Neolithic · About 10,000-6000 BC

The first farmers of the Fertile Crescent

Wheat, barley, lentils, sheep and goats: the first farmers of the Fertile Crescent changed how humans live. Students trace the arc of hills where farming began, follow it into Europe and South Asia, and weigh its gains and costs.

Teach it live New Open on the map
Length
50 minutes
Ages
11–14
On the map
3 steps, 8000 BC to 5000 BC
Live lesson
7 rounds, 3 on the map
Worksheet
Two A4 pages, with Classroom
You need
A projector; phones for live

Live lesson · new in Classroom

Teach it live. The class answers on their phones.

Put the board on the projector. Students join with a six-digit code, no account needed, and tap the map: where was the frontier, where did the grain come from. Their pins drop in together when you reveal, and the closest student takes the round.

€19 per month: every lesson live, every worksheet, cancel anytime. Rome at its height runs live for free.

A live lesson on the projector: the class's pins on the map around Alexandria, the closest students listed beside it A student's phone: the question and a map to tap
7 rounds
3 places to find on the map, quiz questions, a class vote and a one-line answer.
About 15 minutes
Run it as the map step, or to open the discussion. You move on with the space bar.
A report
Every answer, per student and per round, to read back or print after the lesson.
1

Introduction

5 min

Read aloud

Wheat, barley, lentils, sheep and goats: the first farmers of the Fertile Crescent changed how humans live. Students trace the arc of hills where farming began, follow it into Europe and South Asia, and weigh its gains and costs.

By the end of the lesson, students can

  • Locate the Fertile Crescent and name its first crops and farm animals.
  • Explain how farming changed the way people lived, for better and for worse.
  • Trace how farming spread from the Near East into Europe.
2

Explore the map

15 min

Project the map, or let students follow on their own devices. Each step opens the map at the right year and place.

a

8000 BC

The Fertile Crescent

Open the map in 8000 BC. Trace the arc of hills from the Jordan valley north into Anatolia and down along the Zagros Mountains. Find the areas labeled as Neolithic farmers. Why did farming start in these hills and not in the deserts?

Open this view on the map
b

8000 BC

Wild goats of the Zagros

Zoom in on the Zagros Mountains in western Iran. People here were among the first to herd goats, about 10,000 years ago. What does a herder need that a hunter does not?

Open this view on the map
c

5000 BC

Farming moves west

Jump to 5000 BC and look at Anatolia and southeastern Europe. Farming reached Greece by about 6500 BC and then spread into Europe. Which way would you take it: by land or by sea?

Open this view on the map
3

Class discussion

15 min

Pick two or three. They run from what happened to why it mattered.

  1. Early farmers often worked longer hours than hunter-gatherers. So why did people start farming?
  2. Wheat, barley, lentils, sheep and goats all came from the Fertile Crescent. Why did farming begin where these wild plants and animals lived?
  3. Skeletons show that many early farmers were shorter and had worse teeth than hunter-gatherers. How could farming make health worse?
  4. Farmers could store food. How might stored food lead to rich and poor, and to fighting?
  5. Some historians call farming the most important change in human history. Do you agree? Why or why not?
4

Game round

10 min

Play one round of Rule History as Hatshepsut, the earliest ruler in the game. Notice how her Egypt depends on grain, and remember that Egypt's wheat and barley first came from the Fertile Crescent. Could any of her decisions have existed without the first farmers?

Open Rule History
5

Worksheet

5 min

This worksheet comes with Classroom

€19 per month unlocks every worksheet, every live lesson and the class workspace. The free lesson prints without a subscription.