Examining Challenges Faced by Ancient Cultures
How do different ancient cultures respond to the same challenge?
Task:
You are a newspaper reporter for your city’s newspaper and have been asked to write a feature article on the topic of challenges that ancient civilizations have faced throughout time. You will compare and contrast responses to a particular challenge faced by two civilizations in the past and connect it to a related current issue or event that is going on in our state, the nation, or the world. Your article will be the front page feature for the newspaper that week and will be read by many informed citizens who are looking to the past for solutions for present issues. Therefore, you will need to research your topic thoroughly with reliable sources so that you can write a knowledgeable and credible article.
Essential Question:
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How do two different ancient civilizations respond similarly or differently to environmental challenges?
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Civilizations for Comparison (Pick 2): Mesopotamia, Egypt, and China
Guiding Questions:
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What is the challenge faced? Why is it a challenge?
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How does each civilization experience the challenge similarly?
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How does each civilization experience the challenge differently?
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How does each civilization respond to the challenge differently?
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How does each civilization respond to the challenge similarly?
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Why did they respond this way to the challenge? How do the reasons compare?
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What were the effects of their chosen response? How do the effects compare?
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What current issue or event in the world today can you connect to these civilizations’ experiences or responses to the challenge?
Key Vocabulary:
Challenge: a situation that is difficult, troubling, or hard to overcome
Compare: examine people or things for similarities
Contrast: examine people or things for differences
Culture: the beliefs, customs, practices, and social behavior of a particular nation or people
Enduring: persisting or surviving in the face of difficulties
Experience: something that happens to somebody or an event that somebody is involved in
Respond/Response: to act or do something in reaction to something else
Source: any person, book, organization, etc., from which information, evidence, etc., is obtained
Standards:
PS6: Uses critical reasoning skills to analyze and evaluate positions.
- 6.1: Explain a position on an issue or event.
- 6.2: Select the most important information to support a position.
PS7: Analyzes multiple factors, compares two groups, generalizes, and connects past to present to formulate a thesis in a paper or presentation.
- 7.1: Analyzes multiple factors to formulate a thesis in a paper or presentation.
- 7.2: Compares two groups to support a thesis in a paper or presentation.
- 7.3: Makes generalizations to formulate a thesis in a paper or presentation.
- 7.4: Make connections between the past and present to support a thesis in a paper or presentation.
PS8: Understands how the rise of civilizations defines eras in ancient history. Explaining and comparing the rise of civilizations from 8000 BCE to 200 CE on two or more continents.
- 8.2: Compare the basic cultural elements of civilization s from 8000 BCE to 200 CE on two or more continents.
