We've been studying Ancient Sumer for the past couple of weeks in Social Studies. As you know, Sumer is an excellent example of a group of people who developed from spread-out tribes of people into a cohesive civilization. In fact, the Sumerians are used as the epitome of the seven basic characteristics of a civilized society: the presence of a stable food supply, a social structure, an organized government, one or more religions, the arts, technology, and a form of writing.
As part of your culminating experience with the Ancient Sumerians, your task for this week is to write a journal entry from the point of view of a Sumerian citizen. You need to name your writer (something that sounds ancient rather than modern) and write from the first-person perspective. Your entry needs to include details pertaining to at least four of the seven characteristics of civilization, as well as mention some of the problems and solutions the Sumerians encountered over the years that led to them becoming a functional city-state. Be creative with your writing, but be sure to maintain a sense of reality!
After you've posted your journal entry to this blog site (via the Comments link below), you'll need to read two other student entries and respond to them. Your responses should state the aspects of their entries that you liked, and should include one thoughtful question each that the original students will then need to answer in a reply post of their own.
Today is Monday, and all students are expected to post their journal entries by this Wednesday. Everyone needs to read and respond to two classmate entries by this Friday, after which all students must post their two responses to the questions posed to them by next Monday.
You are welcome to access the Holt Interactive Graphic Organizer webpage at any point during your writing. You can use any of the concept maps to help organize your thoughts as you plan your journal entry.
You will be graded on the following:
• your journal entry contains at least four characteristics of civilization
• your journal entry refers to the problems and solutions Ancient Sumerians encountered on their journey to becoming a successful city-state
• your journal entry is written from the first-person perspective and includes a realistic-sounding name relevant to that time in history
• you read and respond to two classmates' journal entries
• you post a response to the two questions that fellow classmates will pose to you
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| Panels from Ancient Sumer's "Standard of Ur" 'Characteristics of Civilization' web and 'Standard of Ur' panels both copyrighted by TCI - Teacher's Curriculum Institute |
