Introduction to OUR WORLD &

ANCIENT CIVILISATIONSPrimary 5 Social Studies 2014

WELCOME TO ADVENTURE!THIS YEAR, WE WILL TRAVEL BACK IN TIME TO UNLOCK THE MYSTERIES OF THE PAST…

…AND DISCOVER HOW THEY AFFECT YOUR LIFE TODAY!

Our PastHow did WE come about?

How our Earth was FormedYou can read your textbook 5A from pg 4 to 11…

Or would you rather watch a video?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xsn3wpVAcjk

Our Earth and its CivilisationsScientists estimate that earth was formed 4.6

billion years agoHowever human civilisation (complex societies

living in cities) only started about 5,000 years ago

How do the two numbers compare?

4,600,000,000 5,000!

Pause and ReflectOur Earth is unique among planets – it is

the only one we know of suitable for LifeHuman life and civilisations have only

existed for a very short time compared to our planet

How then should we view our place on this planet? How should we treat it?

Big idea: INTERACTIONSMan interacts with

The natural environmentHuman communities

By adapting to the environment, and co-operating with people, Man created ancient Civilisations which still awe us today

In the next three weeks, WE WILL LEARN ABOUT…Our Earth – how it beganThe World we live inUnderstanding dates in historyHow we know about the pastFeatures of a Civilisation

WHAT is a Civilisation?We will discuss this in more detail in a later lessonFor now, just remember that a Civilisation:

Is a complex society living in citiesHas a large populationRequires large amounts of food and water

Civilisations we will exploreSUMER and EGYPT

Civilisations we will exploreGREECE and ROME

Civilisations we will exploreCHINA and INDIA

Civilisations we will exploreAs you learn about these 6 Civilisations this year, think about WHY they were selected for you to study

Our World and its CivilisationsWork with a partner to complete this worksheet

You have 20 minutes to complete it

Our World and its Civilisations1. How many continents are there in the world? 72. The day-to-day amount of rainfall, sunshine, wind

speed and cloud cover are known as the weather3. Climate refers to the weather pattern in an area

over a long period of time. 4. Two important elements of climate are amount of

rainfall and temperature levels. These affect the kind of vegetation / plants which can grow in that area.

5. Climate also affects the design of peoples’ houses, what food they eat and their activities.

6. All over the world, people learned to adapt to their climate and environment.

Our World and its CivilisationsANCIENT

CIVILISATIONS(pg. 54-55)

ON WHICH CONTINENT WERE THEY FOUND IN?

(pg. 12-13)

WHAT VEGETATION TYPE IS FOUND IN THAT

CIVILISATION’S LOCATION? (pg. 24-25)

CAN THE WORLD’S MAJOR MOUNTAIN RANGES BE FOUND

THERE? (pg. 20-21)

SUMER  ASIA  DESERT  NO

EGYPT  AFRICA  DESERT  NO

GREECE  EUROPE / ASIA  TEMPERATE FOREST

NO 

ROME  EUROPE  TEMPERATE FOREST

NO 

CHINA  ASIA  TEMPERATE FOREST

NO 

INDIA  ASIA  GRASSLAND NO 

*You must compare the FOUR different world maps

Our World and its Civilisations8. Which of the world’s vegetation types do NOT appear in the table above? Rainforest, Tundra (Mountainous Area)

and Tundra (Arctic)

9. Based on your answers in parts 7 and 8 above, WHY do you think the six civilisations did not develop in certain areas of the world? (Go to next slide)*You must compare the FOUR different world maps

Our Climatic Zones

*You must compare the FOUR different world maps

Our World and its Civilisations9. Based on your answers in parts 7 and 8 above, WHY do you think the six civilisations did not develop in certain areas of the world?

They did not develop in the northern and southern Tundra areas as these are very cold climates where crops cannot grow. Hence large numbers of people cannot live there.

Rainforests have thick jungle and it is hard to create farms and large buildings there.

Mountains are cold and windy. It is difficult to grow crops there.

Our World and its CivilisationsAs you can see, mankind has adapted to

different climatesThrough human ingenuity, great civilisations

arose even in hot, dry desert climates or extremely cold climates.

As you can see on pg 40 - 43, there are examples of people living in the tundra and cities built on mountaintops!

Adapting to Our EnvironmentThe BajauThey live in the waters around Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines. They get their food by fishing.

Before

After

An example of adaptation…(This won’t be tested, don’t worry!)We assume that air-conditioning is a very

modern inventionWe love using it, but it consumes huge

amounts of power (ask your parents!)Older air-conditioners also produce toxic

gases which destroy earth’s ozone layer

An example of adaptation…Now, can you imagine air-conditioning

technology…

That can make a house cold even in the hottest climates?

That does not require ANY energyProduces NO pollutionAND IS THOUSANDS OF YEARS OLD?

An example of adaptation…Long ago, the people of Persia (Iran) built WIND

CHIMNEYS as part of their homesTheir climate is hot, dry and windy.

Image from: http://www.kuriositas.com/2012/06/windcatchers-of-persia.html

These “wind chimneys” would direct moving air into homes, forcing out hot air

The moving air would keep the house cool even on hot days

Basements were sometimes so cold that food could be kept there without rotting

Even today many homes in desert areas use this ancient technology

Architects around the world have begun to adopt this idea

ADAPTATIONAs you can see, clever ideas from

centuries ago can still inspire and help us today

There are many more such brilliant inventions which man created to master his environment

We will learn about such inventions throughout this year

What we have learnt today:Our earth is much older than human

civilisationsOur earth is made up of 7 continents, with

different climatesCivilisations are complex societies Civilisations need enough food and water to

sustain a large populationCivilisations arose in different climatesMan has been able to adapt to various

climates

For our next lesson…You are a group of ancient settlers trying to

find a location to settle down. Which location within the school would you choose? Why?

For our next lesson…HOW do you think large groups of people

were able to grow enough food and get fresh drinking water?

YES – RIVERS!

Homework!Complete the worksheet “Rivers and

Civilisations” before the next lesson