MESOPOTAMIA

1. WARM-UP (SPEAKING)

1. Have you heard of Mesopotamia? What do you know about it? ______________________________________________________________ 2. Whats the meaning of Mesopotamia? ______________________________________________________________ 3. Do you know the name of the rivers which surround Mesopotamia? ______________________________________________________________ 4. Can you name some civilizations living in Mesopotamia? ______________________________________________________________

Vocabulary
2. Match the following words to a picture and a definition. Clay tablet _______ _______

Wedge-shaped symbol ________ _______ Tigris and Euphrates _______ ________ Ziggurat _______ ________

Hammurabi Code _______ ______

1.

2.

3.

5. 4.

A. It was a list of 282 laws written on an 8 foot tall stone pillar in 1280 AD for all the people of Babylonia to see. B. It was a writing medium for cuneiform. It was made of a kind of earth that is soft when it is wet and hard when it is dry. C. An ancient Mesopotamian temple tower consisting of a pyramidal structure with outside staircases and a shrine (lugar santo) at the top. D. Narrowly triangular characters used to write. E. The name of two rivers surrounding the ancient Mesopotamia.

LETS WATCH A VIDEO!

3. Watch the video carefully and answer the questions:

- Where did Mesopotamia develop? - How do we call sacred towers or temples? - What were the tablets made of? - Which is the best-known Mesopotamian civilisation? - Why was Hammurabi an important king in Babylon?

4. Read the text carefully and answer the questions.

THE ORIGIN OF WRITING

Writing emerged in many different cultures throughout the ancient world. However, the Sumerians of ancient Mesopotamia are credited with inventing the earliest form of writing. The ancient Sumerians believed in education. They wanted their sons to learn how to read and write. Soon, the clever ancient Sumerians started to use wedge-shaped symbols for objects and ideas. Today, we call this written language of wedge-shaped symbols cuneiform. We know a great deal about the ancient Sumerian civilization from the written records they left behind in stone and clay. They listed their household goods. They listed their sales and purchases. They even kept a list of their kings that was updated from time to time, as new kings came to power. One of the best things the ancient Sumerians wrote down was a great story called The Epic of Gilgamesh. When the civilization of Sumerians started to decline, other civilizations continued to use the Sumerians written symbols. Although people used cuneiform for many thousands of years, it is still not easy to read. That is because the shape of cuneiform letters, and the meanings of various cuneiform symbols, changed over time and varied by region. When archaeologists find ancient cuneiform script, they are always excited about it. There is much yet to be discovered about these ancient people as archaeologists continue to translate the ancient written language of Cuneiform. 1. Whats the name of the civilization who invented the earliest form of writing? 2. Where did they live? 3. How do we call this first form of writing? 4. Did other civilizations use cuneiform symbols? 5. How do archaeologists feel when they find ancient cuneiform script? Why?

GRAMMAR ACTIVITIES
1. Read the text carefully and find all the verbs in past simple. Then, write down each verb into the correct column.
REGULAR VERBS IRREGULAR VERBS

2. Transform these sentences. 1. Mesopotamians didnt build artificial mountains called ziggurats. (+) 2. Some farmers began to work as craftsmen. (?) 3. Mesopotamians dried the clay tablets with a fan. (-) 4. The first urban civilisations appeared in the 4th millennium B.C. (?) 5. We didnt know Mesopotamia means the land between two rivers. (+)

3. Complete the following chart.

BASE FORM become chose fed esconder(se) leave made read correr sell slept PAST SIMPLE PAST PARTICIPLE MEANING

4. Correct the mistakes. 1. The Sumerians irrigateed their lands. 2. Mesopotamian sculptures often showwed men and women worshipping. 3. The first writing system plaied an important role. 4. My friend planed a trip to Mesopotamia.

SMS Vocabulary
Sumerians had their particular way of writing, the same as teenagers nowadays. They use abbreviations and combinations of letters to write sms on their mobile phones. Write a sms to a friend using the language English teenagers use.

10Q 2DAY 2MOR 2NITE 2U2 4EVER 4GET 4U & AMBW B B4 B4N C CUL8TR B4 GR8 H8 HF HW K L8TR NC NJOY PLS PRT R RU T+ U U2 UR W8 WAN2 WKND XLNT XME

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XOXO Y

hugs and Kisses Why

GR8! c u snn on d terrace Great!

See you soon on the terrace.