Mesopotamia: The Cradle of Civilization

We have begun our second major unit of this school year in Social Studies: Mesopotamia. This first civilization is one that many people don't know much about. It is not as common as the pyramids of Egypt, Zeus of Greek Mythology or the Great Wall of China of, well, China. However, this first great civilization invented things and developed things that helped people and the world itself progress. Mesopotamia witnessed the development of many things we use every day in 2010, things that we might take for granted. Just think, how hard would it be to drive a car without wheels? Thank you Mesopotamia for the wheel. Just think, how hard would it be to buy a box of Gushers without money? Thank you Mesopotamia for money. So, you can see that Mesopotamia is to thanks for many very important things. The name Mesopotamia comes from where this civlization is located. It is located between the Tigris and Euphrates river. The word Mesopotamia literally means "land between the rivers." As we begin this unit, we are going to spend sometime looking at one specific websites about Mesopotamia. In this website, you will find information, stories, interactive pages, and games. This website is called "The British Museum" and we will focus on the Mesopotamia section, of course. While we explore this site, we will be writing a few things down as far as what we have found out about three certain places in Mesopotamia: Assyria, Babylonia, and Sumer.

Task: Go to "The British Museum: Mesopotamia" and fill out your sheet by exploring Assyria, Babylonia, and Sumer. To 'enter' each section, click on the name and then choose one of the options.

Points: 30 points.

DUE: October 6th, 2010.

Johnny Rawten Goes to the Stone Age

Catch the latest adventure of Johnny Rawten as he makes his way through the Stone Age. Can you figure out what he sees and does as he explores this uncivilized place?

Read Chapter 2: Johnny Rawten Goes to the Stone Age.

"Teach Timmers"

Water for Sixth Grade is glad you have returned. This is the very first post of its kind in the history of Water for Sixth Grade. At no other time in its 3 year history has there been a post this monumental. I would like to introduce you to our newest character that will be going along with us in our ancient civlization adventure: "Timmers." Today, for this post, you will be reviewing material we have learned about thus far in our Stone Age unit by "Teaching Timmers" all about the Stone Age and the wonder that it is. Timmers is a real person who would like to learn more about ancient civilization. From time to time, he may also be able to add some interesting tidbits of information. Who is Timmers exactly? That will remain a mystery at this point. Perhaps in the future, the identity of "Timmers" will be revealed. Just know this, he is a real person and he will be logged on to Water for Sixth Grade the same time you are today and will possibly blog back to what you are teaching him. Let's show "Timmers" how smart we are and how much we know about the Stone Age. Good Luck.

Task: Post a comment that teaches Timmers something about the Stone Age. Possible topics to teach him about: Cave Art, hunting methods, Otiz the Iceman, Vocabulary words, Neanderthal Vs. Cro-Magnon, and anything else you can think of. When you are teaching him, you must use complete sentences.
Teach him about 5 topics. You do not have to include everything we learned about from each topic. For each topic, you need to teach him AT LEAST 3 things about that topic. If I were you, I would focus on the five topics I listed above. You may do more than 5 if you would like.
**Check back to see if "Timmers" has responded to your knowledge, or asked you a follow up question.

In-Class Blogging.

Enter the Stone Age

The Stone Age has come to Water for Sixth Grade. We will be exploring many fascinating aspects of this time period. Much of what we learn about is in theory only, that means it hasn't actually been proven, it's just what some scientists and historians THINK. Nontheless, I will try to introduce you to various things and let you decide for yourself what you think is true and what is not. The discovery of fire, hunting methods, behavior and appearance of 'caveman', cave painting, and way of life will all be explored. I don't want to limit you to learning about the Stone Age just in social studies class. Therefore, Water for Sixth Grade is providing you with an opportunity to discover things on your own about this amazing unit. You will be using the Internet to "Enter the Stone Age." Good Luck!

Task: Using the websites I have found for you about the Stone Age, post a comment telling me 2 things you learned while looking at the websites. That's it. Pretty simple, huh?

Once again, all you have to do is check out the Stone Age websites on the right of this page under the section titled "Stone Age Websites" and post a comment telling me 2 things you learned.

Points: 10 Points.

DUE: Wednesday, September 15th, 2010. Midnight.

Hello, Johnny Rawten

Water for Sixth Grade would like to introduce Johnny Rawten, Ancient Traveler. Throughout the year, we will be reading about Johnny Rawten and the adventures he goes on. As a sixth grader, Johnny discovers he can time warp. He goes into the past and discovers all sorts of ancient worlds. Your task, as the reader, is to figure out where Johnny is and what he is seeing. It all starts now.
Chapter 1: Hello, Johnny Rawten

Chapter 1 Questions for Students