Name: _________________________________! Mr. White ! ! ! ! ! !

Unit Essential Questions:

Period: _____ Fertile Crescent Research Learning Contract

1. How did geography affect the growth of the Fertile Crescent? ____________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________ 2. What historical accomplishments are ancient Mesopotamians known for? ____________________________________________________________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________________________ Research Directions: Students are to select a topic below to further research and extend their knowledge. Using books from the library and the internet, students will be responsible to research and write down 12-15 facts about their topic. Students must use at least 1 book and 1 website, but may also use notes and information from our classroom study. Unit Research Topics: (Choose ONE) _____ Civilization of Sumer (city-states, religion) _____ Cuneiform Writing _____ Epic of Gilgamesh _____ Ziggurats _____ Akkadian Empire (Sargon) _____ Hammurabis Code _____ Babylonian Empire (Hammurabi) _____ Assyrian Empire (Ashurbanipal) _____ Neo-Babylonian Empire (Nebuchadnezzar II) _____ Hanging Gardens _____ Persian Empire (Cyrus the Great and/or Darius the Great) _____ Immortals/Standing Army _____ Phoenicians (Alphabet and Sea Trade) _____ Murex snail - Purple Dye * If you have an idea for a project not listed, please ask Mr. White for approval * All Projects must be accompanied with a typed list of 5 Things to Know about your subject matter. (these must be 5 facts about your subject that you have previously researched) * 5 Things to Know is worth 5 points (grade separate from the project) * All Projects must total 30 points.

Title of the Book(s) used for Research:! ! ! ! ! ! !

_____________________________________________ _____________________________________________ _____________________________________________ _____________________________________________

Name of the Website(s) used for Research:! ! ! ! ! ! !

Project Ideas
10 Point Project Ideas -Write a note of at least 25 words to your parents using Cuneiform and Phoenician writing system -Create an Acrostic Poem about on a topic of your choice in this Unit -Create a word search using all of the unit vocabulary words -Cuneiform Clay Tablet 20 Point Project Ideas -Create a Picture Story of the Epic of Gilgamesh using 4 scenes of the epic -Create a 4-scene Comic Strip on your Topic -Create a Comic Life on a topic of your choice in this Unit -Compare and contrast Cuneiform to the Phoenician Alphabet (1-2 pg. paper) -Write a 1-2 research-based paper on any Topic -Create a Board Game of Trivia from Fertile Crescent Unit -Create a Google Docs/Keynote/PowerPoint Presentation on a Topic (no presentation required) -Write your own song Lyrics (you wont need to perform the song) -Write a scary story about sailing on the Mediterranean and illustrate your story 30 Point Project Ideas -Construct a Structure (Ziggurat, Hanging Gardens, Phoenician Ship) -Create a Travel Brochure (advertising a Fertile Crescent Empire) -Create your own book (write a childrens story, biography, poetry book, scary story) -Write your own song lyrics and record them (CD or Music Video) -Complete an Oral Presentation of your TOPIC (with Keynote/PowerPoint) -Create a Map of the Fertile Crescent (outline all empires/civilizations, major cities, rivers and bodies of water, appropriate labels) -Construct a Tri-Fold on any topic -Create a cereal box of a leader -Create an iMovie on a topic of your choice in this Unit

Learning Contract
My TOPIC will be ________________________. To nd out about my TOPIC, I will use ___________________ for my research. To demonstrate what I have learned, my Project will be _____________________. This is a good way to demonstrate understanding of this TOPIC because __________________________________________________________________ To complete this PROJECT, my plan is to ______________________________________________________________________ DUE DATE for the PROJECT is - TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 27th. Signature__________________________________________