Design It!
World History I
Goal: Students will identify, classify, and analyze the characteristic and effects of Ancient Era civilizations.
Role: You are playing a game called “Ancient Civilizations” on your home computer.
Audience: You - try to get the high score for the game and impress all of your friends!
Situation: In order for you to get the high score, you must build the “perfect” ancient civilization by mixing and
matching the best characteristics of the ancient civilizations we studied this unit and explain your answer.
Description: You are lucky enough to own the first edition of a new computer simulation game called
“Ancient Civilizations.” To get the high score for them game, you must successfully do three things:
1. Determine all six characteristics and all four effects of all civilizations (Do not cover something twice)
2. Select the best example of each characteristic and effect from a list of Ancient Era civilizations, and
3. Justify your selection using a short answer feature that is part of the game (short analysis paragraph).
Some characteristics and effects of civilization may be supported by an example one or more Ancient
Civilizations, so pick your best answer and support it with your analysis. But beware! Some civilizations do not
score points because they either (1) do not show the characteristic or effect or (2) are really weak answers.
The game designer would love for you to use your notes on Ancient Civilizations to play the game. You can
also use the following terms to help you get the high score and win the game!
Characteristic and Effects
 Settlement in a proper
geographic setting
 organized government
 development of urban
society (via writings)
 organized religion
 division of labor and class
structure
 system of writing
 growth of settlements into
city-states, kingdoms and
empires
 creation of a system of laws
 growth of artisans, scribes
and tradesmen (pick one),
 International trade
 creation of defined roles for
rulers, priests, nobles,
merchants, and slaves (pick
one)
Civilizations
Mesopotamia
Egypt
Hebrew
Persian
Phoenician
Some (but not all) Examples
Mesopotamia
Fertile Crescent
Nile River Valley
Middle East
Canaan
Hammurabi
Pharaohs
Centralized government
Imperial Bureaucracy
Epic of Gilgamesh
Book of the Dead
The Torah
Ziggurats
Judaism
Polytheistic (Egypt) worship
Zoroastrianism
Mesopotamian class system
Egyptian class system
Hebrew class system
Persian class system
Cuneiform
Hieroglyphics
Phonetic Alphabet
Babylonia city-state
Old, Middle and New Kingdom
Persian Empire
Code of Hammurabi
The Ten Commandments
Artisans
Scribes
Tradesmen
Lower and Upper Nile River Valley
Phoenician trade routes and settlements
Great Royal Road
Hammurabi the Prince
Abraham the Prophet
Ramses the First (Pharaoh)
Darius the Great (Emperor)
Moses (as a Hebrew slave)
Grading Rubric for general writing assignments
Criterion
Responsiveness
4 -- Advanced
Responds directly
to the assignment
question
3 – Above Average
Responds to the
majority of the
assignment
question
2 – Proficient
Responds
to a portion
of the assignment
question
1 -- Emerging
Does not
respond to
the assignment
question
Knowledge/
Application
Key course concepts
and terms are used
correctly as well as
exceptionally
applied throughout
the answer
Key course
concepts and
terms are used and
applied sufficiently
throughout the
answer
Key course
concepts and terms
are used
incorrectly or
seldom applied
correctly throughout
the answer
Key course
concepts
and terms are
not used and/or
applied correctly
throughout the
answer
Evidence and
Examples
Multiple pieces of
evidence and/or
examples back up
the points made in
all responses
One piece of
evidence or one
example backs up
the points made in
all responses
Evidence and/or
examples are given
but not for every
response
Analysis
Clear evidence of
analysis beyond a
recitation of course
content with a
discussion of
broader
implications and
relationships
between one or
more course topics
are directly and
explicitly addressed
Some analysis and
discussion of
broader topic
implications and
some discussion of
relationships
between one or
more course topics
is evident
Little analysis or
discussion of
broader topic
implications and/or
relationship
between one or
more course topics
is evident
Little to no
evidence and/or
examples are used
to back up
assertions in
responses
No discussion of
broader topic
implications and/or
relationships
between one or
more course topics
are evident
16 = 100
15 = 97
14 = 94
13 = 91
12 = 88
11 = 85
10 = 82
9 = 79
Uniform Scoring convention
8 = 76
4 = 64
7 = 73
No submission = no score
6 = 70
5 = 67
EXAMPLE: For “settlement in a proper geographical setting” I could select from New York Harbor, the Sahara Desert or an Island in
the middle of the South Pacific Ocean. I select the Sahara Desert and justify my selection because it is in the middle of several
trading routes. I would say that the other selections are too hard to defend (New York being on the water by the ocean) or are in
the middle of nowhere (the Pacific Island).
This would receive a 76 because this selection is obviously not the best example of a proper geographical setting (New York Harbor is
the correct answer). Also, only one example were given and there was no analysis of the answer (why is the location in the middle of
a trading route good?), but the structure of the analysis is clear and attempts to respond directly to the assignment.
Name _________________________________________ Date ___________
Level One:
Characteristic or Effect:
Selected Ancient Civilization
Selected example from civilization
Analysis:
Level Two:
Characteristic or Effect:
Selected Ancient Civilization
Selected example from civilization
Analysis:
Level Three: Characteristic or Effect:
Selected Ancient Civilization
Selected example from civilization
Analysis:
Level Four:
Characteristic or Effect:
Selected Ancient Civilization
Selected example from civilization
Analysis:
Level Five:
Characteristic or Effect:
Selected Ancient Civilization
Selected example from civilization
Analysis:
Level Six:
Characteristic or Effect:
Selected Ancient Civilization
Selected example from civilization
Analysis:
Level Seven: Characteristic or Effect:
Selected Ancient Civilization
Selected example from civilization
Analysis:
Level Eight:
Characteristic or Effect:
Selected Ancient Civilization
Selected example from civilization
Analysis:
Level Nine:
Characteristic or Effect:
Selected Ancient Civilization
Selected example from civilization
Analysis:
Level Ten:
Characteristic or Effect:
Selected Ancient Civilization
Selected example from civilization
Analysis: