THE DAWN OF MAN
READINESS LEVEL
Partnerships???
PICTOGRAPHIC MURAL
UPHILL (Analyze, create)
You may work with a partner on the mural, but NOT the essay.
Directions
Design a pictographic mural that traces the history of early man from his emergence in Africa to the
development of human civilizations. Focus your mural on:
 early human development,
 the transition from Paleolithic to Neolithic life, and
 the birth of advanced societies.
Present pictograms that demonstrate understanding of
 early human discoveries and adaptations,
 transitions and changes in lifestyle,
 patterns of settlement and social behavior, and
 the eight features of civilization.
Do not create three separate murals of three separate eras (as the Straight-Ahead project requires).
Your challenge is to create one mural that shows change over time.
Accompany your mural with a one-page essay that responds to the question, “Why was the
Agricultural Revolution so revolutionary?” Begin your essay with an argumentative thesis statement
about the importance of the Agricultural Revolution. Defend your argument with supporting details
organized into two or three body paragraphs. Make sure that your ideas clearly answer all how/why/so
what questions. Organize your thoughts carefully so that sentences and paragraphs flow smoothly
from one to the next. Finally, provide a conclusion paragraph that ties everything together,
summarizing your argument and its points of defense.
Notes
Name:______________________________________
GRADING RUBRIC: Pictographic Mural
Uphill
Comments
Evaluation
 Demonstrates Mastery. The mural presents a comprehensive understanding of early
human development and of the transition from Paleolithic to Neolithic life and the advent
of advanced civilization. Pictograms illustrate the discoveries and adaptations of Paleolithic
nomads, the Agricultural Revolution, Neolithic settlement patterns, changing social
relationships, and the rise of cities (accompanied by the features of advanced societies). The
essay constructs an argument about the revolutionary quality of the Agricultural Revolution.
A strong thesis statement guides the essay at the beginning, and supporting details defend
the argument throughout the body paragraphs. Ideas are expressed clearly and answer all
how/why/so what questions. Transitions are fluid, and a conclusion paragraph ties everything
together neatly. The reader is left without confusion. The essay stands alone to be accepted
or rejected, but not to be figured out.

Demonstrates Competence. A) The mural achieves mastery, but the essay leaves the
reader with several important how/why questions remaining. The thesis articulates a coherent
argument, but the body of the essay struggles at times to provide enough supporting details
Therefore, the reader must construct his own understandings, rather than digest the
understandings of the author. The reader is forced to figure some things out on his own. .
Although the ideas may be foggy, the writing is grammatically sound and easily
understandable. OR B) The essay achieves mastery, but the mural leaves room for
improvement. The pictograms do not present a full understanding of early human history
from the dawn of man through the rise of civilizations. It focuses well on a few aspects of
early human history but neglects others.

Suggests Competence. Neither the mural nor the essay demonstrates mastery. Both leave
ample room to demonstrate more thorough understandings. The essay leaves a lot for the
reader to figure out himself. A number of ideas are marred by awkward wording or
phrasing, which causes the reader to trip over the argument or even forget it outright. The
mural focuses almost exclusively on food production at the expense of other considerations
(settlement patterns, social relationships, features of civilizations). The student suggests that
he understands the big ideas, but his work does not offer definitive proof. There are lots of
questions remaining.

Does Not Suggest Competence Yet. The work suggests a misunderstanding of many big
ideas related to the content. Although there are glimpses of comprehension, the essay is
jumbled and provides very few supporting details. Most of the statements are vague
repetitions of the same idea. It looks like the author is just trying to fill space with
unnecessary sentences. The mural lacks substance, appears hastily completed, and ignores
too many aspects of early human history to suggest a competent understanding.

Does Not Suggest Competence Yet. The mural looks like a 5-minute effort, and the
essay fails to present an argument related to the content of the unit. .