Sumer and Babylon: city-states, irrigation, cuneiform and written law
Grade 6 Social Studies Worksheet - Building Confidence
NameDate
Circle the best answer.
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.
Esme's chart has a blank: why did the Tigris and Euphrates matter?
- Rain falling on the farms for the whole year
- Water for farms and a route for boats
- Channels dug to the fields
- Cities with their own government
Jun's chart has a blank: what are irrigation canals?
- Walls of mud brick built around the city
- Channels dug from the rivers to fields
- Clouds that bring rain to fields
- Two rivers in modern Iraq
Kira's chart has a blank: what were city-states?
- Two rivers
- Cities, each with its own government
- Channels to the fields
- One country with one ruler
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 Luz reads that Mesopotamia is a Greek name. What does it mean?
- Land between rivers
- Land of high mountains
- Land of deserts
- Land of the sea
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
Noah reads that Sumer was divided into city-states. What is a city-state?
- A river between two cities
- A street inside a city
- A state with no cities
- A city that governs itself and its land
Southern Mesopotamia has a dry climate. Why did farmers dig canals, Pia asks?
- To drain the rivers dry
- Because rain flooded the fields daily
- To keep boats away from farms
- To carry river water to dry fields
Canals brought water to more fields. What was one effect, Ren asks?
- The rivers moved to the canals
- Farmers needed fewer fields
- Farmers could grow more crops
- Rain began to fall more often
Most of Mesopotamia lies in which modern country, Ari asks?
- Egypt
- Italy
- India
- Iraq
Where do the Tigris and Euphrates have their headwaters, Bo asks?
- In the desert, far west
- In highlands to the north
- In the Gulf, to the south
- In the city-states
