Ancient History
Mr. Sakson
Links with the Past: Object Paper
Introduction
You have read about how the bicycle is linked to the past. Now you will
choose your own modern object, and research and write about its links with
the past. This is a short paper (1.5-2.5 pgs.) and should help you prepare for a
longer paper you will write later this year. This paper has a lot of
requirements; we will complete them in pieces. All of these requirements are
important for this class, your schooling beyond this class, and many skills you
will need in your life out in the great wide world. You will receive a lot of
help, modeling, and feedback along the way.
Questions To Answer
1. When, where, and how was this modern object created?
2. Did this invention replace something or make a task much easier? How?
3. What are some materials that compose the object? Where/when/how did
at least one of these materials originate?
4. What would one ancient society have done to try to accomplish the same
(or similar) goal(s) that this object accomplishes?
NOTES ABOUT QUESTIONS:
--Please do not just list the questions and answers; rather, make
this a smoothly flowing report (we’ll discuss strategies in class).
--Question 2 asks you to find out what existed immediately before the
invention of your object. Question 4 asks you to find out how at least one
ancient society would have tried to accomplish a similar, if much simpler,
task than the one accomplished by the modern object.
--You do not necessarily need to prove that one ancient item lead directly to a
modern one: that is beyond the scope of this paper. You are mainly looking
for commonalities.
↓The Process↓
1. Start Thinking!
Start thinking about some possible objects. You should come up with several.
We will brainstorm more in class.
2. Learn how to make proper notecards and source cards!
You must not begin researching until we go over how to make notecards/
source cards for this class. (Different teachers may require slightly different
formats, depending on differing course goals.) All of your research must go
on notecards for the two papers you will complete this year. Notecards
are key; completing them is the only way that you will fulfill the
standards of the assignment.
You should plan on completing about 12-20 notecards for this paper.
3. Research
Once you know how to make acceptable note-cards and source cards, and
once I have approved your object, you may begin your research. You will
have a chance to use the encyclopedias and books in class to begin your
research. We will also devote some time to research on the computers, but
you will be doing the bulk of this paper outside of class.
4. Follow other class lessons to learn the rest, bit by bit.
You will soon learn about more information that you need to successfully
complete this assignment. Some of this will be a review for some of you;
much of it will be entirely new. Do not attempt to rush ahead and complete
things before we review these concepts. If you skip steps, you will have to do
the work over again.
The other concepts/requirements are:
A. A proper outline: You may not begin your rough draft until your
outline has been okayed.
B. A bibliography: This is due with your final draft, but you should do your
best to complete this with your rough draft so that I may
give you feedback.
C. Parenthetical citations: You will soon learn about these; they will be very
important for the research you do in this class.
5. Complete Your Rough Draft
When your outline is approved, you may begin your rough draft. Once you
turn in a rough draft, I will attach a rubric and return it. (Actually, you will get
the rubric ahead of time, so that you can use it as a checklist.)
When you submit your rough draft and outline, you will receive a standard
homework grade. The grade will be determined by your effort and timeliness.
Remember, the letter grade you will receive from me on the rough-draft
rubric is like a checklist; only your revision will be formally graded ("A,"
"B," etc.). This means that you can earn a “D” on the rough draft and still get
an “A” on the final draft, provided you are willing to put in a lot of work.
6. Revise
You must submit your revision with the rough draft and rubric that contain
my comments. The revision will count as a test.
Sources
Pay close attention here! Part of making this paper your own work is piecing
together paraphrased information from various sources and adding your own
reasoned judgments.
As it says at the beginning of this handout, there are four questions you need
to answer in this paper. For each of those questions, I expect you to look at
two different sources. Please note: that does NOT mean that you necessarily
need eight sources. Let’s say you find the answers to two or three of those
question in one encyclopedia. That’s fine; you just need to double-check and
add to those answers by looking for a second source.
--You should have a minimum of five sources, though many of you will
probably need more.
--At least one of your sources must be text-based (not from the Internet).
--At least two of your sources must be from work done outside of school.
Your local library has a tremendous amount of material!
Format
Typed (12 pt.) or handwritten, double-spaced, proper heading and title, 1.5-2.5 pages.
Due dates will be given soon: Good Luck!