Grade: 6

Lesson: Social Hierarchy

Objective: Students will comprehend the difference between the social
classes of the ancient Sumerian society. Students will analyze how the lower
class were vital to the survival of Sumerian city-states.
Hook: If you were king of the classroom, what rules would you make?
Direct Instruction: Students have been learning about the different
aspects of Sumerian culture for the past couple weeks. Students are familiar
with the term social hierarchy, but have not yet gone in depth about the
differences between the 5 classes. Teacher will begin lesson with hook,
allowing students to share at least one rule that they would create. After the
students have shared, the teacher will introduce and explain the students to
the class pyramid, which allows students to have a visual of how the classes
worked in Sumerian culture. The teacher will ask the students what they
notice about the shape of a pyramid, guiding them towards that it is biggest
and strongest at the base. The teacher will introduce the five different
classes, and ask students where they think each class would fall on the
pyramid. After introducing the classes, the teacher will ask students to think
what kind of jobs would be part of different classes, with the teacher
providing examples that may be overlooked, like farmers and construction
workers. The teacher will ask students which jobs they think are most
important to the society, guiding them to those that produce food and
shelters are most important because without them, people would not
survive.
Guided Practice: Students will perform guided reading about the social
hierarchy in the Sumerian civilizations and complete a pyramid chart that
has been broken up into five different sections on separate pieces of paper.
The teacher will read the first three paragraphs with the students through
coral reading, pausing to ask discussion questions about the reading, as well
as asking students what important points from the reading should we
highlight. The teacher will pause and ask students what they thought was

important about the class they just read. After answer is given, teacher will
ask if that is something we should highlight, as well as where we should
place that on our pyramid. The teacher will guide students in this process
through the first three paragraphs.
Independent Practice: Students will read the remaing paragraphs in small
groups, following the same process that was done in guided practice.
Teacher will walk around, checking to make sure students are placing the
information in the correct sections of the pyramid chart. As closure and an
exit ticket, students will be asked: Which class do you think was most
important in society?
Assessment: Students will be assessed on their pyramid charts and exit
slips.

Population & Social Classes of Sumer

The population of ancient Sumerian cities changed all the time. 4000
years ago, one city had as many as 50,000 people living in it. Some
cities had 30,000 people and others had less than 10,000. The
populations of these cities were divided into social classes which we
call a social hierarchy. These classes were: The King and Nobility, The
Priests and Priestesses (upper class), The Middle Class, the Lower
Class, and The Slaves.
The king of a city was thought to have a special relationship with the
gods and to be able to talk with them. If a kings city produced a lot of
food and his people thrived, then people believed the gods and
goddesses liked the king. A powerful king would make his city bigger,
which would also show the people that the gods liked the king. One
king, named Sargon, was not liked by his people and they tried to take

his crown to give to somebody else. However, he was able to fight to

keep his crown and make his kingdom bigger and bigger. Even though
the people did not like their king, they believed he should be king
because he was able to fight to keep his crown and make his kingdom
much larger with the help of the gods and goddesses.
The priests and priestesses (upper class) watched over the ziggurat
and religious services. They could read and write, and people believed
they were fortune-tellers. Priests were also able to help sick or injured
people, and eventually became the first doctors and dentists. Priests
would help people make their offerings to the gods or goddesses,
where people would bring something, like an animal or some food, and
leave it at the ziggurat as a gift for the god or goddess. These gifts
were thought to bring good luck to the peoples lives, like making their
farm produce more food or allowing them to catch more fish.
The middle class included merchants who owned their own companies,
scribes, private tutors, and, in time, high-ranking military men. Other
occupations of the middle class were accountants, architects,
astrologers (who were usually priests), and shipwrights. People in the
middle class, as well as those above them, could all read and write
Cuneiform. The merchant who owned his own company, and did not
need to travel, was a man of leisure who could enjoy the best food and
drink in the city in the company of his friends while being served by
slaves. Scribes were highly respected and served in the temple and in
the schools. Every teacher was a scribe and only boys attended school.
The lower class was made up of those occupations which kept the city
working and people alive: farmers, artists, musicians, construction

workers, canal builders, bakers, basket makers, butchers, fishermen,

cup bearers, brick makers, carpenters, perfume makers, potters,
jewelry makers, goldsmiths, soldiers, sailors, and merchants who
worked for another mans company. Of those listed above, perfume
makers, jewelry makers, and goldsmiths could also be considered
upper class jobs if they were very good at what they did. Somebody in
the lower class was not stuck there, as they could become higher
classes with hard work. The lower class members were the backbone
of society. They provided all of the food for the people to eat, as well
as building houses and other structures for people to live in. Without
these people producing food and creating shelter, the upper classes
would not be able to survive.
The lowest social class were the slaves. One could become a slave in a
number of ways: being captured in war, selling oneself into slavery to
pay off a debt, being sold as punishment for a crime, being kidnapped
and sold into slavery in another region, or being sold by a family
member to relieve a debt. Slaves had no single ethnicity nor were they
only employed for manual labor. Slaves cleaned houses, tutored young
children, tended horses, served as accountants and skilled jewelry
makers, and could be employed in whatever capacity their master saw
they had a talent in. A slave who worked diligently for his or her
master could eventually buy their freedom.