PERFORMANCE TASK
Students were asked to work in small groups and identify locations of ancient settlements in Sumer, Egypt, & the Indus River valley. As a class we discussed any commonalities seen amongst the three different locations. Students were then asked to select a location on the Big Island that they would choose to settle if they were the first ancient Hawaiians to arrive here. They were asked to consider the patterns that they observed in other ancient civilizations. Students then justified their selected locations.
ANNOTATION
The student was able to identify a pattern of settlement between the three ancient civilizations (Mesopotamia, Indus River, and Egypt) along rivers, by examining similarities amongst maps of each civilization. The student then used the pattern to inform a decision to place an early Hawaiian settlement on the big island near a river. The student was able to justify their decision with an explanation stating “I selected the location from the previous slide because it was next to the river just like the ancient Indians, Mesopotamia, and Sumerians.”
This piece of student work could move to the advanced level if the student reflected on potential benefits and drawbacks of settling in the place selected on the Big Island Map.