Astronomy
Ancient Astronomy Project
Gordon
Background: The science of astronomy has been in practice for thousands of years. Different ancient cultures have
had different views on what the sun, the moon, and the stars all meant. Today, we study what these ancient civilizations
knew about astronomy. To do so, we combine astronomy with archaeology to form “archaeostronomy”. Your objective in
the project is to research one of these ancient cultures and to create a presentation to show off all of the knowledge you
will learn during the course of this project. The following link will show the list of civilizations that you will be able to
choose from; it will also be a great starting point for your information:
http://www.starteachastronomy.com/archaeoastronomy.html
Areas of Focus:
Presentation- Your group will create a presentation displaying the information about your civilization. The presentation
should be 5-12 minutes long. You may include other areas, but your topic to focus on should be on the culture’s
ideas on astronomy. You may (and should) include any pictures you can to help improve your presentation
visually. You may use PowerPoint, Prezi, create a video, or anything else that you run by the teacher first.
Handout- Your group will create a handout to help summarize the information in a logical way. Your handout does not
need to include every bit of information from your presentation, but it should include the major ideas. This
handout needs to be in the style of fill-in-the blank, so that students can fill in the information as you go through
your presentation.
Activity- Your group will create an activity for the class to do that will aid in their learning of the ancient civilization. The
activity can be a game or a worksheet or something similar. It can be physical or electronic. All ideas need to be
approved first, and remember, this activity should help students remember the information on your civilization.
You can be creative with this, and have some fun.
“Quiz”- Your group will create a 10-15 question quiz for the class to take. Your quiz should not be exactly verbatim
from your handout or presentation, but it should be close. You need to create an answer key to the quiz that you
create. It is a good idea to have a range of questions from matching, to fill in the blank, to true false, to multiple
choice. Make sure that your quiz is formatted in a way that makes sense.
Grade: This project will be graded as a group. Please take responsibility for your part.
The total project will be out of 40 points (10 points per area of focus).
Astronomy
Ancient Astronomy Project
Your Name: ________________________________
Gordon
Your Civilization: __________________________
Your Partner’s Name: _______________________________ (Both people will submit a checklist)
Checklist: Check off each component that you complete:
 Turn this in with your final copy.
1. Presentation: (10pts)
 _______ It is 12 to 15 minutes long
 _______ includes your culture’s main topics on astronomy.
 _______ Pictures are included.
 _______ Information is accurate.
 _______ E-mailed or shared with teacher before presentation date
(Julie_Gordon@solancosd.org)
2. Handout: (10pts)
 _______ Your handout has been approved.
 _______ Your handout sync’s up with your presentation.
 _______ Main ideas are targeted.
 _______ Formatted in “fill-in-the-blank” style.
 _______ You have printed out a class set before your presentation.
3. Activity: (10pts)
 _______ Your activity has been approved.
 _______ Your activity is engaging and includes all students.
 _______ Relevant to your civilization and ideas of astronomy.
 _______ You have all the necessary materials to implement your activity.
 _______ You have performed a “run-through” of your activity. (You’ve tested it and
worked out all of the bugs so things run smoothly.)
4. Quiz: (10pts)
 _______ You have created a Quiz of 10 to 15 questions.
 _______ You have provided an answer key to your quiz.
 _______ You have printed out a class set of your quiz for all students prior to presentation.
 _______ Your Quiz makes sense.
 _______ Your Quiz includes different styles of questions.
Due Dates:
a.
b.
c.
d.
Civilization Chosen By: _______________________________
Print out your Handout By: ____________________________
Have your Activity Approved By: _______________________
Due Date for Your Group to Present: ______________________ (TBD)