Scenario

About 10,000 years ago, the valley of the Nile became the center of one of the world's greatest civilizations. Ancient Egypt was a long narrow country divided in half by the Nile River. Archaeologists have gathered evidence to tell us about this past culture. They have used the artifacts and ecofacts they have discovered to explain how the people of Ancient Egypt have met their wants and needs by using the resources of the Nile River Valley.

Read about "Geography and Agriculture" of Ancient Egypt.

Task

You and your fellow classmates will be divided into 6 groups to research how cultures of the past developed through interactions with the environment. In particular, you will examine the artifacts and ecofacts of Ancient Egypt to see how one of the 6 aspects of culture: religion, fashion, music/art, leisure activities, work and government were influenced by the environment and especially by the Nile River. We will answer the questions: What was the culture of Ancient Egypt? and How do we know this?

You and your group will create a Multimedia slide show or a video documentary that describes the cultural aspect of Ancient Egypt that your group has researched. This project will then be combined with the work of other groups to thoroughly explain the culture of Ancient Egypt and how it was developed through its interactions with its environment and especially the Nile River. All slides will contain:

• Navigable buttons, appropriate backgrounds, graphics, and readable, edited text.
• Title slide which contains the name of your cultural aspect.
• Author slide that identifies the members of your group and may contain digital camera photos of the group, names, and brief descriptions.
• Three to six content slides describing the cultural aspect your group researched and answering the questions raised. Content is most important and should be carefully thought out, researched and clearly presented.
• Slide that lists the resources used.

Grading for this project will be based on daily participation as well as the final product.

Daily participation will be assessed.

Assessment html version MS Word version ... of Multimedia slideshow.

Questions will guide your research. Previous knowledge and some general background knowledge will help make your research easier. Use these questions to get you started and add others. Use these questions to research yor cultural aspect.

Use many resources to gather information and be sure to record your sources.

Use this research organizer to gather information about your cultural aspect.

Analyze:

Use a graphic organizer to plan your presentation. Use the information from your research to plan your slides about your assigned cultural aspect. Show your teacher your rough draft for each slide.

Synthesize:

Now that you have planned, searched and gathered your information about a cultural aspect of Ancient Egypt, it is time to produce your group's slideshow. Follow directions given to create your slides.

Evaluate:

Review this checklist to make sure you have included everything needed for your slide show. If you have not answered all the questions, go back and use the resources to fill in the missing information.

Presentation:

Listen and watch carefully as each group presents their slides on a cultural aspect of Ancient Egypt. How were the presentations alike? How were they different? How would you do yours differently if you could?

Reflection:

What do we have today that came from the culture of Ancient Egypt?
How did their geography impact their culture?
What geographical features around us impact on our culture?