Civilization Detectives Activity
Civilization Detectives
Mesopotamia & Egypt Mid-Domain Review
Peer Group Activity Grade 1
Group Names:
Team Name:
Date:
Team Steps:
1 Talk Together
2 Look at Visuals
3 Draw & Write
4 Team Star!
1 Farming & Food
Mesopotamia: Tigris & Euphrates Egypt: Nile River
👀 Mesopotamia Clue: Rivers, water canals, and wheat fields.
🎨 Your Draw: Canals & Crops
👀 Egypt Clue: The Nile floods and leaves rich dark soil (silt).
🎨 Your Draw: River Nile & Silt
Write with your group:
Word Bank: water wheat river crops
Farmers used from the river to grow .
2 Cities & Homes
Mesopotamia: Babylon & Ur Egypt: Thebes & Memphis
👀 Mesopotamia Clue: Mud-brick houses with flat roofs and city walls.
🎨 Your Draw: Mud-Brick Homes & Walls
👀 Egypt Clue: White homes along the Nile with columns & markets.
🎨 Your Draw: River Houses & Markets
Write with your group:
Word Bank: mud bricks walls homes together
People lived in cities and built homes out of .
Civilization Detectives • Small Group Review Page 1 of 3 (Continue to Page 2)
Civilization Detectives • Part 2
Writing Systems & Great Leaders
Team: _________________ | Page 2
3 Writing & Records
Mesopotamia: Cuneiform (Wedges on Clay) Egypt: Hieroglyphs (Papyrus Scroll)
👀 Mesopotamia Clue: Cuneiform wedge marks pressed into wet clay with a reed stylus.
🎨 Your Draw: Cuneiform Clay Tablet
👀 Egypt Clue: Hieroglyphic picture-writing painted on papyrus scrolls.
🎨 Your Draw: Hieroglyphs on Papyrus
Write with your group:
Word Bank: Cuneiform Hieroglyphs clay papyrus
Mesopotamia wrote and Egypt wrote .
4 Leaders & Laws
Mesopotamia: King Hammurabi & Law Code Egypt: The Pharaoh & Royal Crown
👀 Mesopotamia Clue: King Hammurabi made the first written laws on tall stone.
🎨 Your Draw: King & Stone Laws
👀 Egypt Clue: The Pharaoh wore the striped crown and held the crook & flail.
🎨 Your Draw: Pharaoh with Royal Crown
Write with your group:
Word Bank: King Pharaoh laws crown
A leader in Egypt was a and Mesopotamia had a .
Civilization Detectives • Small Group Review Page 2 of 3 (Continue to Page 3)
Civilization Detectives • Part 3
Religion & Team Celebration
Team: _________________ | Page 3
5 Religion & Temples
Mesopotamia: Ziggurats for the Gods Egypt: Pyramids & Sun God (Re)
👀 Mesopotamia Clue: Stepped Ziggurat temples with stairs reaching toward the sky.
🎨 Your Draw: Stepped Ziggurat
👀 Egypt Clue: Great Pyramids built for rulers and temples for the gods.
🎨 Your Draw: Pyramid & Temple
Write with your group:
Word Bank: gods ziggurat pyramid temples
People honored their by building big .
🌟
Small Group Talk & Share Circle
Share with Friends!
Talk Prompt:
"Which civilization would you want to visit: Mesopotamia or Egypt? Tell your group why!"
Example: "I want to see the pyramids in Egypt!"
Fast Match! (Draw a line):
🌊 Nile River
📜 Cuneiform
Mesopotamia 🏺
Egypt 🌴
Color your 5 Civilization Stars:
🌾 Farming ★
🏛️ Cities ★
📜 Writing ★
👑 Leaders ★
🌟 Religion ★
Civilization Detectives • Small Group Review ★ You are Civilization Experts! (Page 3 of 3)