Cuneiform and the Code of Hammurabi | Ancient History Worksheets
- Grades
- Grades 5–8
- File type
- Microsoft Word
- Editable
- Yes
- Subject
- Social Studies, History
- Topic
- Cuneiform, Code of Hammurabi
- Resource types
- Worksheets
- Editable
- Yes
Product description
From the author
This resource is a set of Ancient History Worksheets.
Included:
- Fun with Cuneiform
- The Code of Hammurabi
On the cuneiform activity sheet, students will love practicing and translating messages in cuneiform.
On the Hammurabi worksheets, students will read the laws of Hammurabi and answer questions about them.
Related resources
More resources teachers may find useful
24 related resources were found using this product's title, contributor, categories and tags.
In the classroom
Teaching tips & learning objectives
Learning objectives
Represent names and short messages using the worksheet’s cuneiform-inspired alphabet code and translate a partner's coded message
Read a sample of laws from the Code of Hammurabi and identify what behaviors they regulate
Evaluate whether historical laws are fair and compare them to modern legal standards
Teaching tips
Pair students for the secret-message activity so each writes a message with the worksheet’s alphabet code for a partner to translate
Use the six listed laws from the Code of Hammurabi as a discussion starter before students write their fair/unfair responses
Note that the worksheet states no comparable code of law has been found for ancient Egypt, which can prompt a compare-and-contrast discussion with other ancient civilizations studied in class
Skills covered
Symbolic writing systems — students encode and decode short messages using a simplified cuneiform-inspired alphabet code.
Historical text analysis — students read simplified classroom paraphrases of ancient laws and identify the behaviors they address.
Ethical reasoning — students evaluate the fairness of historical laws and compare them to modern legal norms.
Good to know
Questions teachers ask about this resource
What kinds of behavior do the listed laws from the Code of Hammurabi cover?
The six laws shown cover physical injury and retaliation (poking out an eye, breaking a bone, knocking out teeth), a builder's responsibility for a collapsing house, a son striking his father, and a doctor's error in surgery.
What two reflection questions do students answer about the Code of Hammurabi?
Whether the laws from the Code of Hammurabi seem fair or unfair, and whether similar laws could exist in the modern United States.
No reviews yet
Downloaded this resource? Tell other teachers how it went.
Resource details
Concepts & topics
Core concepts
Core concepts
Cuneiform writing
Code of Hammurabi
Ancient Mesopotamian law
Topics
Explore more
Categories this resource belongs to
Explore related searches
More to explore
