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Early Agrarian Societies

Driving Question: Why did large agrarian states arise in some places but not others?

Complex agricultural societies emerged independently in different regions across the world, each shaped by its unique geography, climate, and resources. Explore the key similarities and differences of several early agrarian societies around the world to understand why geographic context influenced how they developed.

Learning Objectives:

  1. Evaluate the formation of early agrarian states and key similarities and differences between these societies.
  2. Evaluate early states in the Americas and consider how some of them challenge traditional ideas about states.
  3. Use the historical thinking practice of contextualization to understand and analyze early agrarian societies.

Vocab Terms:

  • contextualize
  • elite
  • inequality
  • infrastructure
  • legal code
  • oral tradition
  • ritual
STEP 1

Opener: Early Agrarian Societies

STEP 2

Contextualizing History

Teaching Tools

Check out the Contextualization One-Pager for more information on how we approach this skill in our courses.

To understand where we are, we must understand where we’ve been. That might sound like something from a self-help book, but you’ll soon see why knowing the context for an event is so important.

STEP 3

Societies Develop

Teaching Tools

Looking to provide feedback on your students’ adoption of the Three-Step Reading process? Read this conversation External link to learn how other teachers have handled this.

Farming led to both cities and states, but even though many societies had similar structures and strategies, they weren’t all the same.

STEP 4

Early Agrarian Societies Jigsaw

Teaching Tools

The Contextualization Feedback Form helps you and your students understand how well they’re learning this skill and the next steps they might need to take.

Each of the articles below explores a unique early agrarian society. Select one that you’ll use to complete the contextualization activity.

STEP 5

Ancestral Pueblo Societies

Teaching Tools

The OER Project Video Guide provides great information on best practices for using video in the classroom.

The Pueblo built a tremendous cultural zone in the American Southwest. How did they use migration to help their societies survive?

Communities of Movement External link

The Ancestral Pueblo built large, complex agricultural societies across the Colorado Plateau. Their farming communities relied on repeated migrations.

Key Ideas

As this video progresses, key ideas will be introduced to invoke discussion.
STEP 6

Closer: Early Agrarian Societies

Teaching Tools

Closers are a great way to informally evaluate student understanding. Read more about that in the OER Project Assessment Guide.

Extension Materials
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