Name____________________________________________________Date______Period______
GRAPES Reaction Paper
25 Points
Each student will be REQUIRED to complete a GRAPES REACTION PAPER every other week
due by Thursday,_ February 9, 2012_____________________.
1. A student will locate an article either from a newspaper, news magazine, or online.
2. The GRAPES Reaction Paper should be typed or neatly handwritten in ink.
3. Articles should be selected only from the following countries--Iran, Iraq, Turkey, Egypt,
Greece, Rome, India, Israel, or China. These countries correlate with the Ancient
Civilizations we are studying.
4. ARTICLE must be stapled to the back of the GRAPES Reaction Paper.
5. Grapes Reaction Paper should be turned in as followed: GRAPES Reaction Paper Form
with student and parent signatures, typed response, and article.
Part I: Geographic Overview of Article (5 points)
1. Copy the headline of the article.
2. What city and country is your article about?
3. What is the capital city of that country?
4. List two countries that border that country.
5. List two landforms or bodies of water in that country (river, lake, or bay, not an ocean).
Part II: GRAPES (10 points)
Geography
Religion
Achievements
Politics
How climate and
landscape affect
lifestyle.
Is a civilization
isolated, or is it
open to cultural
exchange and
invasion? What
resources are
available for
clothing,
building, and
trade?
A set of
spiritual beliefs,
values, and
practices.
Society’s beliefs
about morals and
the afterlife.
What are the
rules you should
live by?
How do these
religious ideas
affect different
aspects of daily
life?
The lasting
works of a
society.
What things
were built to
last?
Which ideas, if
any, still affect
our lives today?
Who runs a
society, and how
do they do it?
Who has power,
and how is it
used?
How do those
with power keep
it or lose it?
GRAPES is an acronym for the characteristics of a society.
Economics
How a society
uses its scare
resources.
What are the
most valuable
resources in a
society?
How are these
resources
distributed?
Social
Structures
The different
levels or classes
in a society.
Who are the
“most
important”
people in
society? What
do they do?
Who’s at the
bottom of the
social structure
in a society?
Why?
1. Decide what characteristic of civilization the article focuses on-- Geography, Religion,
Achievements, Politics, Economics, or the Social Structure of a society? Many times
news articles will focus on more than one, please only select one focus area.
2. Make an assertion about the article.
“________________________”(name of article) focuses on the______________ of a
society because of ______________________________.
Examples
 This article focuses on the politics in Egypt because of the demonstrations in
Cairo.
 This article focuses on the social structure in Egypt because of the demonstrations
in Cairo.
3. Cite three examples from the article using direct quotations that support your assertion.
4. Explain why these citations or direct quotations are important and how they help support
your assertion.
Part III: Reaction to Article (10 points)
1. If you were called upon to discuss this article, what would you say? The first THREE TO
FIVE SENTENCES should summarize the article answering the Who, What, and Where
questions. WHO is involved, WHAT took place, and WHERE. (Please respond with a
minimum of six sentences.)
2. Why is this article newsworthy? (minimum of 3 sentences)
3. What is happening or has happened in the United States or another location in the world
that is similar or different to what is going on in the article? (minimum of 5 sentences)
4. How does this compare to an Ancient Civilization that we have studied? Are there
similarities, differences, or other types of commonalities between the article and the
Ancient Civilizations studied?
Section
Part I
Part II
Part III
Rubric for GRAPES Reaction Paper
Points Possible
5
10
10
25
Points Earned
Comments:
Name of Article:____________________________________ ________ Due Date:_________________
Student Signature_____________________________Parent Signature___________________________