Years ago I wrote a post on Ancient Mesopotamia school project ideas broken down by Gardner's Multiple Intelligences. I don't know what's taken me so long, but I finally decided it's time to come up with a list of projects for Ancient Greece!
Showing posts with label geography. Show all posts
Showing posts with label geography. Show all posts
37 Project Ideas - Geography of Ancient Greece
Years ago I wrote a post on Ancient Mesopotamia school project ideas broken down by Gardner's Multiple Intelligences. I don't know what's taken me so long, but I finally decided it's time to come up with a list of projects for Ancient Greece!
Geography of Ancient Greece and its Effects on Culture
What was Greece’s geography like? How did geography affect Ancient Greek
civilization?
Here’s a mystery box that will help us answer these
questions. The contents of this box
shaped Greek culture. It holds secret
weapons that helped Greece defeat the almost unstoppable Persian Empire. The items in this box also helped lead to the
fall of Ancient Greece.
Curious? Okay, go
ahead and take a peek.
Economic Geography - a definition
An executive at Amazon.com stared at a computer screen. On the screen was a map of the world with an innumerable
number of dots. Each dot represented an
order by a customer of Amazon. Clicking
on a dot brought up a screen that showed the order, the shipping information,
how much it cost Amazon to acquire and deliver the order, and how much Amazon’s
profit would be when the order was complete.
By clicking on a country, the executive could see the orders in that
particular country. This allowed her to
see what was “hot” in that country and what merchandise needed more promotion there.
Climate of Mesopotamia
One can tell just from looking at a satellite image of
Mesopotamia that it is mostly desert. A
climate map tells us that most of the region is considered arid or semi-arid,
just what we would expect. One way to
look at Mesopotamia’s climate is to examine different factors that affect
climate.
Geography of Ancient India - The Indus River Valley
The culture that developed in the Indus River Valley around 3500-2500 BC, referred to by some as the Harappan Culture (named for Harappa, one of the ruined cities of the ancient civilization), was cut off from others on all sides by its geography.
Geography of Ancient Egypt - the Nile River
Amazon River Once Flowed Backwards
Sediment along the Amazon River indicate that the river once flowed from ancient highlands on the eastern coast of South America to the west. This contrasts the current flow of the Amazon from its headwaters in the Andes Mountains to the Atlantic ocean to the east.
The discovery was made by a graduate student of geology, Russell Mapes, and his advisor, Dr. Drew Coleman, at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
By analyzing the age of sediment along the Amazon Basin, the two researchers confirmed previous research indicating reverse flow along portions of the river but also found that at one time, the Amazon’s reverse flow was actually continent-wide.
If the Amazon had continuously flowed eastward, as it does now, Mapes and Coleman would have found much younger mineral grains in the sediments from the Andes.
“We didn’t see any,” Mapes said. “All along the basin, the ages of the mineral grains all pointed to very specific locations in central and eastern South America.
Mapes explains that these sediments of eastern origin were washed down from a highland area that formed in the Cretaceous Period, between 65 million and 145 million years ago, when the South American and African tectonic plates separated and passed each other. That highland tilted the river’s flow westward, sending sediment as old as 2 billion years toward the center of the continent.
A relatively low ridge, called the Purus Arch, which still exists, rose in the middle of the continent, running north and south, dividing the Amazon’s flow - eastward toward the Atlantic and westward toward the Andes.
Toward the end of the Cretaceous, the Andes started growing, which sent the river back toward the Purus Arch. Eventually, sediment from the mountains, which contained mineral grains younger than 500 million years old, filled in the basin between the mountains and the arch, the river breeched it and started its current flow.
“It was a surprise, just because I didn’t have any idea what to expect,” Mapes said. “I didn’t know it would work out so perfectly.”
The finding, Mapes said, helps illustrate that “the surface of the earth is very transient. Although the Amazon seems permanent and unchanging it has actually gone through three different stages of drainage since the mid-Cretaceous, a short period of time geologically speaking.”
Source: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
The discovery was made by a graduate student of geology, Russell Mapes, and his advisor, Dr. Drew Coleman, at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
By analyzing the age of sediment along the Amazon Basin, the two researchers confirmed previous research indicating reverse flow along portions of the river but also found that at one time, the Amazon’s reverse flow was actually continent-wide.
If the Amazon had continuously flowed eastward, as it does now, Mapes and Coleman would have found much younger mineral grains in the sediments from the Andes.
“We didn’t see any,” Mapes said. “All along the basin, the ages of the mineral grains all pointed to very specific locations in central and eastern South America.
Mapes explains that these sediments of eastern origin were washed down from a highland area that formed in the Cretaceous Period, between 65 million and 145 million years ago, when the South American and African tectonic plates separated and passed each other. That highland tilted the river’s flow westward, sending sediment as old as 2 billion years toward the center of the continent.
A relatively low ridge, called the Purus Arch, which still exists, rose in the middle of the continent, running north and south, dividing the Amazon’s flow - eastward toward the Atlantic and westward toward the Andes.
Toward the end of the Cretaceous, the Andes started growing, which sent the river back toward the Purus Arch. Eventually, sediment from the mountains, which contained mineral grains younger than 500 million years old, filled in the basin between the mountains and the arch, the river breeched it and started its current flow.
“It was a surprise, just because I didn’t have any idea what to expect,” Mapes said. “I didn’t know it would work out so perfectly.”
The finding, Mapes said, helps illustrate that “the surface of the earth is very transient. Although the Amazon seems permanent and unchanging it has actually gone through three different stages of drainage since the mid-Cretaceous, a short period of time geologically speaking.”
Source: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Geography Assessment Project - Design an Island
I decided not to do it this year due to time constraints with my curriculum, but for the past few years I've had my students do a culminating geography project to assess the skills they learned during the unit.
The project revolved around islands designed by students in groups. I tried various group sizes, but groups of four seemed to be most effective for me.
The islands were designed around a theme of the students' choice. The themes were quite creative - everything from Candyland to Napoleon Dynamite Island, The Island of Elders, and Guitar Island.
The requirements for the island designs were intended to assess all the geography skills we covered in the unit, including the Five Themes of Geography. The students had to have at least eight different landforms (including a human-made one), four different regions, a coordinate grid, cities (including a capital), a source of fresh water, a method of transportation, and a map key with color codes for regions and a scale. The students also had to pick a real life ocean location for their island and supply the latitude and longitude.
Groups also had to write a "Five Themes Profile". The profile described how human activity changed the island, the purpose and effects of their human-made landform, the effects of natural resource harvesting on the island, any trade (import/export) the island engaged in, and how the island's regions are defined and why.
Finally, the students had to design a flag and a symbol to represent their island's theme and culture. They also had to prepare and deliver a presentation to the class about their island.
I usually gave the students a full week (about four hours) to work on their island maps, flags, and five themes profile and another day or two for presentations.
The project could be simplified or made more detailed. For example, the students might design a government to rule over their island and write news stories about events that happened there. I've also thought it would be cool for the students to do their designs on the computer, but resources and time have never afforded me the opportunity to fully explore the idea.
At any rate, this project has proven to be a fun and effective method of assessing students' geography skills in a non-traditional way following (or preceding) a traditional test.
The project revolved around islands designed by students in groups. I tried various group sizes, but groups of four seemed to be most effective for me.
The islands were designed around a theme of the students' choice. The themes were quite creative - everything from Candyland to Napoleon Dynamite Island, The Island of Elders, and Guitar Island.
The requirements for the island designs were intended to assess all the geography skills we covered in the unit, including the Five Themes of Geography. The students had to have at least eight different landforms (including a human-made one), four different regions, a coordinate grid, cities (including a capital), a source of fresh water, a method of transportation, and a map key with color codes for regions and a scale. The students also had to pick a real life ocean location for their island and supply the latitude and longitude.
Groups also had to write a "Five Themes Profile". The profile described how human activity changed the island, the purpose and effects of their human-made landform, the effects of natural resource harvesting on the island, any trade (import/export) the island engaged in, and how the island's regions are defined and why.
Finally, the students had to design a flag and a symbol to represent their island's theme and culture. They also had to prepare and deliver a presentation to the class about their island.
I usually gave the students a full week (about four hours) to work on their island maps, flags, and five themes profile and another day or two for presentations.
The project could be simplified or made more detailed. For example, the students might design a government to rule over their island and write news stories about events that happened there. I've also thought it would be cool for the students to do their designs on the computer, but resources and time have never afforded me the opportunity to fully explore the idea.
At any rate, this project has proven to be a fun and effective method of assessing students' geography skills in a non-traditional way following (or preceding) a traditional test.
Teaching the Five Themes of Geography - Human/Environment Interaction
When you study geography as it relates to history, it really is all about humans' interaction with the Earth's environment. Much of the story of human history is the development of new ways of modifying, reacting to, and adapting to the environment. As such, this is probably the theme that gets the most attention in my ancient world history classroom.
Teaching the Five Themes of Geography - Movement
Movement is how people, things, and ideas get from place to place on Earth. It is a simple theme to teach because it is so concrete. Afterall, all my students got to school today somehow didn't they? Their lunch was made from ingredients that were transported from somewhere. And when I write information on the board or the principal makes an announcement on the school PA system, we are "moving" ideas aren't we?
Teaching the Five Themes of Geography - Place and Regions
Place and Regions can be abstract concepts, but once the definitions are understood, they're easy.
Place is what makes one place different than another. This can include physical characteristics such as the land or human characteristics like the culture of a group of people.
Regions are simply areas that share one or more qualities/characteristics.
Place is what makes one place different than another. This can include physical characteristics such as the land or human characteristics like the culture of a group of people.
Regions are simply areas that share one or more qualities/characteristics.
Teaching the Five Themes of Geography - Location
Location is of course where something is. However, there is more than one way to specify location.
The first is absolute or exact location. In geography, this is most often done by using latitude and longitude.
The second way to specify location is relative location. This is location based on references to other places or things. For example, I might say my house is near the corner of Oak and Pine. Or, I might say my house is 2 miles west of Interstate-80. These are both relative locations.
The first is absolute or exact location. In geography, this is most often done by using latitude and longitude.
The second way to specify location is relative location. This is location based on references to other places or things. For example, I might say my house is near the corner of Oak and Pine. Or, I might say my house is 2 miles west of Interstate-80. These are both relative locations.
Tigris and Euphrates Rivers - The Geography of Ancient Mesopotamia
Mesopotamia is Greek for "between the rivers." Specifically, the rivers referenced by this term are the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers that run through modern-day Iraq. These two rivers, and the land between them, are often called the "cradle of civilization" because the civilization that developed there was likely the first ever on Earth.
If we go back to the characteristics of a civilization, we know that one of the first requirements is a surplus of food. It makes sense then that the people that settled in Mesopotamia did so to utilize the life (and food) giving waters of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.
Like other river valley civilizations (Egypt, the people of the Indus River Valley), the people of Mesopotamia relied heavily on fairly regular spring floods that spilled the rivers over their banks, leaving behind extremely fertile soil when the waters receded. The melting snows that fed the Tigris and Euphrates came from the Taurus Mountains to the northwest in modern Turkey and the Zagros mountains to the north in Iran and Turkey.The Tigris and Euphrates were of course used as a water supply and to irrigate crops, but they were also important for transportation and trade. Mesoptamia was a cross-roads of the early ancient world for trade between Egypt, India and China, and the people leaving on the eastern shores of the Mediterranean, a region called the Levant.
Like most of the great rivers of the world, the Tigris and Euphrates have been dammed to control flooding and harness the power of the moving waters. As a result, Mesopotamia is much less "green" in modern satellite images than it would have appeared even a few centuries ago. The deserts have reclaimed much of the land between the rivers, including much of the marshlands that were once plentiful there.
The deserts also reclaimed a chunk of the Persian Gulf, where the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers join and empty. You can see this clearly on the satellite image. The area of desert all the way up to the darker, more fertile looking region was once part of the Persian Gulf.
The Fertile Crescent is a term often used to describe Mesopotamia. In fact, the Fertile Crescent actually includes Mesopotamia all the way to the mouths of the Tigris and Euphrates plus the fertile plains, plateaus, and forests of the Levant region along the coast of the Mediterranean. When a line is drawn around it, the region forms a reverse crescent, hence the term Fertile Crescent. Some textbooks and maps even include the lower Nile River valley as part of the Fertile Crescent.
However you define them, the fact remains that Mesopotamia and the Fertile Crescent were home to some of the earliest and most powerful civilizations, and that was due in large part to the life sustaining waters of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers.
If you are looking for some ideas for projects to do for Ancient Mesopotamia, check out this page...
Image attribution:
Top - published under a Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 2.5 License on Wikimedia Commons
Bottom - NASA image available from NASA: Visible Earth
Physical Geography of the Ancient Minoans
The story of the geography of the Ancient Minoans is largely about water.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)