Pre-Planning: This lesson plan is for 6th grade social studies students in Charlotte, NC.
It
is a part of week 2 of the Mesopotamia Unit.
OBJECTIVE
What will your students be able to do?
Standards:
6.H.1.2 Summarize the literal meaning of historical
documents in order to establish context.
6.H.1.3 Use primary and secondary sources to
interpret various historical perspectives.
Objective: I can determine if Hammurabi’s Code is
just by analyzing primary and secondary sources.
PREREQUISITE SKILLS
What will your students need to know to
master the grade-level objective?
Students will need to have at least a basic
understanding of the following:
 Mesopotamia (what is Mesopotamia?)
 Keys to a Civilization (Government)
 Government
 Law & Order
 Babylonian Empire
 King Hammurabi of the Babylon Empire
These above concepts and topics are either
discussed in the week prior to this lesson when the
Mesopotamia unit is introduced or in the first weeks
of school when the basics of social studies are
introduced. The keys to a civilization, including
government and law and order are concepts the
students have already been exposed to. Students will
have to learn how to apply these concepts and topics
to what they are learning about Hammurabi’s Code.
CONNECTION TO ACHIEVEMENT GOAL
How does the objective connect to your
achievement goal?
The objective connects to the achievement goals in a
few ways. Sixth grade social studies students are
expected to know what Hammurabi’s Code is and its
significance in history, which is being taught during
this lesson plan. I am teaching Hammurabi’s Code
through a Document Based Question (DBQ) activity
that takes three class periods. Students will spend
these three days digging into primary and secondary
sources to determine if Hammurabi’s Code is just. Commented [1]:
My school requires that teachers use “I can” statements for
Not only are students gaining a deep understanding our objectives this school year. I have grown to really like
of Hammurabi’s Code, it’s significance, examples, using this, because students are better able to interpret and
and other interpretations of the law codes, but understand what their personal objective is for each class
students are also developing their critical and period.
analytical thinking, reading, and writing skills. My big
goal is for my students to not just know about all of
the ancient history details that I teach to 6th graders,
but to be able to interpret history based off of real
sources. Providing students with the opportunity to
evaluate sources and answer big historical questions,
like “Is Hammurabi’s Code just?” allows students to
problem-solve to discover history. This also allows for
students to know that their perspectives are valued
when brought to the classroom learning, rather than
just being told how things were in history. Commented [2]:
Each student enters the classroom with their own basket full
of knowledge. Having students involved in the construction
DIAGNOSTIC of knowledge (learning about Hammurabi’s Code) and
examining the topic from multiple perspectives (sources)
How will you assess students’ mastery of help in making the culture of the classroom inclusive to all
these foundational skills? students (Villegas & Lucas, 2002). My hope is that students
are building their understandings of Hammurabi’s Code
In the first week of the Mesopotamia unit, several through this analysis by viewing multiple different
warm ups and exit tickets will review this prior perspectives, and forming their own perspectives based off
information so that students are well-equipped for the of the history. This is important in valuing what students are
Document Based Question (DBQ) assignment for this bringing to my classroom.
day’s class. This assignment requires higher-level
thinking so I want my students to be well prepared for
the lesson. Warm ups and exit tickets will be
reviewed and re-taught within lessons during the
week prior so that by this day’s lesson, students are
ready to focus on tackling the documents after the
background reading.
Preplanning

ASSESSMENT
How will you know whether your students have made progress toward the objective? How and
when will you assess mastery?

This lesson is a bit different in that the activity in this lesson (the Document Based Question,
DBQ) takes three days for students to cover. This is the first day of the three days of this
activity. On this first day of the DBQ activity, students are going to be getting introduced to the
question and the activity, being given background information that will assist when they arrive
to the documents, and begin taking a look at the first document. Students will show mastery
on day 8 of this unit, which is the third day of this DBQ activity, because students will be taking
all the information they have gathered from these lessons to create an essay, which answers
the big question: Was Hammurabi’s Code just? This will assess mastery of the objective: I can
determine if Hammurabi’s Code was just by analyzing primary and secondary sources.
Students will complete checks for understanding throughout these lessons to ensure they are
on the correct path. Students will also answer an exit ticket question at the end of the day’s
lesson to answer the big question using the information they have gathered from the first day
of the DBQ. Mastery is being continuously assessed over the three day period of the DBQ Commented [3]:
activity, but the big assessment is the writing activity which is on day three of this activity. As a culturally responsive teacher, I try to create a classroom
environment in which all students are encouraged to make
KEY POINTS sense of new ideas rather than merely to memorize
What three to five key points will you emphasize? predigested information, and I can do this through inquiry
tasks like this DBQ activity (Villegas & Lucas, 2002).

 King Hammurabi of the Babylonian Empire created strict law codes with harsh My students are also interested in this type of inquiry about
justice. Sixth graders care strongly about fairness and justice
punishments that were written down for all Mesopotamians to see. within our school. If they feel like someone is not being
 How to read and analyze the law codes “fair,” they are furious. Students are invested in learning
about what is just and not just in history.
 The just aspects of Hammurabi’s laws Commented [4]:
This lesson is the start of a three-day series revolving around
 The unjust aspects of Hammurabi’s laws this DBQ activity. This is why the opening for this lesson is
 Student interpretation of how Hammurabi’s Code overall affected the people living in much longer than my typical lesson plan openers. It is setting
the stage for the next three days, and the goal is that it is
Mesopotamia- do students think people appreciated them or were unhappy with the investing students in the task at hand.
laws?
Margaret Heritage explains the necessary components in
developing a learning progression for students: linking major
building blocks in a way students understand, teachers
Lesson Cycle agreeing on this process, and research agreeing on the
process (Heritage, 2012). The DBQ assignment has very
OPENING- Part A (_20_ min.) MATERIALS specific steps, which involve a deeply guided introduction
that paves the way for a better understanding of the more
critical and analytical thinking components of the lesson.
The stages and steps for this DBQ project given by the
district are not only agreed upon by other teachers as
building the blocks for learning, but also by the CMS
district. Looking through this lesson, and picturing the
following two days of the lesson, there is an obvious
progression of learning from building the basic building
blocks about the topic to analyzing sources, to formulating
one’s own evaluation and argument about the topic.
Students are given the first five minutes of class to type their warm up review Student
answers into Socrative. Students must type in complete sentences, and they may Chromebooks,
use their social studies notebooks to assist with anything they may have forgotten. access to
The class warm up is review questions about what students have already learned Socrative,
about Mesopotamia on topics that will relate to today’s lesson: SmartBoard to
1. Who was the famous ruler of the Babylonian empire and what did he create that pose the Hook
he is well remembered for? questions
2. What was one strength and one weakness of the Babylonian Empire?
3. How did the invention of writing (cuneiform) in Mesopotamia affect the civilization?

After completing the warm up, students will discuss their answers with their group
members, then a few students will share out their answers with the entire class to
review the warm up.

Teacher: Last week, we began learning about Mesopotamia, our first river valley
civilization. We discussed how innovations impacted the Mesopotamian people and
still impact us today, and how different empires and invasions impacted the
civilization. Today, we are going to tie both of these concepts into a Document
Based Question, or DBQ, activity revolving around Hammurabi, king of the
Babylonian Empire, and his law codes he created. You will view several different
documents to gather information to be able to answer the essential question: Was
Hammurabi’s Code just?

Hook Exercise: What is justice?

Leaders throughout history have had to grapple with the task of creating just, or fair,
laws. One such leader was Hammurabi, whose laws are the subject of this DBQ.
Hammurabi’s concern was creating just laws for the people of Babylonia 4,000 years
ago.
Task 1: With a partner, talk through the two cases below and discuss the questions
that follow.
Case A: Eddie is caught shoplifting a cell phone at Best Buy. Eddie is 15 years old.
It is a first offense. The police call his parents, and Eddie returns the phone. There
will be no criminal record.
In judging whether this is a fair handling of the case, ask:
 Is it fair to Eddie?
 Is it fair to Best Buy?
 Is it fair to society? Is it in the best interest of society?
Commented [5]:
Case B: J.D. is caught shoplifting a cell phone at Best Buy. J.D. is 19 years old. This Learning goals should be communicated clearly to students
(Heritage, 2012). I attempt to explain the events for the day
will be his third felony conviction, all for shoplifting. Because of the Three Strikes
and how they connect to our overall unit.
law, his state requires that he serve a minimum of ten years in prison with no chance
of parole. Dominguez, Sarah K.
In judging whether this is a fair handling of the case, ask: Students begin and end class in the same way every day.
 Is it fair to J.D.? They answer warm up and exit ticket questions on Socrative.
 Is it fair to Best Buy? Sixth grade students need structure and by having a regular
 Is it fair to society? Is it in the best interest of society? procedure for how class begins and ends each day provides
them with this structure.
Task 2: Pick one rule in your school. Then decide if it is just. Explain. Dominguez, Sarah K.
 Is it fair to the rule breaker? This hook exercise uses a prompt that aims to access prior
 Is it fair to those who are harmed? knowledge or understanding about the subject matter or its
 Is it fair to the greater school community? themes is one way to engage students and capture their
interest (Teach For America, 2011). I know that my students
INTRODUCTION OF NEW MATERIAL- Part B (_15_ min.) MATERIALS care strongly about fairness and justice in the sixth grade and
investing them in this historical DBQ by focusing on the
theme of justice and how it relates to modern day will draw
my students in.
After the hook, and before getting started on the documents for the DBQ, students
will read through a background essay, titled: “Hammurabi’s Code: Was It Just?” This
essay has guiding questions and reviews vocabulary that students have already
seen and are going to see in the coming documents.
The background essay is provided for students on each of their own chromebooks,
but before students open their chromebooks and begin working on the essay, they
are going to listen to it as a class. The background essay will be posted on the
SmartBoard and the “read aloud” option will be used so that the class can hear and
follow along with the essay together. The teacher will stop at certain points for
students to write down the main ideas and then discuss them with their table groups.
Once we have gone through the background essay as a class, students will use
their own version of the essay on their chromebooks to answer the background
essay questions. Students will complete these questions on their own first, but then
go over them with their group. The teacher will circulate to monitor that students are
getting the targeted answers. We will go over the main and necessary points as a
class afterwards.
At this point, students should be well equipped and prepared to take on the primary
and secondary sources revolving around Hammurabi’s Code.
GUIDED PRACTICE- Part C (_20_ min.)
Students will be viewing several different sources over the next several days, so it is
important that they are set up well to know how to go through and analyze these
sources before they go at them alone. Students will pull up Document A on their own
Chromebook screens, and it will be on the class board as well. The teacher will
prompt students to start analyzing the document with questions before getting
started on the guiding questions beneath the document. Document A is an image of
the Stele of Hammurabi’s Code with notes to the side explaining each section of the
stele. This document comes from the ancient artifacts section of the Louvre Museum
in Paris, France.
Students will be asked to note:
 What do you notice about the stele?
 What do you think the picture at the top represents?
The teacher will then model how to go through the document by doing the first
section for the students to observe. She will then guide students through the second
section by having students discuss what they see in that section of the stele and
having a student read that section. Being the first document out of a series of
documents, the class will go through the rest of the sections on Document A
together as a class, annotating as they go.
Students will work in their table groups to answer the guiding questions about
Document A after they have gone through the entire document with the teacher and
class. All answers on the document must be typed in complete sentences.
INDEPENDENT PRACTICE- Part D (_10_ min.)
Background
Essay,
Background
Essay
Questions,
SmartBoard,
Individual
student
chromebooks
Commented [6]:
The background essay assignment is introducing the new
MATERIALS material to students.
Dominguez, Sarah K.
This step is important for me to be able to emphasize the
most important details that students need to know. This is
where I will go over the most important main ideas rather
than giving excessive information that can overwhelm
students (Teach For America, 2011).
Commented [7]:
Effective teachers model skills by going through the key
steps for their students (Teach For America, 2011). Although
this is not my students’ first DBQ assignment, they are still
new to this and need much guidance. I will be showing them
exactly how to take a part the first section of Document A so
they see how to work and annotate throughout the documents
on their own later.
Dominguez, Sarah K.
I am able to guide students through this practice and gauge
student practice and clarify steps and points (Teach For
America, 2011). Again, this is not my students’ first DBQ
project, but it is still somewhat new to them and analyzing
documents on their own is still a difficult task. This step is
important that I am able to monitor and clarify any
misconceptions students may have on how to annotate and
analyze their documents. I will continue to do this over the
next two lessons as well.
MATERIALS
Commented [8]:
Being the first day of a three-day lesson series, the
independent practice is kept to a minimal in this class period.
I want to ensure that students are being given explicit
guidance on these documents before being let on their own
to dig into the documents. I would prefer to guide my
students through these documents in great detail, even if it
takes longer, rather than have them start going through the
documents on their own and getting it all wrong along the
way.
After students have deeply analyze Document A with the teacher, the class, and
their individual table groups, students will reflect on two questions about the first
document:
1. Is there any evidence in this document that can be used to argue that
Hammurabi’s Code was just?
2. Is there any evidence in this document that can be used to argue that
Hammurabi’s Code was not just?

These two questions are the last questions on the document that students must type
in their responses for in complete sentences. Students at this point are starting to
gather their first pieces of evidence for either side of the argument to the question:
Was Hammurabi’s Code just?

CLOSING- Part E (_5_ min.) MATERIALS

Students will answer their regular review of the lesson questions on Socrative. The
last question ties in overall goal of this three-day lesson series:
1. In general terms, what is Hammurabi’s Code?
2. Why was it important that Hammurabi wrote his laws down on a stele for all
to see?
3. Based on the background information you received today and Document A,
do you think that Hammurabi’s Code was just? Why or why not?
(Remember, you will be viewing several more documents over the next two
days that might change your mind!)
Socrative
access,
Chromebook
Commented [9]:
At the end of class each day, I use review exit ticket
questions to see if students have grasped the main ideas of
the day’s lesson. This day’s lesson as the introduction to the
three-day DBQ activity is important that students understand
the basics about Hammurabi’s Code. The last question is
connecting the overall goal of the three day DBQ assignment
by having students begin to answer the essential question
using just the first document.