Curated OER
Deserts Puzzle
In this geography activity, students complete a crossword puzzle referring all to deserts. They identify the various types of desert land and what plants and animals can survive in these lands. Also, students identify the people who...
CommonLit
Common Lit: The Fertile Crescent
A learning module that begins with "The Fertile Crescent" by Joshua J. Mark, accompanied by guided reading questions, assessment questions, and discussion questions. The text can be printed as a PDF or assigned online through free...
Other
Macrohistory: Class, Power, and War Among the Sumerians
The oldest known civilizations developed in the area known as the Fertile Crescent. What was life like living during this time? Read about Sumer and learn about the earliest form of writing, how they governed, how they treated women, and...
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Mit: Open Course Ware: The Middle East in the 20th Century
Examining the history of the Middle East from the Ottoman Empire through to the present. Enhance lessons with these resources.
Khan Academy
Khan Academy: Jericho
The history of Jericho is rich and complex, punctuated with the same parade of triumphs and tragedies that so many other ancient cities have experienced. But Jericho's status as the most ancient city on Earth makes it unique. This...
Then Again
Then Again: Web Chron: Sumer, 3500 1900 Bc
Survey of ancient Sumer that describes Mesopotamian civilization's way of life, cities, religion, technology, and so on.
Able Media
The Asclepion: Medicine in Ancient Mesopotamia
This site is an online resource if you are researching medicine in Ancient Mesopotamia. Many sections include historical background, sources, concepts, and practitioners.
Other
Science Magazine: Reading the Signs of Ancient Animal Domestication
An article which discusses the size of the first animals domesticated by humans about 10,000 years ago. The author reviewed a study in which it was suggested that size reduction evidence may not be the first sign of domestication....
Discovery Education
Discovery Education: Exodus: History Writ Large
A lesson plan on the story of Moses and the Exodus. It is based on the video/DVD entitled "Exodus: History Writ Large."
Khan Academy
Khan Academy: Gallery: Civilization
Explore the images of this gallery and consider how increased productivity from the land, food surpluses, and swelling populations changed the types of communities that humans lived in.
University of Chicago
University of Chicago Library: Teaching the Middle East: Geography
Learning module on the physical geography of the Middle East considers the impact of the landscape and climate on both ancient and modern societies in the region.
Read Works
Read Works: Egypt, the Kingdom of Kush, and Mesopotamia
[Free Registration/Login Required] An informational text about the importance of flooding around the Nile River. A question sheet is available to help students build skills in reading comprehension.
The History Cat
The History Cat: The Neolithic Revolution
A look at some of the earliest humans and their cultures from the prehistoric era.