Ancient Sumer Interactive Notebook Presentation

Open Ended

List your top three examples of what a highly civilized community?

I N T E R A C T I V E S T U D E N T N O T E B O O K

© Teachers’ Curriculum Institute

2 Ancient Sumer

Section 1

Technology

Complete the spoke diagram below. Follow these steps:

1. Write the title of the section in the large center circle.

2. In each small circle, write one of the characteristics of civilization.

3. Next to each small circle, draw a picture or symbol that represents that
characteristic.

Match

Match the image to the correct term.

Scribe

Ziggurat

Technology

Cuneiform

Artisan

• Scribe

• Ziggurat

• Technology

• Cuneiform

• Artisan

© Teachers’ Curriculum Institute

Ancient Sumer 3

I N T E R A C T I V E S T U D E N T N O T E B O O K

Sections 2 to 8

Stable Food Supply

Invention #1:

Invention #2:

If your class is doing the activity for this lesson, complete all of the Reading
Notes for each section. If your class is not doing the activity, skip the last part of
each section.

Section 2

Complete the flowchart below. In each box, write the name of a Sumerian inven-
tion that helped create a stable food supply. Explain what the invention was and
how the Sumerians used it.

(Note: If your class is not doing the activity, skip the following.)

List the artifacts that show evidence of a stable food supply in Sumer. Choose
one artifact. Write a sentence explaining how it relates to this characteristic of
civilization.

Poll

Select the two Sumerian inventions that contributed to their advanced civilization.

I N T E R A C T I V E S T U D E N T N O T E B O O K

© Teachers’ Curriculum Institute

4 Ancient Sumer

Section 3

In the ladder below, list and describe the people who lived at each status level of
the Sumerian social structure. Next to each description, draw a symbol that
represents that class.

(Note: If your class is not doing the activity, skip the following.)

List the artifacts that show evidence of social structure in Sumer. Choose one
artifact. Write a sentence explaining how it relates to this characteristic of
civilization.

TOP

MIDDLE

BOTTOM

© Teachers’ Curriculum Institute

Ancient Sumer 5

I N T E R A C T I V E S T U D E N T N O T E B O O K

Section 4

Why did religious beliefs in Sumer make the government more powerful?

List all the duties of the government in Sumerian city-states. Circle the duty you
think was the most important, and explain why you chose this duty.

(Note: If your class is not doing the activity, skip the following.)

List the artifacts that show evidence of government in Sumer. Choose one artifact.
Write a sentence explaining how it relates to this characteristic of civilization.

Section 5

What is a religious system?

Why was religion important in Sumer?

Draw and label a picture that shows two ways Sumerians expressed their religious
beliefs.

(Note: If your class is not doing the activity, skip the following.)

List the artifacts that show evidence of religion in Sumer. Choose one artifact.
Write a sentence explaining how it relates to this characteristic of civilization.

I N T E R A C T I V E S T U D E N T N O T E B O O K

© Teachers’ Curriculum Institute

6 Ancient Sumer

Section 6

Name three types of artists in Sumer and explain what each one did.

Why was music an important art in Sumer?

(Note: If your class is not doing the activity, skip the following.)

List the artifacts that show evidence of the arts in Sumer. Choose one artifact.
Write a sentence explaining how it relates to this characteristic of civilization.

Section 7

In the flowchart below, draw and label pictures to show what life was like in Sumer
before and after the invention of the wheel.

Draw and label a picture of a Sumerian arch. Explain why it was an important
technological advance.

(Note: If your class is not doing the activity, skip the following.)

List the artifacts that show evidence of technology in Sumer. Choose one artifact.
Write a sentence explaining how it relates to this characteristic of civilization.

After the Wheel

Before the Wheel

© Teachers’ Curriculum Institute

Ancient Sumer 7

I N T E R A C T I V E S T U D E N T N O T E B O O K

Section 8

In the flowchart below, explain the development of writing in Sumer, from
pictographs to cuneiform.

Why do you think cuneiform was a better method of communication than
pictographs?

(Note: If your class is not doing the activity, skip the following.)

List the artifacts that show evidence of written language in Sumer. Choose one
artifact. Write a sentence explaining how it relates to this characteristic of
civilization.

Cuneiform

Pictographs

I N T E R A C T I V E S T U D E N T N O T E B O O K

© Teachers’ Curriculum Institute

8 Ancient Sumer

On a separate sheet of paper, create
a spoke diagram as shown here.
Find or draw pictures of modern
items that are examples of each
characteristic of civilization. Put the
picture next to the characteristic it
relates to, and draw a line connecting
the picture to the circle.

In the table below, list the item you drew for each characteristic of civilization.
Then explain how the item relates to that characteristic.

Characteristic

Modern item
How the item relates to the
characteristic of civilization

Stable Food Supply

Social Structure

Government

Religion

The Arts

Technology

Writing

P R O C E S S I N G

Stable
Food
Supply

Writing

Technology

The Arts

Religion

Government

Social
Structure

Characteristics
of Civilization

I N T E R A C T I V E S T U D E N T N O T E B O O K

© Teachers’ Curriculum Institute

Ancient Sumer 9

Source

Evidence

How does this support the claim?

I N V E S T I G A T I N G P R I M A R Y S O U R C E S

Identifying and Evaluating Evidence

Use the reading to create a claim to answer this question: How did the different
social classes of Sumer interact with one another?

Claim:

What evidence from the primary sources documents support your claim? Fill out
the chart below. Circle the two strongest pieces of evidence.

You can use this evidence to strengthen your claim. Write your revised claim below.

I N T E R A C T I V E S T U D E N T N O T E B O O K

© Teachers’ Curriculum Institute

10 Ancient Sumer

Constructing an Argument

Create an argument to answer the question: How did the different social classes of
Sumer interact with one another? Your argument should:

• clearly state your claim.

• include evidence from multiple sources.

• provide explanations for how the sources support the claim.

Use this rubric to evaluate your argument. Make changes as needed.

Score

Description

3
The claim clearly answers the question. The argument uses evidence from two or
more primary sources that strongly support the claim. The explanations accurately
connect to the evidence and claim.

2
The claim answers the question. The argument uses evidence from one or more
primary sources that support the claim. Some of the explanations connect to the
evidence and claim.

1
The claim fails to answer the question. The argument lacks evidence from primary
sources. Explanations are missing or are unrelated to the evidence and claim.