9th Grade Semester One

Unit 2: River Valley Civilizations

Stage 1: Desired Outcomes
Topic / Unit Title: River Valley Civilizations
* How did early man adapt to meet his needs?
NYS Content Standards
Key Idea 1: The study of world history requires an understanding of world cultures and civilizations, including an analysis of important ideas, social and cultural values, beliefs, and traditions. This study also examines the human condition and the connections and interactions of people across time and space and the ways different people view the same event or issue from a variety of perspectives.
Key Idea 2: Establishing timeframes, exploring different periodizations, examining themes across time and within cultures, and focusing on important turning points in world history help organize the study of world cultures and civilizations.
Key Idea 3: Study of the major social, political, cultural, and religious developments in world history involves learning about the important roles and contributions of individuals and groups. / Common Core Skills
Reading-Social Studies (RH)
1. Use relevant information and ideas from documents to support analysis
2. Determine the main idea of a document
Writing (W)
1. Write an argument to support claims
Speaking and Listening (SL)
1. Initiate and participate in collaborative discussion
Language (L)
1. Demonstrate appropriate grammar usage in writing and speaking
(sentence complexity)
Understandings:
Explain the importance of fresh water in building civilization. Explain the geographic reasoning for early civilizations located by a fresh water source
Define civilization
Explain the qualifications for a society to be considered a civilization: cities, well organized central government, complex religions, specialization, social classes, arts and arch., public works, writing (literacy)
Identify the achievements of two River Valley Civilizations and assess if they can be considered “civilized” / Essential Questions:
What are the main river valley civilizations?
Why were river valleys important?
What are the most important achievements of the river valley civilizations?
What are the similarities and differences between the civilizations?
What advantages did river valleys have over other places in the world for the beginnings of civilizations?
How will the development of river valleys affect the future?
Stage 2: Assessments and Tasks
Common Core Literacy Task
Exit Ticket-Write 2-3 sentences in response to the AIM question, using 3-4 details from the lesson to support your ideas.
Complete a thematic or DBQ essay on the achievements of two River Valley Civilizations.-Write a four-paragraph essay identifying 2-4 characteristics of civilization found in the river valley civilizations of your choosing.
Diary entry students will write a diary entry pretending they live in one of the river valley civilizations. In the diary students will reflect upon geography, technology and the development of civilization
 Letter Writing -students will write a ½ page letter to Hammurabi that agrees or disagrees with the Code…using facts and details from the lesson. / Performance Task(s) – Other Evidence
Compare and contrast 4-6 achievements between the two River Valley Civilizations studied
compare and contrast, analyze visuals to draw conclusions on the daily life of people
Asses if life in ancient river valleys was civilized
Assess how society should treat lawbreakers
Accommodations: Scaffolds and Differentiation
Content /
  • Modify primary source texts (variety, complexity, length)
  • Incorporate alternative materials (visual, video, audio, internet)
  • Provide supplementary resources for supports
  • Group with a purpose

Process /
  • Model skills, task and/or product
  • Utilize graphic organizers / note taking template
  • Provide individual or group intervention and support
  • Re-enforce vocabulary / concept development
  • Provide choice / variety of activities or tasks
  • Group with a purpose

Product /
  • Assign specific, purposeful assessments to individuals or groups
  • Allow students to choose from a variety of assessments
  • Provide scaffolds / supports (outlines, templates, models)
  • Provide extension activities to expand thinking or understanding
  • Group with a purpose

How will students reflect upon and self-assess their learning?
Students will reflect upon and self-assess their learning using essay formats and rubrics provided by the instructor. The instructor will provide prompts and make suggestions through regular feedback in continuous assessment
Stage 3: Learning Plan
Instructional Activities and Materials (W.H.E.R.E.T.O.)
Aim: Do all people have a civilization?
Identify/define: culture, civilization.
Explain the eight common characteristics of ancient civilizations: cities, well-organized central governments, complex religions, job specialization, social classes, arts and arch., public works, writing (literacy) .
Assess if all people have a civilization and the factors that influence civilization (cultural diffusion and shifts in physical (geographic) environment.
Aim: Was geography or technology more responsible for the development of civilization?
Identify/define: Fertile Crescent, river valley, domesticate, agriculture, ziggurat, city-state, cuneiform, polytheism.
Explain how factors in geography and technology/architecture played a role in the development of Mesopotamia.
Assess if geography or technology was more responsible for the development of civilization.
Aim: How civilized was life in the ancient river valleys?
[Comparative case study of the following civilizations: Nile River Valley, Indus River Valley,and Yellow River Valley]
Explain the architectural, economic, educational, political, religious, and social achievements of the ancient civilizations in the Nile, Indus, and Yellow River Valleys.
Analyze the similarities and differences among these ancient river valley civilizations.
Evaluate how civilized life was in the ancient river valley civilizations.
Aim: Do the ideas of the Ancient Hebrews still have meaning today? OR To what extenthave the teachings of Judaism influenced our own society?
Define the term “monotheism” and explain the basic teachings and ethical values that are found in Judaism.
Describe how the ancient Hebrews changed people’s views about their relationship to God and explain the ways in which Jewish ideas have influenced other religions.
Compare the concept of “rule by law” as it applied in Jewish society and in modern America.
Assess the extent to which the teachings of Judaism, including the Ten Commandments, have influenced our society.
Aim: How should society treat lawbreakers?
Define patriarchal, Lex Talionis, Code of Hammurabi, Jewish Law, Old Testament and Ten Commandments.
List and describe the basic ideas expressed in the Code of Hammurabi and Ancient Jewish Law from the period between 1200 and 1100 BCE.
Compare and contrast Hammurabi’s Code with Ancient Jewish Laws and our current law.
Evaluate the extent to which these laws reflect religious beliefs.
Assess how these law codes would shape people’s lifestyles and their society.
Evaluate how society should treat lawbreakers.
Teacher Reflection for Future Planning
Evaluate student work and response to questions during discussion
Will explore test results and essay writing skills on class exams to shape future writing lessons

June 2012

Theme: Human and Physical Geography
Throughout history, geographic features have influenced the development of civilizations and regions. Geographic features have both promoted and limited interactions with other civilizations and regions.
Task: Select two different geographic features and for each
● Discuss how this geographic feature influenced the development of a specific civilization or region
● Discuss how this geographic feature promoted and/or limited the interaction of this civilization or region
with another civilization or region
You may use any geographic feature from your study of global history and geography. Some suggestions you might wish to consider include Nile River, Atlantic Ocean, Himalayas, Sahara Desert, Great Northern Plain, location of Japan, Mediterranean Sea, Russian Steppes, Brazilian rain forest, and Indian Ocean monsoons.

Multiple Choice

Base your answer to question 1 on the map below and on your knowledge of social studies.

1 Based on the information provided by this map, where did Abraham’s journey originate?

(1) Sahara Desert

(2) Nile River valley

(3) Mesopotamia

(4) Mediterranean Sea

2 Which statement about the early Indus River valley civilization is an opinion rather than a fact?

(1) Farmers grew a surplus of barley, wheat, and dates.

(2) The Indus people developed a system of writing.

(3) Planned cities indicated a use of technology.

(4) The Indus city-states were the most developed of the time period.

3 Which river system is found in Mesopotamia?

(1) Nile River

(2) Yellow River

(3) Tigris and Euphrates rivers

(4) Ganges and Brahmaputra rivers

4 The primary reason ancient peoples of the Nile River valley built levees, dikes, and reservoirs

was to

(1) purify sacred waters

(2) create a shorter route to distant cities

(3) defend against invaders

(4) increase agricultural production

Base your answer to question 5 on the passage below and on your knowledge of social studies.

...The deposits of fine sediment left by natural floods sustain the fertility of floodplain soils. The 5,000-year history of agriculture in the Nile Valley and delta of Egypt depended on the annual Nile River flood that left a veneer of new silt over the valley floor each year. Modern dams on the Nile — particularly the Aswan High Dam, which can store the entire annual flood — have destroyed the natural system of fertilization, necessitating huge imports of artificial fertilizers....

— Oberlander and Muller, Essentials of Physical Geography Today, Second Edition, Random House, 1987

5 Based on this passage, a valid conclusion would be that

(1) natural fertilizers are less effective than artificial fertilizers

(2) technological advances sometimes create unforeseen problems

(3) yearly flooding is harmful to Egyptian agriculture

(4) farmers in the Nile Valley operate at a subsistence level

6 The Code of Hammurabi of Babylon and the Justinian Code of the Byzantine Empire served functions similar to the

(1) Ziggurats of the Sumerians

(2) Buddhist stupas

(3) Maya hieroglyphics

(4) Twelve Tables of the Romans

7 The Egyptians used hieroglyphics in the same way as the Sumerians used

(1) ideographs

(2) calligraphy

(3) cuneiform

(4) letters

8 The ancient Sumerians modified their environment to increase food production by

(1) building terraces

(2) removing rain forests

(3) digging irrigation canals

(4) developing chinampas

9 One way in which the ancient Sumerians, Egyptians, and Mayas are similar is that these civilizations developed

(1) irrigation systems

(2) iron weapons

(3) wheeled vehicles

(4) block printing systems

10 Which belief system is considered monotheistic?

(1) Judaism

(2) Shinto

(3) Confucianism

(4) Animism

11 Which practice is closely associated with most ancient river valley civilizations?

(1) recording events in cave paintings

(2) using irrigation systems

(3) developing democratic traditions

(4) spreading monotheistic religious customs