Drought Hardy Gardens 3rd - 6th | Lesson 1, Series #4
Ancient Agriculture
Key Topics: Agriculture, Irrigation, Climate Change, Flooding, Aqueducts, Dry Farming, Drought, Mesopotamia
Grade Levels: 3-6
Click here for #4 Series Description
Students will gain an understanding of their campus irrigation systems and contrast the pros and cons of different methods with a focus on creating drought-hardy gardens. Additionally, they will design their own watering system based on what they’ve learned
Essential Question(s) that Connect CCCs and SEPs:
Agriculture- The art and science of producing crops and raising livestock
Irrigation- How farmers apply water to their crops
Climate Change- The long-term change in the global temperature
Flooding- An overflow of water
Aqueducts- A man-made channel for moving water to where it is needed
Dry Farming- The growing of crops without any irrigation
Drought- When there is a lack of precipitation(rain) over a long period of time.
Mesopotamia- An ancient civilization located between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.
Engage:
Where did farming originate? Have humans always farmed? Actually humans have been around a lot longer than they have been farming. Before people started farming, what ways did they get their food? What are some reasons why people might have started to farm instead (they could produce more food that could be stored and stay in one place instead of moving around.) What is one thing that all farms need? That’s right water! Let’s go for a tour to see how our garden gets water.
Explore:
Tour the garden’s irrigation system. Turn the water on and point out different features such as drip irrigation, emitters, sprinklers,
Sentence Frame: We have an __________ ________ to efficiently water the plants in our school
Garden. (irrigation system)
Explain:
So you can see that in order for us to be able to farm. We use plastic tubes to irrigate (bring water) to the crops.
Think, Pair, Share: What did people used to do to bring water to their crops, before plastic was invented?
Agriculture originated in what we used to refer to as Mesopotamia - in what is now the middle east.
Thumbs up/down: Have you heard of mesopotamia before?
Ancient Mesopotamians built earth walls, called levees, along the sides of the river to prevent flooding. When the land was dry, they poked holes in the levees. The water flowed through the holes and into the thirsty fields. Farms were always placed at the edge of rivers where after a big rain the rivers would flood the fields bringing water that way. (Feel free to talk more about Mesopotamia and the history of farming).
Activity: Garden Irrigation Design
Reflect:
Invite students to share their designs. What are some ways you learned to save water today?
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