Walk-In Take out notebook, folder, pencil box. Put away backpack. C’s, please get the textbooks. Copy the question and answer in sentences: What jobs do you think the people of Mesopotamia needed to be done so the villages had a good quality of life?

Answer Each village would need: Farmers to grow crops and take care of animals. Artisans to make pottery, weave cloth, make jewelry, and to produce other objects for quality of life. Religious leaders to guide the people and keep order and control. Government and leaders to take charge and provide laws.

Walk-In Take out notebook, folder, pencil box. Put away backpack. D’s, please get the textbooks. Copy the question and answer in sentences: How are semiarid conditions similar to drought conditions? How are they different? How could irrigation help each?

Answer Semiarid conditions include hot, dry climates with low rainfall each year. Drought conditions also have low rainfall, but it is so low it may be little to no rainfall at all. Both can be helped by irrigation because canals would bring water to where it was needed.

LIFE IN SUMER

Sumer Sumer was a region in southern Mesopotamia, in which the first civilization formed about 3300 B.C. It contained CITY-STATES, which were cities and nearby farmlands. Each city-state ruled itself.

Imagine you live in Sumer What are some good things you might celebrate? What kinds of catastrophes (horrible events) could happen? How do you interpret natural disasters like floods, fires and diseases? How would you choose a leader to help you through those bad times?

What was life like in Sumer? Read pages 89-92 together as a whole group.

Sumerian society Sumer had social classes. King and priests – leaders believed to have a link to the gods. When cities were attacked, people chose a leader to protect them, who became a king. Often, his son would be the next king.

Upper classes – rich landowners, government members, merchants. Free people – farmers and artisans. Slaves – Often prisoners of war, used as cheap labor.

Integrating your learning… Write a paragraph about life in a Sumerian city. Include at least SIX FACTS, focusing on the paragraphs on page 92: Life in the City The Ziggurat: City Center Remember to include a topic sentence (avoid the word “because”!) and an ending sentence.