Ancient History
Fourth Quarter Project
Theme: Turning Points in History: People, Ideas, Events
Due: June 5
Library Days: May 26-29
In-Class Work Days: June 1-5
Presentations: June 8-12
Because of the SOL exams, we will not have in-class access to computers or the library until May 26. You must
bring your resources with you to class and be prepared to use your time productively on scheduled work days.
You will not have formal homework during this period but you should plan to work outside of class.
Topic Selection:
 There may not be duplicate projects.
 You may work alone or with a partner-no groups
 It must be a topic from before 1600
 Avoid topics that are too broad.
 Choose a topic of interest to YOU!!!!!!
Questions to guide your topic selection:
 What topic did you really enjoy this year?
 What topic did you want to learn more about?
 What do you already know?
 Do you have enough evidence to support your event, idea, or person as a turning point in history?
Historical Significance:
You must do more than describe what happened. You must draw conclusions basing your opinion on evidence
about how the topic affected individuals, communities, nations and the world. Studies should include an
investigation into available primary and secondary sources, analysis of the evidence and a clear explanation of the
relationship of the topic to the theme.
Historical Context: You should ask questions of time and place, cause and effect, change over time, impact and
significance. In order to do that, you need to put the impact of your topic into its historical context-the intellectual,
physical, social, and cultural setting in which events occurred. In other words, what happened before, during and
after the event, person or idea?
The Project: You may work alone or in a pair. The culmination of your research will produce one of the
following options:
*Digital Documentary
*PowerPoint/Prezi
*Website
Rubrics will be provided when you determine the format of your project. You will have about 10 minutes to
present your project to the class. Audience members will earn a class work grade by evaluating presentations
using a provided rubric.
8 Steps to Historical Research:
Step 1: Develop a paperwork management system
Step 2: Select a Topic. Create a Mind Map
Step 3: Background Reading for Historical Context
Step 4: Narrow Your Topic
Step 5: Gather and Record Information
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Paper: Provide citations (MLA)
All projects will create and turn in an ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY
The annotations for each source must explain how the source was used and how it helped you understand the topic.
You must explain why the source was categorized as primary or secondary. Historians sometimes disagree so use
the annotation to explain why you classified your source as you did. Discuss the bias of the source. List only those
sources used to develop your project. An annotation is usually about 1-3 sentences.
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Example: Source
Bates, Daisy. The Long Shadow of Little Rock. 1st ed. New York: David McKay Co. Inc., 1962.
Example: Annotation
Daisy Bates was the president of the Arkansas NAACP. She met and personally interviewed the
students shortly after these events occurred. Though her bias was clearly sympathetic to the students,
she provided a first-hand account of their experiences. This perspective helped me understand how
they felt.
Step 6: Analyze and Interpret Sources and the Topic's Significance in History
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Elements of change and continuity, cause and effect, significance
Historical context: economic, political, social and cultural atmosphere of the time period
Who created the source?
When was the source created?
What was the intent or purpose of the source?
Step 7: Develop a thesis
Step 8: Create the project
Due Dates:
Friday, May 22 - Topic Selection & Mind Maps
Friday, May 29 - Rough Draft/Mock Up/Outline
Wed., June 3 - Annotated Bibliography
Friday, June 5 – Project Due
June 8-12–Presentations
Your Grade Will Be Determined by the Following Criteria:
Requirements:
Historical Quality
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Historical accuracy
Historical context
Analysis and interpretation
Use of available primary sources
Wide research
Balanced research
Historical Accuracy
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Historical Context
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Relation to Theme
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Clearly relates to theme
Demonstrates significance of topic in history and draws
conclusions
Clarity of Presentation
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Presentation, written materials are original, clear,
appropriate, organized and articulate
Entry is organized; visual impact is appropriate to topic
Determines that sources are viable and reputable
Explains cross check of sources
Illustrates how historical event influenced and was
influenced by the social, cultural, political and economics
of the time period
Analysis and Interpretation
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Demonstrates critical thinking
Asks historical questions
Develops and defends an historical interpretation
Identifies bias
Use of available primary sources
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Compares and critiques sources--documents, images, oral
interviews, etc.
Evidence of the use of bibliographies to locate primary
sources
Wide research
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Reflects wide reading in multiple sources, including
primary and secondary materials
Balanced Research
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Represents competing perspectives /bias
Identifies biases
Possible Topics:
Egyptian Pyramids
Mesopotamia: Conflict and Cultural Diffusion
The Jewish Diaspora: Judaism and the Torah
Aryans Migrate to India Establish New Social Structure Based on Religion
Ashoka Promotes & Spreads Buddhism on the Silk Road
Era of the Warring States in China: The Founding Philosophies
Greco-Persian Wars/Pericles and the Golden Age of Greece
Alexander the Great and the Spread of Hellenism
Assassination of Julius Caesar
Augustus and Pax Romana
Constantine and the Spread of Christianity
Byzantine Empire: Golden Age of Justinian and Theodora
Han Dynasty and Silk Road Trade
Muhammad and the Spread of Islam
Al-Andalus/Islamic Spain: Cities of Light
Viking Invasions/Feudalism in Western Europe
Tang/Song Dynasty Golden Age
Prince Shotoku Sends Emissaries to China
William the Conqueror: Battle of Hastings
Pope Urban and the Crusades
The Women of Medieval Europe: Eleanor of Aquitaine, etc
King John Signs Magna Carta
Genghis Khan and Pax Mongolica
Kublai Khan Rules China
The Travels of Marco Polo
Mali, Ghana, Songhai: West African Kingdoms
The Travels of Ibn Battuta
Mansa Musa Makes His Pilgrimage to Mecca
The Bubonic Plague Arrives in Europe
The Hundred Years War
Isabelle and Ferdinand: The Reconquista
Mayan City-States: Rise and Fall
Aztecs, Cortez & the Conquest of Tenochtitlan
Inca, Pizzaro & the Conquest of the Incas
Japan: Battle of Sekigahara & Rise of the Tokugawa Shogunate