Pick a Mini-Project!
Mrs. Acker Social Studies
Pick one of the mini-projects below that relates to our unit on Mesopotamia.
You will turn them into Mrs. Acker on, October 1st and complete a short show
and tell on the project. Be creative and have fun learning!
1. Students will draw their own maps of the area known as the Fertile Crescent
(Mesopotamia). Your map should include present-day countries, their capitals, the
major rivers and mountains, bodies of water, and any other defining details. Next,
pick one country to research in more detail. Create a travel brochure for tourists
visiting the country that includes information about the country’s geography,
culture, language, people, major sightseeing attractions, and whatever else you feel
might be important for tourists to know.
2. Mesopotamians used cuneiform as their method of writing and record keeping.
Use clay to make a clay tablet and chopsticks or toothpicks as writing utensils (or
similar tools) to write your own “cuneiform”, and draw pictures on your tablet to
tell a story. You should include at least four sentences of the story on your clay
tablet. It is not necessary to write the whole story on the clay tablet, since this is
very time consuming. The story must be representative of life back in Mesopotamia,
or even write one of the fables of Gilgamesh. Make sure you have the translation of
your story in English so your teacher can grade and understand your story! If you
can’t find clay then you may use paper and pencil as well. Clay is preferred to get
the full experience. Finally, write a paragraph about the history of cuneiform.
3. There is a Mesopotamian board game that was discovered, but they could not find
the rules to play it. Create your own board game and rules that relates to
Mesopotamia and social studies. Have your friends try it out to see who will win!
4. The Sumerian, Gilgamesh, was a legend in ancient Mesopotamia. Create your own
fictional character in a comic strip who is half-human, half-god, similar to Gilgamesh.
Have your hero accomplish great feats during ancient times or during the school
day! The comic should have readable dialogue and illustrations to go with it. Write
one paragraph about Gilgamesh.
5. The Tigris and Euphrates rivers had a major impact on the Mesopotamian
civilization. Find out the length of these rivers along with the Nile and the Yellow
Rivers. Which one is the longest? Which one is the shortest? What are their
greatest depths? Convert the distances from miles to meters or vice versa. Make a
chart to compare and contrast your information about the rivers, and write up a
brief paragraph on what you have discovered.