Name

Type

Description

Civilization in a
Bag

Find 5 modern items that represent different aspects of a civilization and

use them to report on the civilization.

Create a
Crossword

Make your own crossword puzzle using terms from the current unit.

Deadliest
Warrior

Research information on the warriors of two civilizations and then simulate

a battle between them.

HiStory

Write a creative fictional story using key terms and figures from the unit.

iHistory

Imagine what personal information would be included in a historical figures

apps.

Letters Home

Write a series of letters home as if you were traveling on a long journey.

Magazine Cover

Design a one-page magazine cover for a given section of the textbook.

Movie Madness

Use art and writing to recreate a given unit as a movie. Includes designing
a movie poster and writing a movie review.

Paper Bag
Puppet

Create a puppet of a historical figure along with a list of statements that

person might say.

Picture Book

Create a children's book about a given topic.

Play

Write and perform a short play about a historical event. Completed in pairs
or small groups.

Pop Culture

Create a "pop-up" 3D display of the key aspects of a culture.

Social Network

Create a social network page for a historical figure

Storyboard

Create a storyboard layout for a movie based on a historical event.

Travel Brochure

Create a six-panel foldout brochure that highlights the history, hot spots,
and accommodations of a civilization. You also get to design an amusement
park!

Web Page

Create the layout for a web page about a specific topic from the unit.

What If?
Aka: Fracture

Flip the script on an event in history. Change one major detail from the
event then speculate how this would have changed the outcome. Show
your results in a recreated textbook page.

100 Point Assignments

All 100 point assignments require significant work outside of class and take up to 4 hours to complete.

Name

Type

Description

A-Z Book

Working with a partner create a picture for 26 key terms each starting
with a different letter of the alphabet. If you ask nicely I might let you
skip 2 of the tougher letters.

Bloom Ball

Create a soccer ball shaped graphic organizer that represents different

aspects of a civilization.

Board Game

Create a board game using historical information. Be creative and follow

directions carefully.

Model

Write a report on and build a model of a historical object or location.

Newscast

Working with a group of 3 - 4 students film a short newscast about a

historical event.

Newspaper

Working with a partner create a newspaper with sports reports, comic

strips, ads and other articles about a civilization.

Mind Map

Create a large word cluster using terms from the unit. Then write
sentences explaining how the words are connected. It is basically a very
large Brain Chain.

Slideshow
Presentation
(coming soon)

Create a PowerPoint presentation on a topic. It must be at least as

good as what you see from me in class!

Textbook Remix

Create a textbook section on a topic from history. Our textbook is

terrible so help me make a better one!

Name

Type

Description

Acrostic Poem

A word from the unit is written vertically and then each letter is used
to start each line of a descriptive poem.

Advertisement

Create a print advertisement for an invention from the given

civilization.

Advice Letter

Write a letter to a historical figure giving him or her advice on a

problem.

Be the Thing

Write a short explanation of the life experience of a particular

object from history like Da Vinci's first paintbrush.

Bio-poem

Complete a poem with a pre-made layout about a specific person

or group in history.

Bumper Sticker

Create a witty bumper sticker about a specific topic.

Recommended only for highly creative students.

Cause and Effect

Chain

Describe two causes and two effects for a given historical event.

Caution!

Create a caution sign warning people about something dangerous

from a civilization. (Thanks Doug!)

Countdown!

Complete a 5-stage graphic organizer including key terms, review

questions and a symbol.

Creative Line Art

123

Using a picture with random shapes and scribbles create a scene

from or representing the current unit.

Day Planner

Write out the daily schedule for someone living in an ancient

civilization.

Epitaph/Gravestone

Design the epitaph and gravestone for a famous figure. May

require outside research.

Game On!

Design a game that could be played in a civilization we've studied.

Consider the impact of their geography and culture.

In 'N' Out

Complete a graphic organizer highlighting the influences and

contributions of a civilization or person.

Judgment

Create a T-chart to determine if a historical figure was a good or

bad person.

Neo Venn Diagram

Like a Venn Diagram only less reliant on drawing properly sized

circles (which I can't do...)

Picture Analysis

Answer a series of thought-provoking analysis questions about a

photograph or piece of art.

Picture Frame

Design a graphic organizer in the shape of a picture frame about a

historical figure.

Postcard from the Past

Make a postcard as if you were visiting an ancient civilization.

Report Card

Gives grades to a historical figure in categories assigned by your

teacher.

SOAPS

Create a simple chart to help you understand a primary source.

Top Ten

Create a top ten list of contributions and achievements from a

civilization.

TXT MSG SMRE

Write a summary of a historical event in the form of a text message

to a friend.

Venn Diagram

Complete a Venn Diagram (kinda...) to compare and contract two

historical figures, events or civilizations.

Wanted Poster

Create a wanted (or hero) poster for a person from history.

10 Point Assignments
45 minutes to complete

Name

Type

Description

Annotated
Illustration

Students draw a full-page picture of a historical object or location

and write 6 captions to describe it.

Bracketology

A chart set up like a tournament bracket where students "battle"

terms from the unit against each other.

Bio Box

A 3-D graphic organizer that highlights the key characteristics and

events of a person's life courtesy of mrwoodside.com.

Brain Chain

List 10 important people, events, concepts, etc. and 5 generic

history terms then create conceptual links between them in a
graphic organizer.

Character Clash!

Complete two bio-poems side to side to highlight the similarties

and differences between two historical figures or groups.

Circle Summary

Complete a graphic organizer as a history unit summary. Requires

the unit to be broken down into 5 parts to work as shown here.

Comic Strip

Create a 3-5 panel comic strip showing an event from a historical

perspective.

Dear Diary

Write a series of diary entries as if you were a person in history

truly experiencing a historical event.

Flash Cards

Create flash cards for 4 key terms from the unit.

Illustrated Map

Draw a map and add captions or small pictures to bring the map to
life.

Illustrated
Timeline

Draw a timeline and add captions or small pictures to bring it to

life.

Instant Messages

Create an instant message conversation between two historical

figures about a historic event.

Introduction
Speech

Write and recite an introductory speech for a historical figure.

May require outside research.

Invitation

Create an invitation (the who, what, when, where, what to bring,

etc.) to a historical event we studied in the unit.

Legal Brief

Write a legal defense for a historical figure who may have

committed a crime.

Mannequin

Draw the clothing a historical figure would likely wear and

describe some of his/her inner thoughts and feelings.

Personal
Pyramid

Create a 3-D monument to memorialize a person from history.

Perspective

Imagine how a historical figure would view modern inventions and

ideas.

Quest for
Knowledge

A series of activities to help get the most information possible out

of a section of reading in the textbook.

Recipe for a
Civilization

Write a recipe with a list of ingredients it would take to create a

given civilization. This definitely requires abstract thinking.

Remote
Control

Create a television channel line-up based on a recent unit. Decide

what shows would on to match up to the culture.

Song Rewrite

Rewrite the lyrics to a song to make it about a historical period.

Time Machine

Transport yourself back in time and figure out what would happen
to someone your age and gender in a given civilization.

Trading Cards

Create three trading cards for people, events or objects from a

given unit. The cards each include basic information and a
"relevance rating." Try to collect them all!

Worlds Collide

Draw pictures contrasting key points of two civilizations.