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Grade 5 · Social Studies · Unit 3 of 7

Land and Water

How the environment shaped ancient life

What your child practises

How the Nile, the Tigris and Euphrates, the Andes, the Greek coast and the lakes of Mexico shaped farming, homes, tools and trade, and how droughts and floods created challenges.

Alberta Curriculum learning outcome: influence of the environment on ancient civilizations · how rivers, mountains, deserts and seas shaped farming, building and trade

Sample questions

A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.

  1. Question 1

    The Inca lived in the steep Andes mountains. What did they build to farm the slopes?

    🏔️
    • terraces, like steps in the hillside
    • skyscrapers
    • lakes on top of mountains
    • snowmobiles
    Show answer

    terraces, like steps in the hillside

    Hint: Terraces make flat land for crops and hold soil and water.

  2. Question 2

    Every year the Nile flooded and left rich soil. What did Egyptians do with this land?

    🌾
    • They left it empty
    • They covered it in ice
    • They grew crops like wheat and barley
    • They built boats on it
    Show answer

    They grew crops like wheat and barley

    Hint: The flood left fertile mud, which was good for farming.

  3. Question 3

    Greek land had little good farmland. What did many Greeks do?

    • They sailed and traded across the sea
    • They moved to the Arctic
    • They never used ships
    • They stopped eating
    Show answer

    They sailed and traded across the sea

    Hint: A long coastline made sea travel and trade easy.

  4. Question 4

    Mesopotamia had few trees and little stone. What did people build with?

    • ice blocks
    • wood only
    • mud bricks
    • steel
    Show answer

    mud bricks

    Hint: Clay was everywhere along the rivers, so bricks of clay and mud were used.

  5. Question 5

    A volcano erupts near a city and covers fields in ash. What might be a long-term effect?

    • Soil always dies forever
    • Nothing changes
    • The ash can make soil richer, but crops are lost at first
    • Rain stops everywhere
    Show answer

    The ash can make soil richer, but crops are lost at first

    Hint: Environmental events can have good and bad effects.

  6. Question 6

    Egypt's Nile flows north. Which direction did boats sail to go with the current?

    • west
    • up the mountains
    • south
    • north
    Show answer

    north

    Hint: Boats floated downstream, and the winds helped them sail upstream.

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