Coach Smith
World History
Monday
Standard(s): WH.1A , WH.2A , WH.17A , WH.17B , WH.29A , WH.29F , WH.29H , WH.30A ELPS.c.1C , ELPS.c.5B
Development of river valley civilizations:
- Four early major river valley civilizations developed
- Tigris and Euphrates
- Nile
- Indus
- Huang He Rivers
- Mesopotamia/Fertile Crescent (3500 BC-1600 BC)
- Settlement on the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers around 4500 BC
- Sumerians arrive in 3500 BC and begin irrigation
- Sumerian city – states established around 3000 BC and initially controlled by temple priests
- Polytheistic religion – Ziggurat (temple) center of each city-state
- Scientific achievements – wheel, sail, plow, bronze, cuneiform
- Babylonian Empire reaches its peak under Hammurabi (1792 BC-1750 BC), who established a written, uniform code of laws (Hammurabi’s Code).
- Babylonian Empire ended around 1500 BC and other civilizations in this area, Assyrians, Phoenicians, and Hebrews, adopted ideas first developed by early Sumerians.
Tuesday
Standard(s): WH.1A , WH.2A , WH.17A , WH.17B , WH.29A , WH.29F , WH.29H , WH.30A ELPS.c.1C , ELPS.c.5B
Egypt (3000 BC-2000 BC)
- Earliest settlement along the Nile River began in 5000 BC
- Irrigation along the Nile led to Egypt being known as “The Gift of the Nile.” Flooding was on a regular yearly cycle.
- Ruled by pharaohs who were considered god-kings; theocracy established as form of government
- Polytheistic religion
- Religious features – pyramids built as tombs for pharaohs; belief in the afterlife; mummification of the dead to prevent bodies from decaying
- Stratified society – royal family followed by upper class (priests and nobles), followed by middle class (merchants and artisans), and then the lower class (peasant farmers and unskilled laborers); slavery later became a source of labor
- Writing system – hieroglyphics; writing done on papyrus
- Scientific achievements – written numbers, geometry, stone columns, calendar for flooding cycle, advanced medicine
- Empire declines as other civilizations invade Egypt after 1200 BC
Wednesday
Standard(s): WH.1A , WH.2A , WH.17A , WH.17B , WH.29A , WH.29F , WH.29H , WH.30A ELPS.c.1C , ELPS.c.5B
Indus River Valley Civilizations (2500 BC-1700 BC)
- First major cities include Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa that were developed on grid systems and had sophisticated plumbing and sewage systems
- These early cities declined around 1750 BC due to a possible change in the course of the Indus River
- Indo-European people known as Aryans settle in the Indus Valley around 1500 BC
- Caste system developed under Aryans to separate Aryan from non-Aryan
Thursday
Standard(s): WH.1A , WH.2A , WH.17A , WH.17B , WH.29A , WH.29F , WH.29H , WH.30A ELPS.c.1C , ELPS.c.5B
Chinese River Valley Civilizations (3950 BC-1000 BC)
- Huang He (Yellow) River Valley
- Shang Dynasty (2000 BC) – division of classes; importance of family
- Writing system where each symbol represents an idea
- Technology and science – bronze-working, silk
Friday
Current Event
2 Page report
3 Sources
Topic: ISIS, ISIL, IS