph
Date
@OWZVKÔ#
-N`KXMON<K\KQ\KZR
Directions: Use the template to create your rough draft. Write one sentence in each box.
1. Topic Sentence (yellow)
5. Optional: Extra Detail Sentence (green)
9. Optional: Extra Detail Sentence (green)
10. Concluding Sentence (red)

91
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River Systems: Then and Now