The Roots of Religion Teacher’s Guide Grade Level: 6-8
Curriculum Focus: Ancient History
Lesson Duration: Two class periods
Program Description In Search of Eden (32 min.)—Follows scientists and theologians attempting to prove that Mesopotamia was the setting for the Book of Genesis. Ancient Middle East (5 min.)—Visits the ancient civilizations of Sumer and Egypt, and tracks how the Hebrews created a lasting culture and religion. Islamic Civilization (4 min.)—Shows how the prophet Muhammad’s teachings gave birth to a religion that spread across and beyond the Middle East through trade and conquest. Islam: Past and Present (5 min.)—Explores the history and teachings of Islam, from Muhammad’s struggles to the beliefs and practices of Muslims today.
Onscreen Questions •
How can science and religion help contribute to each other?
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What did religion offer early civilizations?
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Through what means have religions spread their message?
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How is the history of Islam related to the beginnings of other world religions?
Lesson Plan
Student Objectives •
Discuss how the story of the Garden of Eden may be a metaphor for early civilizations in ancient Mesopotamia.
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Research and present facts about the Sumerians, one of the world’s first civilizations.
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Support or reject the statement that the Sumerians were the “first great civilization in the world.”
Materials •
The Roots of Religion video and VCR, or DVD and DVD player
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Computer with Internet access
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Resources about the Sumerians
The Roots of Religion: Teacher’s Guide
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Procedures 1. After watching the video, discuss how the story of the “Garden of Eden” may be a metaphor for historical events. How could this story relate to the Neolithic Revolution? (The story could be a metaphor for the beginnings of civilization. About 7000 years ago – the same time that the Bible gives for the Garden of Eden – early Stone Age hunter-gatherers began to settle in farming communities. This turning point is known as the Neolithic Revolution.) 2. Ask students what they think makes a civilization. (The stage of cultural development marked by urbanization, advanced techniques of agriculture and technology, material, scientific, and artistic progress, expanded population, and complex social organization.) Explain that the world’s first civilizations began in Mesopotamia, a region in the Middle East between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. Show students this area on a world map. Point out the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, believed to be two of the four rivers described in Genesis as running through the Garden of Eden. (You may also want to point out the larger area known as the Fertile Crescent, the area of fertile land that lies within the modern countries of Turkey, Iran, Iraq, and Syria.) 3. Tell students that towards the end of the Neolithic Revolution, in 5000 B.C., what would become the Sumerian civilization began to develop along the banks of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. Nomadic peoples settled on the wide, flat plain to farm the rich soil. A group known as Sumerians began to build the earliest cities on Earth. In the video, the Sumerians are described as “the first great civilization in the world.” Ask students what they think this tells us about the Sumerians. What makes a group of people a “civilization”? Write their ideas on the board. 4. Next, tell students they are going to learn more about the ancient Sumerians. Divide the class into small groups and assign each group one of the following aspects of Sumerian culture: •
farming
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architecture and buildings
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transportation
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religion and temples
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trade
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science, learning, inventions
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materials and tools
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writing
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occupations
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politics and social classes
5. Have students work in their groups to develop a short presentation about Sumerian life or accomplishments related to their assigned topic. The following Web sites provide a good starting point: •
World History: The Sumerians http://www.fsmitha.com/h1/ch01.htm
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The Roots of Religion: Teacher’s Guide
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World Cultures: The Sumerians http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~dee/MESO/SUMER.HTM
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An Introduction to Sumer http://ancienthistory.about.com/library/weekly/aa030700a.htm
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Social Studies for Kids: Sumeria: First in Many Things http://www.socialstudiesforkids.com/articles/worldhistory/sumerianfirsts1.htm
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History for Kids: The Sumerians http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/westasia/history/sumerians.htm
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6. Bring students together and have one member from each group share their findings. 7. Ask students to write their own description of the Sumerians, answering the following questions: What were the Sumerians’ greatest accomplishments? Did they meet the requirements of a civilization discussed in the beginning of this lesson? Do you agree that the Sumerians were the “first great civilization”? Why or why not?
Assessment Use the following three-point rubric to evaluate students' work during this lesson. •
3 points: Students were active in class discussions; showed strong research skills; gave a concise, engaging presentation; descriptions reflected a clear understanding of the Sumerian civilization.
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2 points: Students participated in class discussions; showed strong on-grade skills; gave a competent presentation; descriptions reflected a satisfactory understanding of the Sumerian civilization.
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1 point: Students did not participate in class discussions; showed weak research skills; presented their information with difficulty; descriptions reflected a vague or inaccurate understanding of the Sumerian civilization.
Vocabulary civilization Definition: The stage of cultural development marked by urbanization, advanced techniques of agriculture and technology, material, scientific, and artistic progress, expanded population, and complex social organization. Context: In the archaeological record, the first signs of human civilization appear in Mesopotamia. Genesis Definition: The first book of the Old Testament; its stories, which explain the beginning of the world, shaped Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. (The term "genesis" means beginning.) Context: The historian believed that the Genesis story held clues to show that the Garden of Eden was a real physical place on Earth.
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The Roots of Religion: Teacher’s Guide
Mesopotamia Definition: Ancient region located between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in modern Iraq and Syria Context: Human civilization first took root in Mesopotamia. Neolithic Revolution Definition: The last part of the Stone Age, beginning around 10,000 BCE. ; a period huntergatherers began to settle in farming communities and use polished stone tools and weapons. Context: With the Neolithic Revolution, people started to domesticate animals, put them in fields around their homesteads, and grow crops. Sumerians Definition: A group of ancient people who built a civilization in the land of Sumer in Mesopotamia. Context: The Sumerians were the first great civilization in the world, even pre-dating the pharaohs of Egypt.
Academic Standards Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning (McREL) McREL's Content Knowledge: A Compendium of Standards and Benchmarks for K-12 Education addresses 14 content areas. To view the standards and benchmarks, visit http://www.mcrel.org/compendium/browse.asp. This lesson plan addresses the following national standards: •
World History: Era 2—Understands the major characteristics of civilization and the development of civilizations in Mesopotamia, Egypt, and the Indus Valley.
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Geography: Places and Regions—Understands the physical and human characteristics of place
The National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) The National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS) has developed national standards to provide guidelines for teaching social studies. To view the standards online, go to http://www.socialstudies.org/standards/strands/. This lesson plan addresses the following thematic standards: •
Culture
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Time, Continuity, and Change
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People, Places, and Environments
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The Roots of Religion: Teacher’s Guide
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Support Materials Develop custom worksheets, educational puzzles, online quizzes, and more with the free teaching tools offered on the Discoveryschool.com Web site. Create and print support materials, or save them to a Custom Classroom account for future use. To learn more, visit •
http://school.discovery.com/teachingtools/teachingtools.html
DVD Content This program is available in an interactive DVD format. The following information and activities are specific to the DVD version.
How To Use the DVD The DVD starting screen has the following options: Play Video—This plays the video from start to finish. There are no programmed stops, except by using a remote control. With a computer, depending on the particular software player, a pause button is included with the other video controls. Video Index—Here the video is divided into four parts (see below), indicated by video thumbnail icons. Watching all parts in sequence is similar to watching the video from start to finish. Brief descriptions and total running times are noted for each part. To play a particular segment, press Enter on the remote for TV playback; on a computer, click once to highlight a thumbnail and read the accompanying text description and click again to start the video. Curriculum Units—These are specially edited video segments pulled from different sections of the video (see below). These nonlinear segments align with key ideas in the unit of instruction. They include onscreen pre- and post-viewing questions, reproduced below in this Teacher’s Guide. Total running times for these segments are noted. To play a particular segment, press Enter on the TV remote or click once on the Curriculum Unit title on a computer. Standards Link—Selecting this option displays a single screen that lists the national academic standards the video addresses. Teacher Resources—This screen gives the technical support number and Web site address.
Video Index I. In Search of Eden (32 min.) Did the Garden of Eden really exist? Journey across the world to examine and explore the Biblical story of human origins. Keywords: Garden of Eden, Genesis, Neolithic Revolution, origins of humankind
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The Roots of Religion: Teacher’s Guide
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II. Ancient Middle East (5 min.) Learn about the important role religion played in the ancient Sumerian, Egyptian, and Hebrew civilizations in the Fertile Crescent. Keywords: religion, civilizations, Fertile Crescent, Mesopotamia, Sumerians, Egyptians III. Islamic Civilization Before following Muhammad, ancient Arabs worshipped many gods. See how the Islam came into being and discover the traditions of early Islamic society. IV. Islam: Past and Present (5 min.) Since its beginnings some 1,400 years ago, Islam has attracted millions of followers. Learn about the practices and tenets of Islam.
Curriculum Units 1. Two Stories Pre-viewing question: Q: What theories exist regarding human origins on Earth? A: Answers will vary. Post-viewing question: Q: Describe the relationship of the Biblical story of the Garden of Eden and the Neolithic Revolution. A: According to the Book of Genesis, around 7,000 years ago God created a garden east of Eden, where he settled Adam and Eve. Tempted by the serpent to disobey God, they were expelled from the garden. According to scientists, around the same time Stone Age nomadic hunter-gathers began to settle in farming communities. Anthropologists consider this as a crucial turning point called the Neolithic Revolution. 2. Clues to Eden Pre-viewing question: Q: Did a Garden of Eden really exist? A: Answers will vary. Post-viewing question: Q: Why did early scholars think Eden was the entire ancient world? A: Eden’s location in the Bible is tied to four rivers. Two were known to be the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in modern-day Iraq. Early scholars thought the Gihon flowed through Kush in Egypt, so they assumed the Gihon was the Nile. They concluded that either the Indus or Ganges was the fourth river. These sites encompassed the whole ancient world. 3. New Ideas About Eden Pre-viewing question: Q: What myths and legends do you know? A: Answers will vary.
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The Roots of Religion: Teacher’s Guide
Post-viewing question: Q: What do you think any newly discovered remains of Eden would tell us? 4. The Persian Garden of Paradise Pre-viewing question: Q: What can happen when words are translated into a different language? A: Answers will vary. Post-viewing question: Q: How is the Persian four-fold garden like the Garden of Eden? A: Enclosed by a wall or other structure, the Persian garden of paradise contains a fountain and a pool, like the Garden of Eden. The pool’s channels divide the garden into four quarters, like the four rivers in the Garden of Eden’s Biblical description. 5. A Poem for Aratta Pre-viewing question: Q: What can be learned by studying literature? A: Answers will vary. Post-viewing question: Q: What did “eden” mean in Sumerian inscriptions? A: Sumerian inscriptions used the word “eden” for the steppes outside the cultivated area, so it means plain, or uncultivated area. 6. Finding Aratta Pre-viewing question: Q: What tools do historians use to examine the past? A: Answers will vary. Post-viewing question: Q: Do you think David Rohl found the Biblical Eden? A: Answers will vary. 7. Entering the Garden Pre-viewing question: Q: What is a metaphor? A: A metaphor is a figure of speech in which a word or phrase that ordinarily designates one thing is used to designate another, which makes an implicit comparison; examples include “a sea of troubles,” “a bright idea,” and “a dark thought.” Post-viewing question: Q: If the Garden of Eden is a metaphor, what do you think it represents? A: Answers will vary.
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The Roots of Religion: Teacher’s Guide
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8. Symbols of the Neolithic Revolution Pre-viewing question: Q: What do you think are most significant periods in human history? A: Answers will vary. Post-viewing question: Q: Do you think a real person was Adam? A: Answers will vary. 9. Technology Re-creates Eden Pre-viewing question: Q: Describe your idea of the Garden of Eden’s appearance. A: Answers will vary. Post-viewing question: Q: Does the re-created description of Eden match your ideas? A: Answers will vary. 10. The Birthplace of Civilizations Pre-viewing question: Q: What do you know about early civilizations? A: Answers will vary. Post-viewing question: Q: What kinds of inventions began in ancient Sumer? A: Boat sails, the wheel, and bronze- and glassmaking began in Sumer. The Sumerians were the first to study astronomy, and they developed a calendar. Sumer’s priests may have established the first system of writing. 11. A New Religion Pre-viewing question: Q: What does it mean to be polytheistic? A: The Greeks, Romans, and ancient Arabs were polytheistic; their religions worshipped more than one god. Post-viewing question: Q: What is Islamic law? A: Islamic law, called Shari’a, establishes a set of personal ethics, or a blueprint for leading a moral life and building a moral society. 12. Followers of Islam Pre-viewing question: Q: What rituals or traditions do you practice? A: Answers will vary. Post-viewing question:
Published by Discovery Education. © 2005. All rights reserved.
The Roots of Religion: Teacher’s Guide
Q: Why is Islam considered a world religion? A: Answers will vary, but some students may know that Islam is practiced in more than 50 countries and on every continent.
Published by Discovery Education. © 2005. All rights reserved.
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