Listed below are two projects that I used in the 6th Grade Ancient Civilizations course this past year. I felt that these projects were designed to reach all types of students and allowed them to showcases their skills and abilities by deciding how/what project to complete.
The first project is truly what guides the class for the remainder of the school year. G.R.A.P.E.S. is an acronym used to describe the common characteristics of civilizations in the past and present. Since Ancient Civilizations and World History in general is a particularly challenging subject for middle school students, it only made sense to analyze each of the characteristics as we "travel" to different civilizations during the school year.
The Ancient Rome Extravaganza is completed during the 3rd quarter, when the precedent has been set for the classroom and students understand the level of expectation. This project is conducted at the end of the unit but really focuses on students' becoming "experts" in their assigned area and then teaching their fellow classmates through an information fair. The rationale for teaching one another is that there are so many fun and exciting areas to cover within Ancient Rome it makes it impossible to cover in a four-week time frame.
Click on each link to see detailed lesson plans and more information about the projects.