Geographic Alliance of Iowa

Putting Iowa in its place

Visiting Mesopotamia

In this lesson created by K. Schmidt and A. Garman of Clear Lake Middle School, seventh grade students travel back in time as if they were going on vacation to Mesopotamia. Students will learn about the geography and the everyday life of a citizen in Mesopotamia, before sending a postacard from their "vacation" about what they have learned.

Discipline/Subject

World Geography

World History

Language Arts

Theme

Landforms

Population

Urban

Cultural/Social

Historical

Region

Middle East

Five Themes of Geography

Place

Human-Environment Interaction

National Geographic Standards

4. The physical and human characteristics of places

12. The processes, patterns, and functions of human settlement

17. How to apply geography to interpret the past

Iowa Core Social Studies Standards

GE 2. Understand how geographic and human characteristics create culture and define regions

GE 3. Understand how human factors and the distribution of resources affect the development of society and the movement of populations