This week, learners imagine what would happen at school if there were no rules at all for a single day. They meet Hammurabi, a Babylonian king who created one of the earliest large collections of written laws, carved onto a stone pillar so people could know the rules ahead of time. Students explore what scribes did, how ideas about justice have changed over time, and why writing laws down and displaying them publicly was an important step in governing growing communities.

KEY IDEAS

• Hammurabi created one of the earliest large collections of written laws.
• Writing laws down meant people could know the rules ahead of time.
• Scribes were essential for recording laws and other important information.
• Ideas about justice have changed over time.
• Written law codes helped shape how later governments approached fairness and order.

SUGGESTED PICTURE BOOK
coming soon

HANDS-ON PROJECT
Create a "code of laws" by writing simple rules together, then discuss why communities need rules and how they help people live and work together.

VOCABULARY

• Law – a rule that a community agrees everyone must follow
• Code – a collected, organized set of laws
• Ruler – a person in charge of governing a place
• Scribe – a person trained to read and write, often keeping records
• Justice – fairness in how people are treated and punished

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

• Why do you think it mattered that laws were written down and displayed publicly?
• What's one household rule you think is really important, and why?
• How might life be different if communities didn't have written rules

Digging Deeper

• If you could write one rule everyone in the world had to follow, what would it be?
• Do you think rules should be the same for everyone, or different depending on the situation?
• Do you think a rule can be fair even if you don't like it? Why or why not?

TIMELINE

• c. 1894 BCE: Babylon becomes an independent kingdom in Mesopotamia.
• c. 1792 BCE: Hammurabi becomes king of Babylon.
• c. 1754 BCE: Hammurabi's Code is carved onto a stone pillar, creating one of the earliest large collections of written laws.
• c. 605 BCE: Nebuchadnezzar II becomes king and later expands Babylon, building monuments such as the Ishtar Gate.