Hammurabi's Code

The World's First Written Law Code

By: Hammurabi, King of Babylon

The great king of Babylonia known as Hammurabi ruled the Fertile Crescent from 1792 BCE - 1750 BCE. He had the laws of the land compiled and written down on a large stone pillar, called a stele. The laws were written in Cuneiform, the language of the empire. The 8 foot tall stele, seen above, is topped with a carving of the sun god, Shamash (seated), who is pictured handing Hammurabi (standing) a staff and ring, which are symbols of justice. The laws are known as the Code of Hammurabi and cover all areas of life from trade to religious matters.

Homework Directions: Listen to the audio recording about Hammurabi's Code. Then respond in your writing section of your binder in a few sentences. You can use 1 or 2 of the sentence starters to help you get started. 

Sentence Starters:

• I wonder what this means...
• I really don’t understand the part when...
• I really like/dislike this idea because...
• This situation reminds me of a similar situation in my own life. It happened when...
• My opinion of the illustrations, table, and figures is…
• As I watched, I felt…
• Questions I have after watching are…
• Something I learned from watching…

The Tigris & Euphrates Rivers

Homework Directions: Watch the video/song by Mr. Nicky. Then respond in your writing section of your binder in a few sentences. You can use 1 or 2 of the sentence starters to help you get started. 

Sentence Starters:

• I wonder what this means...
• I really don’t understand the part when...
• I really like/dislike this idea because...
• This situation reminds me of a similar situation in my own life. It happened when...
• My opinion of the illustrations, table, and figures is…
• As I watched, I felt…
• Questions I have after watching are…
• Something I learned from watching…

The Epic of Gilgamesh

From MrDonn.org:

"Like many ancient people, the ancient Sumerians had a very lively oral tradition.  They loved to tell exciting stories about the great deeds and heroics of their ancestors.  One of the stories they told was the tale of Gilgamesh.

Gilgamesh was one of the kings of Uruk (a Sumerian city).  His name is on the list of kings of Sumer recovered from the library at Nineveh.  Did he actually exist as a real person or was he just made up by the Sumerians?  We may never know.  But, according to the story, Gilgamesh was part god and part human with some of the powers of the gods. Gilgamesh was the first superhero!

According to the epics, Gilgamesh and his friend Enkidu fought monsters, moved mountains and rivers, rescued people in need, and generally protected the people of Sumer.  The epic of Gilgamesh was written down in cuneiform on clay tablets and preserved at the Library of Nineveh."

http://mesopotamia.mrdonn.org/gilgamesh.html

Read the tale "Gilgamesh and the Cedar Forest" 

Homework Directions: Read the tale "Gilgamesh and the Cedar Forest." Then respond in your writing section of your binder in a few sentences. You can use 1 or 2 of the sentence starters to help you get started. 

Sentence Starters:

• I wonder what this means...
• I really don’t understand the part when...
• I really like/dislike this idea because...
• This situation reminds me of a similar situation in my own life. It happened when...
• My opinion of the illustrations, table, and figures is…
• As I watched, I felt…
• Questions I have after watching are…
• Something I learned from watching…