Great Rivers of Great Civilizations
Students write about four river systems and their great civilizations.
Author
Grade Level
Duration
National Geography
Standards
ELEMENT ONE: THE
WORLD IN SPATIAL
TERMS
1. How to use maps
and other geographic
representations, tools,
and technologies to
acquire, process, and
report information
from a spatial
perspective.
Diana Valenzuela
6-8
2 class periods
Arizona Geography
Standards
ESSENTIALS 3SS-E8
Use geographic knowledge,
skills, and perspectives to
explain past, present, and
future issues, with emphasis
on:
PO 1 how places and
environments influence
events and conditions in the
past.
Arizona Language Arts Standards
READING STANDARDS: ESSENTIALS
R-E2 Using reading strategies such as making
inferences and predictions, summarizing,
paraphrasing, differentiating fact from opinion,
drawing conclusions, and determining the author's
purpose and perspective to comprehend written
selections.
PO 4 Compare and contrast the text.
WRITING STANDARDS: ESSENTIALS
W-E4 Write an expository essay that contains
effective introductory and summary statements and
fully develops the ideas, facts, examples and
descriptions.
PO 2 Use own words (except for quoted material)
to develop ideas accurately and clearly with
supporting details, facts, examples or descriptions.
Overview
Purpose
River Systems had a great impact on early
civilizations. The Ancient Egyptians were able to
predict the annual flooding of the Nile River, and they
developed a farming economy based on it to
become one of the world's first nations. The Fertile
Crescent contained the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers.
The inhabitants of India and China withstood the
unpredictable flooding of the Indus River and the
Huang He River, and their cultures have remained to
this day.
This lesson takes students through a culminating,
cross-curricular activity on four ancient river systems,
the Nile River, the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, the
Indus River and the Huang He River.
Great Rivers of Great Civilizations
Materials

Cradle of Civilization Information Sheet and
Answer Key
 Cradle of Civilization Map and Answer Key
Note: The map uses Hwang Ho. A more common
spelling is Huang He. It was formerly known as the
Yellow River.

Paper and pencil

Writing Prompt for
Objectives
The student will be able to:
-
-
locate the Nile River Valley, the Tigris and
Euphrates river system, the Indus River Valley
and the Huang He River on a map.
write an expository essay comparing the
similarities and differences of the river systems
and analyzing their impact on ancient
civilizations.
Procedures
Prerequisite Knowledge: Students should have a
background knowledge on the following four major
river systems and the ancient civilizations that
developed: Nile, Tigris and Euphrates, Indus and
Huang He. This is a culminating activity.
1. Distribute the Cradle of Civilization Information
Sheet and the Cradle of Civilization Map Key.
2. Have students read the clues and locate the Nile
River Valley, the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, the
Indus River Valley, and the Huang He River.
3. Have students write an essay comparing the
similarities and differences of the four river systems
and conclude their essay with an analysis on which
river they think suited early civilizations best and
why. (They should include facts about location and
place). A writing prompt is provided.
Assessment
The Cradle of Civilization map can be used to quiz
students on location of geographic features such as
the mountain ranges, deserts, seas, and the four
major river systems. Mastery will be considered
80% or higher.
Use the Simplified 6-Traits Writing Rubric to assess
essays for Ideas/Content with a 4 or higher being
considered mastery.
Extensions
Develop a Cause and Effect Chain to demonstrate
how the river systems impacted early civilizations'
economics and general development.
Use the map's coordinates to find the locations of the
river systems and other map features.
Sources
The World Past and Present East and West,
Macmillan/McGraw-Hill
Florida Geographic Alliance Map
<fga.freac.fsu.edu/maps.html>
Note: Map has Huang He as Hwang Ho.