Ancient Civilization Project

Description:In this project, students will work in small groups (3-4) to investigate an ancient civilization and prepare a group portfolio explaining key elements of that civilization. These elements will include religion, government, economy, social, and other aspects of that society.

Materials:You may use various textbooks or other books for your research. You may also use the internet. Part of the project does require you to list the sources you use so make sure you write down the title, authors, website and other important information down on your source list.

Goals/Objectives:SWBAT: study one ancient civilization in-depth, recognize and recall key features of several other civilizations, make generalizations about similarities and differences (Compare & Contrast) between civilizations, improve group work skills, reflect on individual and group performance.

Procedure:

  1. I will provide a Powerpoint and handout on ancient Egypt to provide a model of what kind of information I am looking for in your documents.
  2. Divide into groups
  3. Each group will select their civilization(s) from the project helmet
  4. Each group will collect research notes (divide the labor so that each team member has research notes on some part of the project) on their project using various books in the room or the internet. For this project I will provide you with a research notes handout that suggests questions you should answer with your research.
  5. Each group will create a group document from their research notes (see example for what this document will look like)
  6. Each team member will reflect on their performance and that of their team members and answer a brief self-evaluation sheet
  7. Each group will turn in a final product that consists of (1) group document, all research notes, a sources used list and all self-evaluation sheets
  8. This will be graded using the rubric provided to you in the “Group/Individual Project Handout” from earlier in the year

RESEARCH NOTES HANDOUT

(Split these different topics up so that each team member researches some of them. Make sure you put your name on your research notes)

Geography – Where were they located? What is the place called today? What effect did geography have on them? Were they isolated or near water? How did the geography shape the civilization?

Time Period – When did they emerge as a civilization? When was their peak? How long were they around? When did they fall?

Government – What type of ruler led them? How did they organize their government? What type of laws did they have?

Writing – What form of communication did they use? Did they have writing? What kind? Can we read it today? Why did they develop it? Did anyone else use it? What did they write about?

Religion – What kind of religion or beliefs did they have? Polytheistic or monotheistic (did they believe in lots of gods or just one)? Was religion and government combined or separate? Did they believe in life after death?

Economy – What role did trade have in this civilization? How important was it? What were the products they made and traded? Who or where did they do their trading?

Technology – What inventions did this civilization come up with? What did their clothes and tools look like? Did they have roads, irrigation? What did they develop?

Art/Architecture – What role did art play in this civilization? What kind of art did they have? What did their architecture (buildings) look like? What can we learn about them from their art and architecture?

Social – Was slavery a part of their civilization? Did they have different classes of citizens (slaves, workers, nobles)? What was daily life like for different types of people?

Military –What kind of military did they have? What happened to this civilization? Did they conquer others? Did they get conquered?

Contribution – What major contributions did this civilization make to the world? Are there still any of them in use today? What is their legacy (what did they leave us)?

Example of Group Document using Egyptian Civilization

This is a brief example your group documents will cover each topic

Geography

Egypt is located in North Africa. It is bordered by Sudan and Libya today and is close to Saudi Arabia. Egypt has a very dry climate and lots of desert land. Because of the arid climate and dry terrain, the Nile River was the major center of Egyptian life and civilization. Egypt is still a country in the modern world and never disappeared from history.

Time Period

Around 5000 BCE people began living in villages up and down the Nile Valley. Over the next few thousand years Egyptian civilization began to flourish. Around 3100 BCE a powerful ruler united the various cities on the Nile into a single system. The Egyptian civilization had many up and downs and was conquered by many other civilizations throughout world history.

Government

The Egyptian government was ruled by the pharaoh (sort of like a king). It was also theocratic, which means the people thought the pharaoh was a god. So religion and government was the same thing in Ancient Egypt. This belief allowed the Egyptian government to be really strong and force the people to work on huge projects like the Pyramids.

Writing

The Egyptian form of writing was known as hieroglyphics. It was a pictographic type of writing, meaning they used pictures to stand for words or sounds. They developed writing because of the growth of cities and farming and the need to manage huge projects. Writing was used to keep records and to account for food and materials.

Religion

Egyptians were polytheistic. They believed in many gods. The most important god was the sun god. They believed in life after death and believed you would be judged on your life. They believed there were three parts of humans: personality, spirit and body. They thought that if the personality and spirit could recognize the body, they would return to it for eternity. This led to the practice of mummification. They also buried people with everything they might need in the after life.

YOUR GROUP DOCUMENT WILL CONTINUE ON TO COVER THE OTHER TOPICS YOU DID RESEARCH ON.