Week 19 · Term Three · River civilizations
See why the first cities grew on rivers, follow a watershed from mountain to sea, predict the Nile flood with a Nilometer, read a 3,700-year-old law about water, and compare Egypt with Mesopotamia.
Monday follows the chain from silt to surplus to cities and writing. Tuesday maps a watershed and traces what flows downstream. Wednesday turns Nilometer readings into a linear function to predict the flood. Thursday reads Hammurabi’s Law 53 as a primary source. Friday compares Egypt and Mesopotamia.
25 minutes
History · Why the first cities grew on rivers
Explain how river floods led to food surpluses, and how surpluses let people specialize, build cities and invent writing: a chain of causes and effects.
Make
A cause-and-effect chain
River handoff: The chain is filed. Tomorrow you follow the river from mountain to sea.
25 minutes
Geography · One watershed, many towns
Read a river system on a map, explain what a watershed is, and predict how something upstream affects places downstream.
Make
A watershed map
River handoff: The watershed map is filed. Tomorrow you measure a flood the way Egyptians did.
25 minutes
Hydrology · The Nilometer
Find the rate of change and starting value from data, write a linear function, and use it to make a prediction.
Make
A flood prediction
River handoff: The flood prediction is filed. Tomorrow you read a 3,700-year-old law about water.
25 minutes
Government · A law about shared water
Read a primary source closely, identify the public problem a law was written to solve, and evaluate whether its solution is fair.
Make
A primary-source analysis
River handoff: The source analysis is filed. Tomorrow you compare two river kingdoms.
30 minutes
Explanatory writing · Two river kingdoms
Write a compare-and-contrast explanation organized by topic, supported by specific evidence, and careful about cause and effect.
Make
A Comparative atlas
River handoff: The comparative atlas is filed. The river kingdoms now make sense as cause and effect, not just names and dates.
The atlas uses only work entered here. It is a family record of this week’s work, not a grade, an attendance record, or proof of mastery.
