Which World?

An ancient civilizations webquest for Grade 7 Students.

A WebQuest for grade 7 students

Introduction:

The world is quickly being destroyed by it's own technology. Your community has set themselves up in an isolated region of the Earth. You have the repsonsibility of travelling back in time to an ANCIENT CIVILIZATION to learn the "old ways" of life in order to save your community.

You will return to your community and present what you have learned and your community will vote on which ANCIENT CIVILIZATION they will adopt.

Introduction | The Task | The Process | Resources | Evaluation | Conclusion | Teachers | Home

The Task:

You will investigate what life was like for people in this time and environment and present a case for living in either China, India or Mesopotamia as a Powerpoint / Oral presentation to the rest of the class. The class community will then vote on which Civilization they will adopt as a model.

Process:

1. In your group of four complete a MINDMAP about what makes a good quality of life in a community ( food, shelter....)

2. Draw out of a hat your Ancient Civilization ( India, Mesopotamia or China )

3. Decide which role each person in the group will take on. Choose from the four below.

As Minister for the Environment you will :
* describe historical events
* decide how ancient cultures are influenced by their environment
* look at how people's interactions with their physical environments change over time
and how changes effect their community

As Minister for the Culture and Society you will :
* describe how cultures have preserved their identity and adapted to change
* describe daily life, work, family structures, and gender roles in your Ancient culture
* analyse effects and consequences of contact between ancient cultures.

As Minister for Politics and Law you will :
* outline the development and purpose of rules, laws, and government
* identify an individual's rights and responsibilities in early societies ( citizenship? )
* look at ways in which ancient governments gained and used power and authority.

As Minister of Technology and Economy you will :
* describe the various ways ancient peoples traded goods and services
* explain how the occupations ( jobs ) of ancient peoples were influenced by their physical environments
* show the ways technology ( tools ) helped people modify their environments, satisfy their needs, and increase exploration and trade.

4. Next step is to identify keywords relevant to your role. Go back to your MindMap and complete the worksheet.

Think of alternative words that might help you locate information on websites, in print resources using contents and indexes.

5. Collect information relevant to your role using the following notetaking sheets. Remember to fill the name of the civilization you are investigating. Record your references.
Click on the link for your role, to find the notetaking sheet. After you open it, immediately SAVE AS your own name in your "L DRIVE".

Minister of Politics and Law		Minister of Environment
Minister of Society and Culture		Minister of Technology & Economy

6. Analyse what the conditions were like in your field of expertise (positive and negative), think about how life is today to make some comparisons, you may need to record these ideas on your notetaking sheet.
What is your criteria for evaluating this civilization? (HINT: Look at your quality of life web)

7. Create summary, how will be the best way to present this information? Power point needs to be brief summary points, your hand out /brochure for the class needs to have more detail , similar to the extra information you give in your oral talk.

8. Using the draft story board, create your power point slides. Each group member should create at least one slide summing up their evaluation of the quality of life in their civilization.
As a group, you will need a title slide and a bibliography slide.

9. The brochure:
Each member of the group, must create a handout with a summary from their research questions.

10. Now you are ready to present your ideas about your community to the rest of the class. Remember to be select and highlight the most positive aspects of your society to persuade them about the great quality of life they would experience in this community.

Introduction | The Task | The Process | Resources | Evaluation | Conclusion | Teachers | Home

Resources:

	web
CHINA	Ancient China Exploring Ancient China - an internet hotlist for Ancient China Introduction to Ancient China Daily life Chinese customs China Thinkquest China's gifts to the West
INDIA	Ancient India http://www.penncharter.com/Student/india/index.htm The Mysterious Indus civilization The Ancient Indus Valley - geography , building, trade IndusValley - environment Indus Valley - how people lived, culture, technology, agriculture The Indus riddle from India today A study about feudalism in Ancient India - a more difficult text on social organisation Ancient India's contribution to our world's material culture - think carefully about this information (be critical)
MESOPOTAMIA	Ancient Mesopotamia - an excellent site with lots of good links Mesopotamia - Development of Western Civilization Ancient Mesopotamia Hammurabi's Law Women in world History Ancient Mesopotamia Cradle of Civilization information on technolgy, environment, culture& law Mesopotamia Welcome to Mesopotamia - shows the four categories of civilizations

Evaluation:

For your research you will be assessed using the following criteria rubric.

	Beginning 1	Developing 2	Accomplished 3	Exemplary 4	Score
Focus	Web incomplete one or two keywords.Role and keywords not completed	Web partially completed, role and keywords identified.	Web with two layers on quality of life. Role and keywords completed.	Web completed with well thought out responses, two layers, role and alternative keywords identified.
Find and filter	Not able to identify keywords for searching with print or internet relevant to their role. Little or no reference details recorded.	Some useful keywords used in searching, Internet searches with some success. Some but not complete reference details	Successful keywords used in searching both print and internet. References details complete for print and internet.	Searches successfully, identifies useful sites and books, relevant to role. Records references accurately.
Working with the information	Some information recorded as sentences. Notes not always relevant to topic.Not sufficient information to answer question.	Some information recorded as notes, some as sentences. Some relevant information, not sufficient to answer question. Incomplete references recorded	Records relevant details in notes, including enough relevant evidence to support case presented. References recorded accurately	Records relevant details in notes, including good supporting evidence to present convincing case, References recorded accurately.
Communicating ideas-prepare draft, revise ideas and improve product	Draft story board incomplete, brochure incomplete. Power point very basic ideas,	Draft story board limited, brochure produced with basic notes used with little or no revision. PowerPoint with little or no link to summary.	Draft story board, completed, well presented brochure with summary for class, some revision evident. Power point presentation designed to explain the quality of life for this civilization	Well thought out story board, with clear link to research and power point. Brochure clearly outlines quality of life for this civilization. Well designed Power point presentation with convincing argument and evidence.

For your presentation, you will be assessed using the following critieria.

Power point	1 (needs work)	2 (satisfactory)	3 (well done)
Introduces the topic (clear purpose)
Clear & audible voice, easy to follow pace
Language suited to audience
Information is concise (main points identified)
Logical sequence of ideas (smooth transition)
Facts are accurate and conclusions drawn (evidence of analysis)
Brochure	1 (needs work)	2 (satisfactory)	3 (well done)
Clearly supports powerpoint and gives more details
Interesting design, well laid out.

Conclusion:

Well done! Now you are ready to present your ideas to the rest of the class. Don't forget to include graphics that are interesting to your peers, a brochure to handout and as a group, work out what order will be best to convice the others of your ideas.Have and fun and think about how good your life is!

Teachers:

This section of work could link in with a unit in English on literature related to future societies, for example the post holocaust novels, some fantasy and science fiction novels.

We planned to prepare Power Point presentation as an introduction to the class to model how the final presenation should be done. That is, the power point is not the sole source of information but a summary which accompanies the oral presentation with a handout to be given to class members promoting their case for the civilization.

Which World?

An ancient civilizations webquest for Grade 7 Students.

Introduction:

The world is quickly being destroyed by it's own technology. Your community has set themselves up in an isolated region of the Earth. You have the repsonsibility of travelling back in time to an ANCIENT CIVILIZATION to learn the "old ways" of life in order to save your community.

You will return to your community and present what you have learned and your community will vote on which ANCIENT CIVILIZATION they will adopt.

The Task:

You will investigate what life was like for people in this time and environment and present a case for living in either China, India or Mesopotamia as a Powerpoint / Oral presentation to the rest of the class. The class community will then vote on which Civilization they will adopt as a model.

Process:

1. In your group of four complete a MINDMAP about what makes a good quality of life in a community ( food, shelter....)

2. Draw out of a hat your Ancient Civilization ( India, Mesopotamia or China )

3. Decide which role each person in the group will take on. Choose from the four below.

As Minister for the Environment you will :
* describe historical events
* decide how ancient cultures are influenced by their environment
* look at how people's interactions with their physical environments change over time
and how changes effect their community

As Minister for the Culture and Society you will :
* describe how cultures have preserved their identity and adapted to change
* describe daily life, work, family structures, and gender roles in your Ancient culture
* analyse effects and consequences of contact between ancient cultures.

As Minister for Politics and Law you will :
* outline the development and purpose of rules, laws, and government
* identify an individual's rights and responsibilities in early societies ( citizenship? )
* look at ways in which ancient governments gained and used power and authority.

4. Next step is to identify keywords relevant to your role. Go back to your MindMap and complete the worksheet.

Think of alternative words that might help you locate information on websites, in print resources using contents and indexes.

7. Create summary, how will be the best way to present this information? Power point needs to be brief summary points, your hand out /brochure for the class needs to have more detail , similar to the extra information you give in your oral talk.

8. Using the draft story board, create your power point slides. Each group member should create at least one slide summing up their evaluation of the quality of life in their civilization.
As a group, you will need a title slide and a bibliography slide.

9. The brochure:
Each member of the group, must create a handout with a summary from their research questions.

10. Now you are ready to present your ideas about your community to the rest of the class. Remember to be select and highlight the most positive aspects of your society to persuade them about the great quality of life they would experience in this community.

Resources:

web

Evaluation:

Introduces the topic (clear purpose)

Clear & audible voice, easy to follow pace

Language suited to audience

Information is concise (main points identified)

Logical sequence of ideas (smooth transition)

Facts are accurate and conclusions drawn (evidence of analysis)

Clearly supports powerpoint and gives more details

Interesting design, well laid out.

Which World?

An ancient civilizations webquest for Grade 7 Students.

Introduction:

The world is quickly being destroyed by it's own technology. Your community has set themselves up in an isolated region of the Earth. You have the repsonsibility of travelling back in time to an ANCIENT CIVILIZATION to learn the "old ways" of life in order to save your community.

You will return to your community and present what you have learned and your community will vote on which ANCIENT CIVILIZATION they will adopt.

The Task:

You will investigate what life was like for people in this time and environment and present a case for living in either China, India or Mesopotamia as a Powerpoint / Oral presentation to the rest of the class. The class community will then vote on which Civilization they will adopt as a model.

Process:

1. In your group of four complete a MINDMAP about what makes a good quality of life in a community ( food, shelter....)

2. Draw out of a hat your Ancient Civilization ( India, Mesopotamia or China )

3. Decide which role each person in the group will take on. Choose from the four below.

As Minister for the Environment you will : * describe historical events * decide how ancient cultures are influenced by their environment * look at how people's interactions with their physical environments change over time and how changes effect their community

As Minister for the Culture and Society you will : * describe how cultures have preserved their identity and adapted to change * describe daily life, work, family structures, and gender roles in your Ancient culture * analyse effects and consequences of contact between ancient cultures.

As Minister for Politics and Law you will : * outline the development and purpose of rules, laws, and government * identify an individual's rights and responsibilities in early societies ( citizenship? ) * look at ways in which ancient governments gained and used power and authority.

4. Next step is to identify keywords relevant to your role. Go back to your MindMap and complete the worksheet.

Think of alternative words that might help you locate information on websites, in print resources using contents and indexes.

7. Create summary, how will be the best way to present this information? Power point needs to be brief summary points, your hand out /brochure for the class needs to have more detail , similar to the extra information you give in your oral talk.

8. Using the draft story board, create your power point slides. Each group member should create at least one slide summing up their evaluation of the quality of life in their civilization. As a group, you will need a title slide and a bibliography slide.

9. The brochure: Each member of the group, must create a handout with a summary from their research questions.

10. Now you are ready to present your ideas about your community to the rest of the class. Remember to be select and highlight the most positive aspects of your society to persuade them about the great quality of life they would experience in this community.

Resources:

web

Evaluation:

Introduces the topic (clear purpose)

Clear & audible voice, easy to follow pace

Language suited to audience

Information is concise (main points identified)

Logical sequence of ideas (smooth transition)

Facts are accurate and conclusions drawn (evidence of analysis)

Clearly supports powerpoint and gives more details

Interesting design, well laid out.

As Minister for the Environment you will :
* describe historical events
* decide how ancient cultures are influenced by their environment
* look at how people's interactions with their physical environments change over time
and how changes effect their community

As Minister for the Culture and Society you will :
* describe how cultures have preserved their identity and adapted to change
* describe daily life, work, family structures, and gender roles in your Ancient culture
* analyse effects and consequences of contact between ancient cultures.

As Minister for Politics and Law you will :
* outline the development and purpose of rules, laws, and government
* identify an individual's rights and responsibilities in early societies ( citizenship? )
* look at ways in which ancient governments gained and used power and authority.

8. Using the draft story board, create your power point slides. Each group member should create at least one slide summing up their evaluation of the quality of life in their civilization.
As a group, you will need a title slide and a bibliography slide.

9. The brochure:
Each member of the group, must create a handout with a summary from their research questions.