Unit 2: Early Middle Eastern Civilizations—
PowerPoint Presentations
Your Civilization is:__________________________
You will each be assigned an ancient civilization from this unit. Adhering to the designated elements
you must include below, you will research various aspects of this civilization, create a PowerPoint
presentation about it, and then present that PowerPoint information to the rest of the class. The main
focus of this project is to analyze a given civilization using sociological ideas presented in the
previous unit. Further instructions are as follows:
PART 1: RESEARCH/NOTES (10 pts)
You must research the following topics about your given civilization and take notes on what you find
regarding each. These notes will be handed in at the completion of the entire project—so keep track
of them.
A. The physical location and years of existence of this civilization
B. This civilization’s social institutions:
a. Government (i.e. laws, who rules, military strength, bureaucracy, etc.)
b. Economy (i.e. economic activities-farming, tradecrafts-, currency or trading habits,
main businesses/jobs, etc.)
c. Family (i.e. typical family life, family dynamics, norms & expectations regarding
family, marriage, children, etc.)
d. Religion (i.e., religious ideas and practices, places of worship, etc.)
e. Education (i.e., how are children educated, what do schools look like, subjects
taught, teachers, age of children schooled, etc.)
C. A description of this civilization’s culture:
a. Material Culture: Written languages, artwork, housing, clothing, etc.
b. Nonmaterial Culture: Values/morals placed in great importance, social
norms/taboos, spoken languages, etc.
PART 2: POWERPOINT (70 pts)
A PowerPoint slideshow must be created that presents the above research information about your
civilization in an easy-to-follow format for the rest of your class to learn from. A copy of this
presentation will be printed out as a handout for the instructor to have prior to the in-class
presentation (5 pts). If you are unsure how to do this, please ask the instructor for assistance. The
PowerPoint must meet the following expectations:
A. The slideshow must be presented in the following organizational format:
a. Title slide identifying your civilization and your name(s) as the author (1 slide) (1 pts)
b. The physical location and years of existence of this civilization (1 total slide) (2 pts)
c. Descriptions of the Government (2-3 slides) (4 pts)
d.
e.
f.
g.
h.
i.
Descriptions of the Economy (2-3 slides) (4 pts)
Descriptions of the Family (2-3 slides) (4 pts)
Descriptions of the Religion (2-3 slides) (4 pts)
Descriptions of the Education (2-3 slides) (4 pts)
Material Culture samples (3-4 slides) (5 pts)
Nonmaterial Culture samples (3-4 slides) (5 pts)
B. The slideshow information must be presented with headings so as to easily identify the
changes of topic (5 pts)
C. The slides themselves must have 2-3 facts per slide (it doesn’t have to be complete
sentences) AND one or more images related to the information presented. (18 pts)
D. The slides must show evidence of creativity and appropriate color choices so that the
information is easy to read and draws interest (4 pts)
E. The slides must show attention to neatness in layout, avoidance of spelling errors, and
overall thought/organization (5 pts)
PART 3: PRESENTATION (25 pts)
The information you have researched and compiled into a slideshow will be used in a physical
presentation in front of the class. It is your job to properly educate your classmates on what you
learned regarding the requested sociological aspects of your civilization. Your presentation will be
graded on the following:
A. Elements of appropriate public speaking habits: loud voice, clear explanations, the
presenting of information in an easy-to-follow format, good eye contact with your audience,
the use of the PowerPoint to assist you in your explanations, etc. You may use notes to
assist you in your presentation—as long as you do not just read off a sheet of paper the
whole time you present. (10 pts)
B. The appropriate answering of any questions following the presentation that the audience or
instructor may have. (5 pts)
FINAL REMINDERS:
A. Your notes will be handed in upon the completion of the entire project
B. A handout of the PowerPoint slides will be handed in to the instructor prior to the
verbal presentation in class (6 slides to a page please)
C. This rubric will be used for grading purposes—please limit the amount of writing you
do on it, and be sure to hand this in prior to the verbal presentation in class as well.
D. Use of class-time is graded through daily R & R Points
FINAL POINTS:
/95