River Systems: Then and Now

Activity 2: Geography of Mesopotamia

GEOGRAPHY OF MESOPOTAMIA
Exploring the land between two rivers.
Grade: 6
Lesson Objective
Identify and label
geographical features in
Mesopotamia on a map.

Materials

Computer with internet,

projector, and SmartBoard

Google Earth Tours (see

sidebar in Course Overview)

Website: http://
www.mesopotamia.co.uk/
geography/explore/
exp_set.html

Blank Map of Mesopotamia

Key Vocabulary:

Optional:
www.scribblemaps.com

geography
mountains

map key
desert

legend
river

symbol
gulf

label

zoom

location

orientation

Standards
CA Social Studies 6.2.1
Locate and describe the
major river systems and
discuss the physical settings
that supported permanent
settlement and early
civilizations.

Overview
In this lesson, students will explore the geography of
Mesopotamia. They will view maps, interact with digital
maps, and then label their own maps.

Engage the Learner

Time: 10 minutes
In Google Earth, take students on a Tour of Mesopotamia.
See side bar for a tutorial on how to create a Google Earth
Tour in the Course Overview. Explain that they have viewed
maps of California to see how the rivers and geography
affected their local community. During the tour, students
should note the types of geographical features in the area.
Guiding question: What symbols, marks, and strategies do
map creators use to help us identify these geographical
features?
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River Systems: Then and Now

Activity 2: Geography of Mesopotamia

Explore the Concept

Time: 10-15 minutes
Have students explore the website:
http://www.mesopotamia.co.uk/geography/explore/exp_set.html
Teacher Notes: Make sure pop up blocker is disabled.
Students can click on all parts of the maps, explore all the maps. Have them notice the various
geographical features surrounding the area. Geographical features will have pop-up windows
displaying information about that feature.

Explain the Concept and Define the Terms

Session 1
Time: 45 minutes
Lead a discussion about each of the geographical features on the website map. Discuss how these
features might affect the land. Have students recall what they remember about how rivers helped
people in California. As students discuss each area, go to that feature on the map. Point out how
that feature has been labeled on a map. Demonstrate a sample Map Key to give students an idea
of what types of symbols they can use. Tell students that they will now label a physical map with all
the features they explored. They will create a Map Key. Distribute blank map of Mesopotamia.
Teacher will model how to locate one geographical feature, how to orient themselves on the map,
and how to mark and label the feature. Use the SmartBoard to write on the digital blank map
provided to give students a sense of how to mark and label a map.
Teacher Note: On the Mesopotamia website, each feature is highlighted with information popping
up in a separate window. Sometimes, this window will be behind the main window. There are
additional features in-between the two rivers that go unnoticed. Point them out if students missed
them. (See the sidebar for geographical features.)

Elaborate on the Concept

Time: 30 minutes
When students have completed their physical maps, have students explore
www.scribblemaps.com. This interactive map website allows users to write and label any location
on Earth. Registration is free, but not required to use the interactive features. Students can save
their maps, print a JPG or PDF, or copy a link or HTML embed code to share on a website. You
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River Systems: Then and Now

Find and label the following:

Activity 2: Geography of Mesopotamia

may also save as a KML which is supported by Google

Earth.

Mediterranean Sea

Have students label a digital map with the locations

Syrian Desert

from their physical map. When students have

Euphrates River

Tigris River

Students will need to find these features in Google

Nile River

Maps, Google Earth, or some other map, whether

Egypt

digital or in a textbook.

Persian Gulf

Evaluate Understanding of the Concept

Taurus Mountains

Teacher uses the students labeled maps to evaluate

Zagros Mountains

how well students understood the lesson objective.

In-between Rivers

Tributary

Irrigated Land

Early River beds

Marshland

Mouth of River

Elaborate:

completed the assigned features, have them search for

additional features not included on the website.

Closure
Time: 10 minutes
Explain to students that today they explored many
digital maps to learn about the geography of
Mesopotamia. They identified geographical features in
the area of Mesopotamia. Tomorrow they will use their
knowledge about these geographical features and
read about how they affected the people living there in

Caspian Sea

Black Sea

that resulted and how the people solved those

Red Sea

problems. Teacher might pose the question: What

The Fertile Crescent

problems might people have faced in the area?

ancient times. They will explore some of the problems

River Systems: Then and Now

Activity 2: Geography of Mesopotamia

Map Key

Directions: Use the Mesopotamia website to identify and label the map. Create a key.
Mediterranean Sea
Egypt
Irrigated Land

Syrian Desert

Persian Gulf

Early River beds

Euphrates River

Taurus Mountains

Marshland

Tigris River

Zagros Mountains

Mouth of River

Nile River

Tributary

How did the Tigris and the Euphrates Rivers enable Mesopotamia to flourish?
_________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Elaborate:
Go to Google Maps, identify and label the following locations.
Caspian Sea
Red Sea

Black Sea

The Fertile Crescent

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