WebQuest - Ancient Egypt

Ancient Egypt was the birthplace of one of the world's first civilizations. This advanced culture arose about 5000 years ago in the Nile River Valley in Northeastern Africa. The ancient Egyptians made outstanding contributions to the development of civilization. They created the world's first national government, basic forms of arithmetic, and 365 day calendar. They invented a form of picture writing called hieroglyphics. They also invented papyrus, a paper like writing material made from the stems of papyrus plants. The Egyptians developed one of the first religions to emphasize life after death. They built great cities in which many skilled architects, doctors, engineers, painters, and sculptors worked.

6. Prepare a study guide and script to use for the narration in your documentary.

Ancient Egyptian society was basically divided into four classes. The upper class included the government officials, nobles, and priests. The middle class included the scribes, skilled craftsmen, trades people, teachers, artists, and soldiers. The peasants mostly farmers, laborers, and servants made up the lower class, which was the largest class. Lastly, the slaves made up the bottom class. Egypt really had few slaves. They were mostly foreign captives from Nubia to the south (Sudan) or Asia to the northeast.

-Were there slaves in ancient Egypt? (Document your answer with reliable sources.)

One of the most astonishing facts about Egypt is how little everyday life changed over the millennia. The rhythm of Egyptian life was the rhythm of the Nile until a few years ago, when the Aswan dam was built. The gods are gone, so are the pharaohs, the language and the writing.
To understand the everyday life of ancient Egyptians, archeologists rely on many sources.
The most valuable sources include tomb paintings, relieves, and the objects included in tombs that the Egyptians used in their daily life. Artifacts from the few towns that have been excavated and hundreds of documents written by the ancient Egyptians shed additional light on their life.
Much of their day-to-day running of their households, however remains obscure.

For ancient Egyptians, appearance was an important issue. Appearance indicated a person's status, role in a society or political significance. Egyptians were well aware of, and made frequent use of cosmetics such as : lipstick, rouge (blush), and eye-shadow. Perfumes and other rituals were a significant part of their dress.

- Did ancient Egyptians use any of the following: ointments, perfume, nail polish, eye makeup?

-Did ancient Egyptians have bathrooms in their houses? Find a picture of a shower room.

Most Egyptians were peasants and lived in small simple homes made of reed and mud framed with wood. Other Egyptians lived in larger homes built back to back and opened directly into the streets. These houses had one central room where most of the family gathered. They usually ate together in this central room. If a family had slaves, they would cook the meals in the kitchen area. This room would have fires of wood or charcoal and use kettles and other cooking utensils. Food storage might be kept in various triangular-shaped huts for later consumption.

From its start in prehistoric Egypt, women were predominantly in charge of textile manufacturing and garment making. Garment making was a household chore, but women also worked for aristocrats in spinning and weaving shops. Every garment from the decorative dresses of queens and the elaborate, pleated kilts of the pharaohs to the simpler kilts and aprons of the common people were handmade by women. The process of garment making was extensive even for the simplest of garment.

The lead historian takes charge of organizing the research for their group's particular assigned segment. While the majority of the research will be the responsibility of the lead historian, it is not the sole responsibility of the lead historian.

The lead historian will also assign and monitor the research activities of the other members. The lead historian will collect, categorize and filter the information that he/she and the other production team members collect. The lead historian will also keep records of the sources consulted for the segment. Finally, the compilation of the final Works Consulted list using MLA format will be his/her responsibility.

As the media specialist, you will focus on acquiring the raw multimedia materials for inclusion in the PowerPoint documentary being produced by your group. The multimedia materials collected will include: pictures, graphics, audio and possibly video. Materials may be scanned in from print sources (scanning is your responsibility, see your teacher or librarian for assistance if needed).

The PowerPoint manager will focus on the actual construction of the group's segment. The manager will need to communicate with the other members of the group to ensure that the final product reflects the input of all members. The manager will also work very closely with the media specialist to obtain the multimedia materials to be used in the creation of the final presentation, and to gain assistance in the final stages of production. It will be essential that the manager begin the framework of the presentation as soon as possible (even while the other members are still researching information and acquiring materials) to ensure that the presentation is ready by the given deadline. The manager will oversee the narration of the voice-over for inclusion in the final presentation and work with the other members of the group during the recording process (refer to the provided PowerPoint guide for assistance or get the instructor's or librarian's aid if needed).

The segment producer is mainly responsible for ensuring that a timetable for the production is set and adhered to by the group. This task involves the coordination of the entire team's efforts and overseeing many aspects of the planning and production phases. A key role of the segment producer will be also designing, writing and editing the voice-over narration script for the final production. The segment producer in effect manages the production and keeps the group on-task during all stages of production.

While cooperation and team work are key to this project, it is not uncommon for some group members to work to a lesser or to a greater degree than others. To address this concern, individual grades will be determined based on the points earned by the segment, and based on the group's evaluation of each of its members. The segment producer will keep a record of the daily attendance and activities of each group member. After the group segment has been graded, the group will collaboratively determine the grade of each member of the group.

For example, if the group segment earns a total of 20/24 possible total points, or 83%, the group will need to decide how to fairly distribute 332 percentage points (83 project grade X 4 members) among the members of the group. Attendance, work ethic, and cooperation are some of the factors that a group should use in order to determine how many points to award to each member. If problems arise during this process that cannot be peaceably worked out by the members of the group, they should consult the teacher for assistance.

Project Grading
A high-quality documentary has a certain look and feel to it, which we are going to try to emulate using PowerPoint. Based on the criteria that we developed in class, please keep the following grading rubric in mind as you collaboratively create your segment:

Criteria	Score
Factual Content-The information included in the documentary is accurate and relevant to the topic.
Use of Primary Sources-Several relevant primary sources have been used to provide information about the content contained in the documentary segment.
Media Use-The sounds, images, animations, and slide transitions that are used are both relevant and purposeful.
Organization-The documentary segment is organized in a logical manner, making it easy to understand the information that is being presented.
Citation-The last slide of the PowerPoint presentation contains an MLA-style Works Consulted listing all of the resources used for this project (e.g., textbook, review book, web pages, etc.).
Narration-Narration is used as the primary means of transmitting information for the documentary. The narration is relevant and compliments the media selected for the documentary segment.
Study Guide-The study guide acts as an outline of the documentary, providing students with a resource to review the material presented. The study guide should closely follow the presentation of the documentary.
Formatting-The segment maintains the formatting required to create a uniform class documentary (e.g., background color, font size, font type, font color, etc.) and is between 15 and 20 minutes in length.
Total Points
Grade

Score	Meaning
3	Excellent-These criteria have been met in every possible way, and may even exceed expectations.
2	Acceptable-These criteria have been mostly addressed, however, there is room for improvement.
1	Fair -Some elements have been met, but most of the criteria fail to be addressed.
0	Incomplete-These criteria have not been addressed in any meaningful way or have not been completed.