Unit: Ancient Civilizations Topic: The Nile River Valley Essential Standards: WH.H.2 Analyze ancient civilization and empires in terms of their development, growth and lasting impact. Clarifying Objectives: WH.H.2.1 Compare how different geographic issues of the ancient period influenced settlement, trading networks and the sustainability of various ancient civilizations (e.g., flooding, fertile crescent, confluence, limited fertile lands, etc.). WH.H.2.7 Analyze the relationship between trade routes and the development and decline of major empires (e.g. Ghana, Mali, Songhai, Greece, Rome, China, Mughal, Mongol, Mesoamerica, Inca, etc.). Activity Summary: Map activity on the Nile River Valley and surrounding territories. Students are asked to label major cities and land forms. They are also asked to highlight the physical features that affected civilization in ancient Egypt. Students are then asked to answer questions about the Nile River Valley and how it affected life in ancient Egypt. Activity provides students with an understanding of how the geography influenced life and early Egyptian culture. Directions: Label the map and answer the question about the map.
The Nile River Valley Some of the most advanced civilizations of the ancient world grew up along the banks of the Nile. Because water is available throughout the year agriculture is possible in the otherwise barren region. The people depended on the annual floods to bring water to the fields. For this reason Egypt is referred to as the gift of the Nile. Label the map and then answer the questions about the Nile River Valley. Directions: 1. Label the Nile River 2. Use a shade of green to highlight the fertile areas along the Nile 3. Use a shade of yellow to highlight the Sahara Desert 4. Label the major cities along the Nile 5. Draw a line to represent the 6 cataracts 6. Label Lower Egypt, Upper Egypt, Nubia and Kush
Use the map to answer the following questions. 7. How did the floods of the Nile River differ from the floods of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers in Mesopotamia? 8. What is a Delta? 9. Describe the Nile Delta. 10. What is a cataract? 11. How might Egypt s natural defenses, the Sahara and the Nile s cataracts also act as limitations? 12. Why is the Nile the most important physical feature in Egypt?
The Nile River Valley Some of the most advanced civilizations of the ancient world grew up along the banks of the Nile. Because water is available throughout the year agriculture is possible in the otherwise barren region. The people depended on the annual floods to bring water to the fields. For this reason Egypt is referred to as the gift of the Nile. Label the map and then answer the questions about the Nile River Valley. Directions: 1. Label the Nile River 2. Use a shade of green to highlight the fertile areas along the Nile 3. Use a shade of yellow to highlight the Sahara Desert 4. Label the major cities along the Nile 5. Draw a line to represent the 6 cataracts 6. Label Lower Egypt, Upper Egypt, Nubia and Kush NUBIA
Use the map to answer the following questions. 7. How did the floods of the Nile River differ from the floods of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers in Mesopotamia? The Nile floods were predictable unlike the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers; they flooded every year when the spring rains feed the river s sources to the north 8. What is a Delta? An area at the mouth of a river, often triangular in shape 9. Describe the Nile Delta. Large and full of fertile soil 10. What is a cataract? Rocky stretches in a river with rapid currents or waterfalls 11. How might Egypt s natural defenses, the Sahara and the Nile s cataracts also act as limitations? Made trade difficult; kept Egypt secluded 12. Why is the Nile the most important physical feature in Egypt? The Nile flood waters helped fertilize the soil so Egypt was able to sustain civilization