Unit 3 - Lesson 1: What are Civilizations?

Big Ideas of the Lesson

The term civilization is used to describe larger groups of people living together in one place
in more complex societies with social hierarchies and specialization of labor. During this era,
between 4000 and 1000 BCE, this new way of living began to develop in different parts of
the world.

Geography played a key role in shaping the location of the earliest civilizations. They tended
to develop in river valleys where there was access to water and fertile soil for highly
productive agriculture as well as large mammal and plants suitable for domestication. These
civilizations also developed at similar latitudes with similar, temperate climates.

Civilizations were made possible by the development of more intensive agriculture, and at
the same time, they required people to farm even more intensively. With more people and
more resources in one place, culture developed along with laws and written language. The
development of writing signaled the beginning of recorded history.
Lesson Abstract:
In this lesson students consider the definition of the term civilization and discuss how historians
use this word. They review the chronology of the past unit and compare it to the time span of this
unit. The primary focus of the lesson, however, is to help students analyze the role of geography in
the development of early civilizations along key river valleys in Afroeurasia. In particular, they
analyze Jared Diamonds theory of geographic luck by looking at the concentration of large seeded
grasses and large mammals suitable for domestication in the areas where these civilizations
developed. Students study pictures, maps, and data tables and work in small groups or with
partners to look for evidence to support Diamonds theory. The lesson concludes with an exit slip
asking students to describe something surprising or new they learned in the lesson.
Content Expectations1:
7th Grade - W1.2.2; W1.2.3; W2.1.2; W2.1.4; W 2.1.1; W 2.1.3
7th Grade H1.2.1, H1.2.3, H 1. 2.4; H1.4.2,
Common Core State Standards for Literacy in History/Social Studies: RH.6-8.2, 4 and 7;
WHST.6-8.10; SL.6-8.1
Key Concepts
cities
civilization
geographic luck
river valley civilizations
social hierarchy
specialization

1 The language of the content expectations, common core, and list of resources can be found in the
Reference Section at the end of the lesson.