B’s, please get textbooks for your table. Walk-In Take out notebook, folder, pencil box and agenda. B’s, please get textbooks for your table. Copy the question and answer: Give three reasons why religions developed.

answers Reasons religions developed may include: People are afraid and turn to gods and goddesses for protection. People pray for things they need, like a good harvest. It brings people together to share time together and worship. It organizes people to help each other out.

Top ten reasons to live in sumer!

Build background Read the textbook, pages 90-95. As you read, think about your top ten reasons for someone to live in the first civilization, Sumer! Then, on the computer, read each slide, and write down the information in your chart IN YOUR OWN WORDS. At the end, write the order that YOU would put the reasons in for living in Sumer, by writing the numbers in the second column on your sheet.

Top ten reasons - summary After you read each slide, write the title of the slide in the box labeled “Reason”. In the explanation box, write the information in your own words. Draw a picture clue to help you remember that reason. At the end, use the second column to put the reasons in YOUR order of the top ten!

1. FOOD surpluses Farmers grew so much food, they could store some of it for the future. This also meant not everyone had to be a farmer!

2. Specialization of jobs People with a skill in pottery, weaving, creating art (artisans), and being SCRIBES (people who could read and write using a special alphabet that was created in Sumer) were able to use their talents to make life better for the community.

3. Increased trade with other villages People in one village could trade their surplus food for things they needed from another village, such as new tools or other technology, cloth, jewelry, etc.

4. Social classes were formed Groups of people with similar skills and customs were grouped together and recognized for their contributions to society.

5. Fertile soil for planting crops The Fertile Crescent between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers provided rich soil to grow crops in.

6. Irrigation canals to bring water where it was needed Workers built irrigation canals to bring water to the crops being grown, and to the city for people to use for drinking and daily life.

7. Houses with mud walls People built houses with thick mud walls to keep the heat out and to provide protection. They made narrow tunnels in the walls to carry fresh air into the house. They even made doorways out of wooden beams.

8. The city center – the ziggurat The ziggurat was at the city center, and served as a temple, city hall, meeting place for socializing, and a storage place for grain. The priests controlled much of the wealth because they ran the irrigation systems, and so they controlled the grains.

9. Government by a strong leader, the king In times of danger, leaders would help protect the people of a city-state. Gradually, some leaders became the highest-ranked leaders, or kings. The place ruled was the kingdom.

10. Cuneiform writing was created The Sumerians developed the first system of writing, using a wedge- shaped tool to carve stone tablets. The system of pictures, called pictographs, changed into symbols for their language.