28 Early World Civilizations: Supplemental Guide 1A | A Father and His Son in Mesopotamia
- Literal Was the land around the rivers fertile land or dry desert
in Mesopotamia? (fertile) - Inferential How were the Euphrates River and the Tigris
River important to the Mesopotamians? (People settled
near the rivers to grow crops for food; they were used for
transportation and for drinking.) - Inferential Why did the people dig canals? (to move water
from the river to other places to support farming, and for
transportation) - Literal Were there cities in Mesopotamia? (yes) What was the name
of the city that was the setting of today’s read-aloud? (Babylon) - Inferential Why did people settle in Babylon near the
Euphrates River? (People had settled there to grow crops, and
it developed into a city.) - Literal What kinds of goods would the people on the
Euphrates and Tigris rivers trade? (crops, clothing, and other
items they needed)
Show image 1A-6: Warad and Iddin sitting on a bench - Inferential How would you describe the city of Babylon? (There
were many buildings, including a palace; it was near the river,
etc.) - Evaluative Could the Mesopotamians have settled in this area
if it had not been on the banks of the Tigris and Euphrates
Rivers? Why or why not? (No, they needed the water from the
rivers to water their crops, to drink, etc.)
[Please continue to model the Question? Pair Share process for
students, as necessary, and scaffold students in their use of the
process.] - What? Pair Share: Asking questions after a read-aloud is
one way to see how much everyone has learned. Think of a
question you can ask your neighbor about the read-aloud that
starts with the word what. For example, you could ask, “What
was the setting of today’s read-aloud?” Turn to your neighbor
and ask your what question. Listen to your neighbor’s
response. Then your neighbor will ask a new what question,