Teaching the Empires

Jason Manning this year I used the new articles on agrarian societies because they are all written following the same structure: Geography & Environment, Political Structure, Culture, Society, and Decline & Transformation. Each section includes a big question, which I asked my students to respond at home in preparation for a class discussion. In class I explained and deepened some of their characteristics. Then I paired civilizations for each of the sections I teach for my students to complete the Comparing Civilizations activity. 

For a summative assessment I gave them a test and finally I concluded the unit with the Museum Project. This was the best part where creativity and fun came hand in hand.

Laura Massa , these photos are outstanding! I bet just a fraction of the amazing nature of the real event!

I am curious about your assessment structure. What sort of "test" did you give as your "summative" assessment? Do you always give a traditional test when you already have a performance opportunity, shared construction of the comparison activity, and a class discussion?

Laura Massa , these photos are outstanding! I bet just a fraction of the amazing nature of the real event!

I am curious about your assessment structure. What sort of "test" did you give as your "summative" assessment? Do you always give a traditional test when you already have a performance opportunity, shared construction of the comparison activity, and a class discussion?

Donnetta Elsasser yes, I always include a unit test for each threshold, regardless of the activities we do during the unit. Tests contain multiple choice exercises and several short essay questions using stimuli such as tables, a short article, charts, images, etc. where students elaborate a response using evidence to respond to the prompt.