|
|
For our final project of the year, students will work in groups to research a civilization that we did not have time to cover during the year. Some topics include ancient Japan, the civilizations of Southeast Asia, the Vikings, the people of the Americas (Maya, Aztec, and Inca) and more. Students will then create a PowerPoint presentation about their topic to teach their classmates.
Assignment
Our final project of the year will focus on civilizations we didn’t have time to study during the year. Students will work in a group and focus on a topic of their choice. Students should use this Google form to submit their top three choices for the final project.
Update: the survey is now closed.
Click here to take the topic selection survey
The survey must be completed by Wednesday afternoon. We will create groups Wednesday night and begin work on the project on Thursday, June 10.
 To wrap up our unit on Greece and Rome, students will read about the cultural contributions of the Greeks or Romans and create a drawing to show their connection to the modern world.
Assignment Due Friday, June 4
Choose one of the following readings:
The Legacy of Ancient Greece (History Alive! pages 297 – 303).
The Legacy of Rome in the Modern World (History Alive! pages 361 – 371).
Download the handout, then use the vase image to draw a Greek contribution to our culture or the column to show a Roman contribution.
- Use drawings and/or symbols.
- Use color
- Fill the space
At the bottom of the page, explain how your drawing shows a connection between past and present.
Handout: Legacy of Greece and Rome Drawing
Research Links
Students are being provided with readings from History Alive! that include enough information for this assignment. However, students who were absent on Tuesday/Wednesday will need to use one of the following Wikipedia links to learn more about a topic for their drawing:
In my previous post about the Rise and Fall of the Roman Empire skits, I mentioned that we had to reschedule the performances from the original date of Friday, May 28 to next Tuesday/Wednesday. As it turns out, there are several issues that make that time even more problematic for performances. Thus, we told students today that the show will have to go on Friday, May 28.
If students are absent the day of the performance, they will not get full credit for the assignment. To earn back the missing points, students should complete the following assignment:
Use the links at http://www.rome.mrdonn.org/ to help you answer the following questions. Write 2 – 3 complete sentences to answer each question.
- What events caused the failure of the Roman Republic and made it become an empire?
- How did Caesar Augustus improve life in Rome?
- What events caused the fall of the Roman Empire?
We will have a vocabulary quiz on Thursday, May 13 that will draw words from our entire China unit. Use the flashcards to study for the quiz. The entire word list is included below the flashcards.
Word List
- Confucius – ancient Chinese philosopher who taught “do not treat people the way you would not like to be treated”.
- Ghengis Khan – brutal leader of the Mongols who created a vast empire.
- Marco Polo – explorer who travelled from Venice to China in 1272 and wrote a journal to describe his experience.
- Moa Zedong – leader of the 1949 Communist Revolution who ruled China for 27 years.
- Qin Shihuangdi- the first emperor of China, he began building the Great Wall.
- Changjiang – long river flowing through the fertile basin in Southeast China.
- Huang He – river named after the yellow silt it carries through northern China.
- Taklamakan – deadly desert in western China.
- Tiananmen Square – site where protesters gathered on June 5, 1989 and were attacked by the army.
- Tibet Qinghai Plateau – a remote, large area with a high elevation that borders the Himalayas.
- Bronze – a mixture of copper and tin and allowed the Shang Dynasty to become powerful.
- Little Red Book - given to students during the Cultural Revolution in the 1960′s to teach them to be good communists.
- logographs – symbol that represents a thing or idea.
- Oracle bones – were used by Shang emperors to help them predict the future.
- Opium – a highly addictive drug that the British sold in the China during the 1800′s that caused a war.
 We are learning about China during the time of the Mongol Empire as seen by Marco Polo. Students are reading several chapters from The World and its People and History Alive! to learn about the travels of Marco Polo, then they will write a journal from the perspective of Marco Polo to describe what they have learned.
Assignment Due Thursday, May 6
Marco Polo Travel Journal – periods 1, 2, 3 and 6 must do at least three journal entries. Period 4 Spectrum students must do at least five journal entries.
Helpful Wikipedia Articles
The Mongol Empire
Marco Polo
Chinese Inventions
Chinese Philosophies
 The discussion room at Fatehpur Sikri In 1575, emperor Akbar the Great of the Mughal Empire wanted to end fighting between the many religions of India. He invited representatives from each of the religions to his capital at Fatehpur Sikri. He gave each of them the task of finding common ground among their different religious beliefs so the people of India could live together peacefully.
For this assignment, students will imagine they are an adviser to Akbar the Great at Fatehpur Sikri. They will write a letter to Akbar describing similarities they have found between the religions we have studied this year and explain a plan for peace.
Assignment due Thursday, April 22
Finding Common Ground Letter to Akbar (pdf)
- Periods 1, 2, 3 and 6 need to write about two similarities.
- Period 4 students need to write about three similarities.
- The challenge is optional for all students.
More Information from The Story of India
We watched the following clips from the PBS documentary The Story of India to introduce the assignment:
On Friday students reviewed important vocabulary words from our units on Hinduism and Buddhism to prepare for a quiz next Tuesday/Wednesday (April 13/14). Students should set up a three-column chart to help them study each of the words below.
| Word |
Meaning |
How to Remember |
| latitude |
The horizontal lines that run east and west on a map. |
latitude lines are flat |
Vocabulary Words
Links go to Wikipedia articles
 The Buddha giving the first sermon Having looked at Hinduism, we are now focusing on another major religion that began in India, Buddhism. Students are reading about the life of Siddhartha Gautama, who became the Buddha, and beliefs such as The Four Noble Truths and The Eightfold Path.
Assignment Due Friday, April 9 2010
The work packet is not available online. Students should ask Mr. Miller or Ms. Falls if they need another copy. There are three parts to the assignment:
Part 1 – Read page 153 in History Alive! and answer questions about the origin of Buddhism and compare it to Hinduism.
Part 2 – Read pages 154 – 158 and write captions for images representing important events in the life of Siddhartha Gautama.
Part 3 – Read page 159 and write examples for each of the elements of the Eightfold Path.
|
|
