QUESTION: Cool Texts about Ancient River Civilizations?

[John Isaacson]

Hello there!

I am teaching a Language Arts / Social Studies humanities blend class for sixth graders and our district's curriculum requires that we focus on Ancient River Civilizations. Does anybody have any ideas for readings other than Gilgamesh? Not like ancient river civilizations had a ton of literature, but any suggestions are much appreciated!

John 

[Phyllis Ain]

There is a bunch of fiction that works well for this grade level.  I understand that you are looking for authentic texts, but consider Rick Riordan's books for Egypt -- the Red Pyramid series.  At our school, we included the civilizations of Mesopotamia, Egypt, India and China in this group and thus included at some of the Confucius writings, excerpts from the Code of Hammurabi, Excerpts from Tales of the Arabian nights; and some of the writings attributed to Buddha.  There are trickster tales from India, as well.  I need to look over my list; have not taught this in a while, but I made every effort to connect to ancient and current lit.

[Shirley Durr]

 

Don’t forget the other ancient African kingdoms (besides Egypt)– specifically Kush (or Cush) which was located sort of where southern Egypt and Sudan are today (possibly including Ehiopia). The Kushite pharaohs were in ongoing conflicts with the Egyptian pharaohs and the kingdom lasted centuries.

Online resources on Kush

• A site for younger children?
• A video about a new discovery (2002) of hieroglyphs about the Kingd... 
• An encyclopedia article

Aida was a Kushite princess.Here's a synopsis of the story that is the opera by Verdi.

BOOKS: I understand you're looking for stories and poetry but I could find only nonfiction age-appropriate books. They're readable by 6th graders. Some are available as ebooks, online, on Amazon,or at the public library:

• The Ancient Kushites a Scholastic book by Liz Sonneborn (also avail...
• Nubian kingdoms by Edna R. Russmann
• The Nubians : people of the ancient Nile by Robert Steven Bianchi
• Legacy of a pharaoh: the united effort to save Abu Simbel by Trevor...

an About website about Abu Simbel for background

 

[Ryan Goble]

Have you looked into the Engineering an Empire series from the History Channel - in clips it is super high interest. 

ENGINEERING AN EMPIRE: THE SERIES, VOLUME I:

• GREECE: The cradle of Western civilization sustained remarkable technological advancement for over 1,000 years, including such masterpieces as the Tunnel of Samos and the Parthenon.
• GREECE: AGE OF ALEXANDER: After a century of tremendous accomplishment, Greece's territorial ambitions were stymied by constant warfare - until Alexander ventured abroad and initiated the Hellenistic era.
• THE AZTECS: The Aztecs became one of the greatest civilizations in history through brilliant military campaigns and technological mastery of their harsh environment.

ENGINEERING AN EMPIRE: THE SERIES, VOLUME II:

• CARTHAGE: Find out how Carthaginian engineers harnessed their extensive resources and manpower to develop some of the ancient world's most groundbreaking technology.
• CHINA: Century after century, China's regal emperors mobilized immense peasant armies to accomplish unfathomable feats - including the most ambitious construction project ever accomplished.
• RUSSIA: From the Moscow Kremlin to St. Petersburg to the Trans-Siberian railroad, examine the architecture and infrastructure that led to the rise and fall of the Russian Empire.

ENGINEERING AN EMPIRE: THE SERIES, VOLUME III:

• GREAT BRITAIN: Through the centuries, the British Empire used extraordinary engineering technology to become an industrial and military titan, giving rise to such inventions as the first locomotive.
• THE PERSIANS: The engineering feats of the mysterious Persian Empire include a water management system, a paved cross-continent roadway, and one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
• THE MAYA: By 900 AD, the once-glorious Mayan cities disappeared. Unravel the mystery surrounding this mythic civilization through its spectacular infrastructure and architecture.

You might also look forward at what happens when a river is destroyed TODAY - see

Four Toxic Rivers: A Super Sad True Superfund Story

or omg this excerpt - 

On the Trail of Cancer

see also 

Rebirth on the River: Washington’s Elwha Flourishing After Big Dam ...