Introduction

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Welcome!  The year is 2525 AD.  Earth no longer exists as you know it.  At the time of Earth's final nuclear blast 3 years ago, your class managed to escape on a space shuttle which took you to a distant space station.

All of you miss your past life on Earth.  In fact, you miss it so bad that in order to keep you happy, scientists living on the space station perfected a time-traveling machine, making it possible for you to travel back to Earth.  However, the scientists have placed conditions on your time-traveling.

First, they will only let you return to Earth to conduct research.  In order for you to do this research, you must infiltrate Earth's society without being detected.  In other words, you must become one of the Earthlings.

Second, the scientists want you to help them make the space station look like Earth.  So, they want you to examine various cultural aspects of the societies you travel to and then transport the ideas to your new world.  You must also explain why you think the space station should adopt them as part of their space station culture.

Your mission, should you decide to accept it, and you don't have a choice, is to travel back to Ancient Egypt, undetected, and bring back Egyptian cultural ideas that you think would be good for the space station.

 

The Task

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At the end of this webquest you will make a presentation to the class.  In this presentation you will defend your decision as to whether or not you will transport an aspect of Ancient Egyptian culture to your space station. 
 

 

The Process

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• First, you will be assigned to a "Transport" team of 5 students.  Each person in the "Transport" team will pick a role from the following list:  worker, craftsman, scribe, nobleperson, and high priest.

• Once you have picked a role you will change groups and work with your "Research" team, which consists of all the students from the other "Transport" team groupings who have chosen the same role as you.  For example, if you chose the role of a worker you will work with the other students who chose the role of a worker. If you chose the role of a craftsman you will work with the other students who chose the role of a craftsman, and so on.

• The "Research" teams will work together and research the role of the character they have chosen.  Consider the following questions as you are doing your research.
• What is your job? 
• What kind of dwelling do you live in? 
• What do you wear? 
• What do you eat? 
• Who is more important than you? 
• Who is less important than you? 
• Click on the diagram below to visit a site that will help you organize your research. 

• Here are some websites where you can read about your character role.

• When your research is complete you will return to your "Transport" team and make a presentation.  In this presentation you will tell them all about your character's role.  Your group will be evaluating your presentation.

• Next, your "Transport" team will conduct research on an Ancient Egyptian cultural aspect.  Your task is to decide whether it is something you would like to use on the space station.  Here are some questions to consider in making your decision.

• What are the things that make a community a nice place to live? 
• What do you want the space station to look like and why?
• What do you like about the cultural aspect and why? 
• What don't you like about the cultural aspect and why?
• Will this Ancient Egyptian culture be of benefit to your space station or not?

• Here are some websites where you can read about cultural aspects of Ancient Egypt.

• Now, you will put all this information into a presentation format and present your cultural aspect to the class.  Tell the class what it is.  Then tell them why you want it, or don't want it, to be part of your new world on the space station.

Evaluation

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50% of your final mark will be based on your written work, 25% will be based on your presentation to your "Transport" team, and 25% will be based on your class presentation.  Your presentations will be evaluated by your peers and your teacher. Look at the descriptions below to see what an Excellent, a Good, a Fair, and a Poor presentation and write-up would look like.
 

Components of your final grade	Poor 1	Fair 2	Good 3	Excellent 4
Presentation	Speaks in monotone Distracting body movements Little eye contact or voice change Words indistinct Does not project voice Rambling presentation No summary	Some eye contact and facial expression Uneven voice projection Contains many incomplete thoughts Loosely organized Little summarization	Usually faces audience Makes some eye contact Clarity & pacing are variable Well organized but repetitive Effective choice of words Summary evident	Consistently faces audience Maintains eye contact Uses effective pacing and tone variation Organizes presentation points logically Provides brief summary
Written Work	The writing consists of loosely connected ideas; often includes serious errors. Purpose or focus is not clear. May copy of misinterpret information. Language is simple and repetitive. Sentences are short and simple. Paragraphs are disjointed; poorly organized and sequenced. Frequent errors in simple words and structures. May be difficult to read. No evidence of original thought or logical reasoning.	The writing  is somewhat general but completes the basic task; may include errors. The purpose is clear, but focus may wander. Information generally accurate but may be poorly integrated. There is a variety of sentence lengths; repeats simple patterns. Has logical sequence; connections between sections or paragraphs may be weak. Some errors in spelling, punctuation, and grammar that do not interfere with meaning. Is legible. Demonstrates some reasoning.	The writing is clear and detailed; accomplishes the basic purpose. Ideas and information show specific and relevant examples and details. The language is clear and varied; may use specialized or technical terms. Paragraphs use logical sequence; organization is clear. May include errors in complex language, but these do not interfere with meaning. Demonstrates original thought and some logical reasoning.	The writing is clear, complete, and concise; effectively accomplishes the purpose. There are specific examples and details to make ideas clear. The language flows smoothly with a variety of sentence structures. The paragraphs are well organized and provide clear links between sections. Sentences, punctuation, and grammar are generally correct; may include occasional errors in complex language, but these do not affect meaning. Demonstrates original thought and evidence of logical reasoning.

Conclusion

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Congratulations!  You have participated in a community building activity.  The Mayor of the space station is probably very grateful, and I would expect that all the citizens are too. 
Your next mission, should you decide to accept it, is to decide on a name for your space station community.  Good luck, and have fun.

 

Credits & References

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Most of the images used in this webquest have been imported from sites which provide free graphics. Source sites include:

• www.freefever.com/graphics
• www.clipartresource.com
• www.aplusart.com
• http://guardians.net/egypt