Mesopotamia Activities for Kids
By MARISSA DESPINS Updated April 10, 2024
Today I am talking all about Mesopotamia activities in another post in my ongoing series on Interactive Notebooks. In previous posts I talked about what Interactive Notebooks are, how they are beneficial, and tips and tricks for using Interactive Notebooks in the classroom. If you are interested in checking out those posts, you can scroll down and click on the links at the bottom of this post.
For some free Mesopotamia activities that you can print and use with your learners, click on the image or button below!
Interactive notebooks for teaching history
Those who have been following me for a while know how passionate I am about using Interactive Notebooks with my students. I am currently teaching a grade 2/3 group. We use Interactive Notebooks with great success for every unit we do, in all subject areas.
Prior to teaching primary, I taught grades 7-9 at a middle school for the majority of my teaching career (moving to primary was definitely an eye opener, but that’s another post!). I was in charge of teaching English and Social Studies. This was where I first fell in love with Interactive Notebooks; I loved how they helped to organize our activities. They also really helped provide an ongoing record of our learning. I loved how easy they were to differentiate for the different learners in my classroom.
Teaching Ancient History was definitely my jam. It is certainly something I miss with the move to primary. Our grade 2/3 Social Studies content in BC in no way can compare to the excitement of the pyramids, nights in shining armor, and exploits of the Greek gods and goddesses that we were able to learn all about in middle school.
Mesopotamia activities for middle school
Feeling nostalgic, I have spent a lot of time over the past few months revamping the Ancient History products I have available in my TPT store. I thought I would highlight a few of them here. In this post, I am going to focus on Ancient Mesopotamia activities.
For more information on teaching Ancient Mesopotamia, check out these 5 tips!
1- Mapping The Fertile Crescent
Teaching all about the Ancient Mesopotamians and the Fertile Crescent was a big component of my middle school history curriculum. I always found Mesopotamia to be a really fun unit to teach. A lot of it is still really new to the kids. Many of them have background information about Egypt, Greece, and Rome, but very little about Mesopotamia. I feel like I am working with a blank slate when it comes to teaching about this period of history.
When introducing Ancient Mesopotamia activities to middle school kiddos, you can never go wrong with Crash Course History. These videos never fail to build excitement for the unit to come.
I always like doing a map with the kids at the start of a unit. It’s a great opportunity to work in some geography skills. It is also a good way to ensure the kids know the area we are actually talking about. Incorporating map lessons and activities into your classroom instruction helps to increase engagement. It also helps to encourage critical thinking, generate connections, and support cross-curricular learning. I am always alarmed with how few of them are able to use an atlas and label areas on a map. This is definitely an area kids need practice on.
2- Vocabulary Scavenger Hunt
Vocabulary is another area we dive deeply in to at the start of a unit. This time period is new for many students. Because of this, it important to build some shared understanding about key vocabulary words the kids are going to explore throughout the unit – words like ziggurat, irrigation, and cuneiform.
One of my favourite ways to do this is with a “Vocabulary Scavenger Hunt”. Basically, I hide key vocabulary definitions around the classroom, and send the kids around in teams to hunt them down. This never ceases to up the engagement, and encourages heated discussion over which word matches each definition.
The best part? It is waaaayyy more fun than having kids copy definitions from a textbook or dictionary! The kids are out of their desks, discussing the words, working collaboratively… This is how you make learning come alive!
3- Interactive Foldable Activities
I really love using foldables in my Interactive Notebooks. Not only are they a fun way to switch things up, but studies show that foldables actually encourage metacognition through active learning. I am a hug fan of graphic organizers, and I love how foldables put a 3D spin on them.
For this activity, we made a double flap foldable, and used it to write down information we learned about Ziggurats. I love how the kids can flip the flaps up and down to review the information, and quiz each other before an assessment.
For more foldable activities, check out our Interactive Notebook guide!
4- Close Reading Practice
The Social Studies textbooks that we currently have to teach about Mesopotamia are sadly lacking. I swear that this has been the case at every single school I have taught at – do you find this too??? Because of this, I put together my own reading passages on different key topics in Mesopotamia, like trade, farming, Hammurabi’s Code, and Cuneiform. I like to do a bit of an annotation activity with these reading passages – such a great way to pull in some literacy strategies!
To read more about this engaging strategy, check out our complete close reading guide!
5- Mesopotamia One Pager Activities
One Pagers are one of my favourite ways to review content at the end of a unit. Basically, One Pagers are image and text filled pages that allow students to take the key points from what they have learned and highlight them on a single sheet of paper.
One Pagers may seem like fairly simplistic assignments, but they are actually incredibly powerful. Selecting and recording information along with images helps with knowledge retention. Mixing images with text helps access both the verbal and visual parts of the brain, leading to powerful results. Put simply, students are able to remember more when language and imagery are mixed.
On a One Pager, students may choose to select key facts, images, quotes, ideas, and more. They provide great opportunities for students to visualize what they read, and present it in pictorial form. Alternately, students may choose to include text to text, text to self, or text to world connections that they have made.
The best part of a One Pager? They are really fun to make. They offer great opportunities for creative expression; you and your students will be amazed by how much learning can fit on a single sheet of paper.
Interested in trying these One Pagers out in your Mesopotamia unit? Click on the image below!
Read more about using One Pagers in your classroom here.
Is Mesopotamia a part of your curriculum? Have some fun activities and strategies for making this unit come alive? Let me know all about it in the comment section! I am excited to learn from you!
Interested in checking out some more of my Mesopotamia resources?
Click here or on the image below to go directly to my Teachers Pay Teachers store! All of my products for Social Studies are listed!
Looking for some FREE resources on Ancient Mesopotamia?
Click on the image below for this FREE download! It contains fun activities, graphic organizers, and reading passages to help you introduce your Mesopotamia unit!
Looking for more FREE Interactive Notebook resources?
Click on the image below to go directly to a FREE download of some of my best selling Interactive Notebook resources to help you get started with using this engaging strategy in your classroom today!
Interested in reading my previous posts on Interactive Notebooks?
Click on the links below to check out some of my previous blog posts on Interactive Notebooks!
What are Interactive Notebooks?
Interactive Notebooks: How are they beneficial?
Interactive Notebooks: Tips and Tricks
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