Creating a Personal Timeline
Sometimes, we know precise dates in history, and other times, we need to make an educated guess. An example of this would be that we know Julius Caesar was assassinated on March 15, 44 B.C.E. but we do not know his exact date of birth, just that he was probably born in the year 100 B.C.E. An approximation was needed in order to make sense of subsequent events.
You will be constructing a timeline of your life using events that you know the actual date of and ones that you must approximate in order to better understand how historians, geologists, archeologists, paleontologists and members of other disciplines sequence events. When we study prehistory, we are dealing often times with events that have only estimated dates, but we can determine the order of those events based on documented evidence and some critical thinking.
For your timeline, you must include at least five dates that can be identified and used as markers for organizing your life events in chronological order. Dates of birth, death dates, marriages, school years, and major news events could serve as your markers. You must also include at least five events that cannot be specifically dated (using “circa” or “c.” like we discussed in class) but placed on your timeline in a sensible way. For example, if you were asked when the first day of sixth was, you would be able to provide the day of the week, month, and the year. However, if you were asked when you learned how to write in cursive, you would have more difficulty identifying a date. You know it would have happened after you started third grade, but before entering middle school, so you would place the event
“learning cursive” somewhere between those two events.
You must also have an accurate scale (i.e. one inch = one year) that continues throughout your timeline and place events in a sensible order. You must make your timelines colorful and have relevant pictures or illustrations for each event. There should not be any spelling or grammar errors. Your timeline must cover your life from birth up until the first day of sixth grade (August 24, 2015 C.E.).
How I will calculate a number grade (0-100)
Possible
Points
Events
I successfully sequenced the required amount of events on my timeline and provided both actual and approximated dates.
Formatting
My timeline had an accurate and consistent scale. I provided a key and labeled it appropriately, and titled my work.
Creativity
I went above and behind the requirements of the assignment and provided thoughtful and meaningful illustrations/pictures, provided additional life events, and created a timeline that was well organized and aesthetically pleasing.
Mechanics
There are no errors in capitalization, usage, punctuation, or spelling.
40 points
30 points
20 points
10 points
Total: 100 points
Earned Assessment
Self Teacher

Achievement Level
0
59-Below
1-2
60-70%
3-4
71-80%
5-6
81-90%
7-8
91-100%
Criterion C Communicating
The student does not reach a standard described by any of the descriptors below
The student:
 tries in a limited way to communicate information in a way that is clear to others.
 tries in a limited way to organize information and ideas according to the task instructions.
 makes a limited attempt to list sources of information following the task instructions.
The student:
 communicates information and ideas in a way that is sometimes clear to others.
 organizes information sometimes in the order needed for the task.
 includes a list of sources of information that sometimes follows the task instructions.
The student:
 communicates information and ideas in a way that is often clear to others.
 organizes information often in
 the order needed for the task. creates a list of the sources of information that often follows the task instructions.
The student:
 communicates information and ideas in a way that is clear to others.
 organizes information completely in the order needed for the task.
 creates a list of sources of information that follows the
Kid Friendly Language
The student did not produce a project that matches any of the below descriptions.



 task instructions.
These will be completed in class in our interactive notebooks. Late projects will automatically receive a twenty point deduction. Your project must be completed by:
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 18 th , 2015 C.E.