Sumer and Babylon: city-states, irrigation, cuneiform and written law

Grade 6 Social Studies Worksheet - Building Confidence

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Land between two rivers

   Feature	What it is	Why it mattered
   Tigris and Euphrates rivers	two rivers that run through Mesopotamia, in modern Iraq	?
   Irrigation canals	channels dug from the rivers to the fields	carried water to crops in a dry land
   City-states	cities, each with its own government and farmland	farm towns grew into busy trading cities

   The cell marked ? is blank.

2. 1.

   Esme's chart has a blank: why did the Tigris and Euphrates matter?

   • Channels dug to the fields
   • Cities with their own government
   • Rain falling on the farms for the whole year
   • Water for farms and a route for boats
3. 2.

   Jun's chart has a blank: what are irrigation canals?

   • Two rivers in modern Iraq
   • Clouds that bring rain to fields
   • Channels dug from the rivers to fields
   • Walls of mud brick built around the city
4. 3.

   Kira's chart has a blank: what were city-states?

   • Two rivers
   • One country with one ruler
   • Channels to the fields
   • Cities, each with its own government

5. Land between two rivers

   Feature	What it is	Why it mattered
   Tigris and Euphrates rivers	two rivers that run through Mesopotamia, in modern Iraq	water for farms and a route for boats
   Irrigation canals	channels dug from the rivers to the fields	carried water to crops in a dry land
   City-states	cities, each with its own government and farmland	farm towns grew into busy trading cities

6. 4.

   Luz reads that Mesopotamia is a Greek name. What does it mean?

   • Land between rivers
   • Land of the sea
   • Land of high mountains
   • Land of deserts
7. 5.

   Milo reads the word irrigation. What does it mean?

   • Storing grain for winter
   • Bringing water to crops through channels
   • Waiting for rain to water crops
   • Planting seeds in rows
8. 6.

   Noah reads that Sumer was divided into city-states. What is a city-state?

   • A street inside a city
   • A city that governs itself and its land
   • A state with no cities
   • A river between two cities
9. 7.

   Southern Mesopotamia has a dry climate. Why did farmers dig canals, Pia asks?

   • To keep boats away from farms
   • To carry river water to dry fields
   • To drain the rivers dry
   • Because rain flooded the fields daily
10. 8.

    Mesopotamia's two rivers flow toward which body of water, Zee asks?

    • The Atlantic Ocean, to the west
    • The Gulf, to the southeast
    • The Arctic Ocean, to the north
    • The Indian Ocean, by way of India
11. 9.

    Most of Mesopotamia lies in which modern country, Ari asks?

    • Italy
    • India
    • Iraq
    • Egypt
12. 10.

    Where do the Tigris and Euphrates have their headwaters, Bo asks?

    • In highlands to the north
    • In the city-states
    • In the Gulf, to the south
    • In the desert, far west