Ms. Kathleen Doherty

INTRODUCTION:

Picture this:

Sumer 1800 BC. You and a few fellow time travelers are here, at the land between the rivers.

TASK: You and your fellows are going to prepare a presentation to share your findings. As a group, you will be interviewing some of the ‘movers & shakers’ in ancient Mesopotamia; describing and capturing pictures or drawings of the most interesting of your finds; creating a map of the region; and lastly telling the story of a day in the life of your average man, woman, & child in this ancient land. Of course you wouldn’t want to have to do all this on your own, in a strange place! That’s why you have a group, to divide and conquer!

PROCESS:

Your group of three or four, (if you are in a group of three, you will not need to assign a cartographer), will divide up the roles you will each complete. While there will be a ‘group grade’ you will all be individually graded for your work. In all roles you will need to do research, either online or at the library. Each role is of equal importance, just a reminder that part of your group grade is working efficiently and cooperatively within the group.

Once you have your role, prepare a list of questions you need to have answers to, (in other words, brainstorm), I’ll be giving you a list of good links to start with, but you are free to seek out others, as well as information from books, magazines, etc. Found at the library. Be sure to keep track of any sources that you use, this means the 'page' you took the information off of. For instance, you would NOT give me this link, rather you would cite This link!

The group needs to decide how they will present their information, it may be that several methods will be employed: For instance it might be partially a power point, role playing interviews, posters, or travel guides. You might have 'guests' you bring back in your time machine and interview using modern technology. Only your imaginations and time constraints will limit you!

ROLES:

The Journalist:

Your task will be to find some interesting people to interview, perhaps Hammurabi, Gilgamesh, or Abraham for starters? A good place to begin would be with the names found in your textbook, though you may find some interesting people while doing research on any of them. Often one person leads to many more, but as a journalist, you know that! The sort of questions you might ask, (and answer), would be along the lines of their position? What they have accomplished? The impact on their civilization? Their families? Of course you will have other questions and answers you will share in your presentation.

The Historian:

You will gather the information on the daily life of people in Mesopotamia. There were many achievements by these ancient people, you will want to illuminate them. You will want to explain any differences between the responsibilities or roles of men/women; boys/girls; rich/poor; slaves/free. What did they eat? What holidays were there? Festivals? Games? School? What did people do for a living? What did they invent? I’m certain you will come up with more questions.

The Museum Curator:

You will search for images or draw pictures of things that would be found in ancient Mesopotamia. Architecture, untensils, jewelry, games, toys, etc. You will explain to your audience the importance or usefulness of the items presented. Your presentation will be visually appealing and easy to follow.

The Cartographer:

You will make the map, adding your own personal stamp on it. For instance, there might be details added regarding irrigation; what certain cities were known for. All major cities will be listed and the map will be presented in a neat, visually appealing manner. There must be latitude and longitude lines; a legend; a compass rose; and a title. You may want to try this online site to create one free?

EVALUATION: Rubrics follow

CONCLUSION: At the completion of your presentation both the presenters and their audience should have a better understanding of the civilization of ancient Mesopotamia. We should have a clear idea of daily life, government, and tools used over 1500 years ago!

USEFUL LINKS FOR ALL:

Geography, daily life, Gilgamesh, …

The British Museum

How to cite sources

STANDARDS:

14.C.3 Compare historical issues involving rights, roles and status of individuals in relation to municipalities, states and the nation.

15.D.3b Explain how comparative advantage forms the basis for specialization and trade among nations.

15.D.3c Explain how workers can affect their productivity through training and by using tools, machinery and technology

16.A.3a Describe how historians use models for organizing historical interpretation (e.g., biographies, political events, issues and conflicts).

16.A.3b Make inferences about historical events and eras using historical maps and other historical sources.

16.B.3b (W) Identify causes and effects of the decline of the Roman empire and other major world political events (e.g., rise of the Islamic empire, rise and decline of the T’ang dynasty, establishment of the kingdom of Ghana) between 500 CE and 1500 CE.

16.D.3 (W) Identify the origins and analyze consequences of events that have shaped world social history including famines, migrations, plagues, slave trad

16.E.3a (W) Describe how the people of the Huang He, Tigris-Euphrates, Nile and Indus river valleys shaped their environments during the agricultural revolution, 4000 - 1000 BCE.

16.E.3b (W) Explain how expanded European and Asian contacts affected the environment of both continents, 1000 BCE - 1500 CE

17.A.3b Explain how to make and use geographic representations to provide and enhance spatial information including maps, graphs, charts, models, aerial photographs, satellite images.

17.C.3a Explain how human activity is affected by geographic factors.

17.C.3b Explain how patterns of resources are used throughout the world.

17.C.3c Analyze how human processes influence settlement patterns including migration and population growth.

STATE GOAL 18: Understand social systems, with an emphasis on the United States.

A. Compare characteristics of culture as reflected in language, literature, the arts, traditions and institutions.

B. Understand the roles and interactions of individuals and groups in society.

Rubrics

Group Rubric

	Exemplary 4	Accomplished 3	Developing 2	Beginning 1	Score
Task Completion	All tasks were completed on time	Most tasks were completed on time	Some tasks were completed on time	Few or no tasks were completed on time	1 2 3 4
Time on task	Used class time effectively in all cases	Mostly used time effectively	Time was used effectively more often than not	Poor use of time	1 2 3 4
Cooperation	Outstanding behavior with group members	Satisfactory behavior	Some teacher intervention was required to maintain good behavior	Teacher had to maintain focus of group. Bickering within group	1 2 3 4
Group Report Content	All information was organized with good details and examples. The research led to clear answers	The information was organized and answered the questions in some detail	The content addresses the questions but not clearly written and/or organized	Little content presented. Lack of focus on content	1 2 3 4
Mechanics	Little or no grammar or spelling errors. Own words used. Sources cited	Few mistakes; words are author’s own. Sources cited	Several mistakes. Mostly written in author’s own voice. Cited sources not complete and/or not clearly understood	Many grammatical and/or spelling errors. Plagiarism evident	1 2 3 4
Presentation	Presentation was visually effective and held the attention of audience. The map, artifacts and interviews were used to good effect	Presentation was complete and conveyed the necessary information. Presenters used information to good effect	Presentation was somewhat effective. Some information was not utilized effectively	Presentation was ineffective, due to disorganization and/or lack of understanding of material	1 2 3 4
Score					/24

Individual Rubrics

Journalist

	Exemplary 4	Accomplished 3	Developing 2	Beginning 1	Score
Good questions and answers	Questions and answers were well related to the accomplishments meant to be highlighted	The questions and answers were related to the information that wanted to be conveyed	There were questions and answers, but not always related to important information	The questions and answers were ineffective in presenting information	1 2 3 4
Choice of presentation method	The presentation was creative,, interesting, and informative	The presentation was mostly effective in delivering the necessary information	The presentation method chosen conveyed the necessary information, but was difficult to follow	The presentation method chosen was not effective, the audience was unable to gain the information	1 2 3 4
Work in groups	Was focused and on task. Helped other group members	Mostly focused on task. Willing to help others	Used some time effectively.	Needed more direction than appropriate or had trouble working with group	1 2 3 4
Score					/12

Individual Rubrics

Curator

	Exemplary 4	Accomplished 3	Developing 2	Beginning 1	Score
Good use of choices for artifacts	The drawings/ images chosen were well related to the accomplishments meant to be highlighted	The drawings/ images chosen were related to the information that wanted to be conveyed	The drawings/ images chosen were not always related to important information or were repetitious	The drawings/ images chosen were ineffective in presenting information	1 2 3 4
Choice of presentation method	The presentation was creative,, interesting, and informative	The presentation was mostly effective in delivering the necessary information	The presentation method chosen conveyed the necessary information, but was difficult to follow	The presentation method chosen was not effective, the audience was unable to gain the information	1 2 3 4
Work in groups	Was focused and on task. Helped other group members	Mostly focused on task. Willing to help others	Used some time effectively.	Needed more direction than appropriate or had trouble working with group	1 2 3 4
Score					/12

Individual Rubrics

Historian

	Exemplary 4	Accomplished 3	Developing 2	Beginning 1	Score
Information Presented	Information was well related to the accomplishments meant to be highlighted	The information was related to the information that wanted to be conveyed	Choice of what to present as material, was sometimes not important	The information was irrelevant to our studies	1 2 3 4
Choice of presentation method	The presentation was creative,, interesting, and informative	The presentation was mostly effective in delivering the necessary information	The presentation method chosen conveyed the necessary information, but was difficult to follow	The presentation method chosen was not effective, the audience was unable to gain the information	1 2 3 4
Work in groups	Was focused and on task. Helped other group members	Mostly focused on task. Willing to help others	Used some time effectively.	Needed more direction than appropriate or had trouble working with group	1 2 3 4
Score					/12

Individual Rubrics

Cartographer

	Exemplary 4	Accomplished 3	Developing 2	Beginning 1	Score
Information	All major cities were identified. Additional information was clear on the map	Many major cities were identified. Additional information was clear on the map	Few major cities were listed, details were sketchy and/or incomplete	Few or no important details were evident.	1 2 3 4
Choice of presentation method	The presentation was creative,, interesting, and informative	The presentation was mostly effective in delivering the necessary information	The presentation method chosen conveyed the necessary information, but was difficult to follow	The presentation method chosen was not effective, the audience was unable to gain the information	1 2 3 4
Work in groups	Was focused and on task. Helped other group members	Mostly focused on task. Willing to help others	Used some time effectively.	Needed more direction than appropriate or had trouble working with group	1 2 3 4
Score					/12

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Ms. Kathleen Doherty

Ancient Mesopotamia Webquest