Unit Plan 12 (Grade 6 Social Studies): Hammurabi’s Code and Early Law
Explore how early law codes—especially Hammurabi’s—helped governments maintain order, security, and resource management while shaping ideas of justice, fairness, and rule of law that influenced later legal traditions.
Focus: Analyze the first law codes and how they served government purposes (order, security, resource management), shaped ideas of justice and fairness, and influenced later legal traditions.
Grade Level: 6
Subject Area: Social Studies (Civics • History • Inquiry/Skills)
Total Unit Duration: 5 sessions (one week), 50–60 minutes per session
I. Introduction
Students explore why early cities needed rules and enforcement, how codified law (e.g., Hammurabi’s Code) organized society, and what these laws reveal about power, status, and civic ideals. Through close reading of brief law excerpts, case simulations, and a mini–moot court, students connect ancient codes to enduring ideas like rule of law, justice, and the common good.
Essential Questions
- Why do governments create law codes, and how do laws promote order, security, and resource management?
- What does justice look like in Hammurabi’s Code, and how did status affect outcomes?
- How did early codified law become a turning point with legacies for later systems?
II. Objectives and Standards
Learning Objectives — Students will be able to:
- Explain how law codes address government purposes (order, security, managing resources/conflict).
- Interpret selected laws from Hammurabi’s Code to identify ideas about justice, equity, and rule of law.
- Compare penalties and procedures across status groups to analyze fairness and power.
- Describe why codified law is a historical turning point with legacies for later societies.
- Construct and present a claim about justice/fairness in a simulated case using evidence and citations.
Standards Alignment — 6th Grade (C3-based custom)
- 6.C3.Civ.1: Purposes/functions of governments (order, security, resource management).
- 6.C3.Civ.4: Interpret civic ideals (justice, rule of law, common good) across cultures/times.
- 6.C3.Hist.4: Identify turning points/big ideas (law codes) and their legacies.
Success Criteria — Student Language
- I can explain how a law code helps cities stay safe, orderly, and fair.
- I can use a specific law excerpt to argue how justice works in that case.
- I can describe why codified law matters beyond Mesopotamia and give one legacy example.