Compare and Contrast

Compare and Contrast

This is the direction sheet for your compare and contrast assignments. You will do this assignment 4 times during the school year. The directions and questions for research remain the same all year. The amount of answers will change as well will the amount of people you are allowed to work with. This assignment is worth 90 points each time.

The first time you do the assessment, you will break off into groups of 4 maximum. You are required to find 5 similarities and 5 differences for each category, NOT EACH TOPIC!! You will do all five categories.

The second time you do the assessment, you will continue to have a maximum of 4 in a group, but you will have to find 7 similarities and 7 differences. The third time you do the assignment, you will have a maximum of 2 in a group, and you will have to do 7 similarities and 7 differences. The last time you do the assignment, which will be the last assignment before you final in May, you will work alone and will have to do 10 similarities and 10 differences.

After the first assignment, you have the ability to choose to complete 4 of the possible 6 categories. You will be expected to fulfill the same amount of information, but I am letting it up to you to choose your path. The categories are:

1. Daily Life (Ancient)

2. Religion (Ancient)

3. Geography

4. Advancements/Inventions (Ancient)

5. Modern Day (around 20 years to this year)

6. History and Great People (Ancient/Modern Day)

The majority of the assignment will be studies through ancient eyes. That means that you will research the civilization at the height of their reign. Here are the heights of every civilization:

Greece 600 BC to 200 BC	Rome 400 BC to 500 AD
Vikings 800 AD to 1100 AD	Feudalism 1000 AD to 1500 AD
Egypt 2500 BC to 1000 BC	Mesopotamia 2500 BC to 300 BC
Aztecs/Maya 1000 AD to 1500 AD	Incas 1400 AD to 1500 AD
China 1500 BC to 500 AD	India 2500 BC to 500 BC

The Western Religions are unique. Please follow the three closely:

Judaism 2500 BC to 1000 BC. This goes for their geography too. That means where the majority of the population was at this time
Christianity 30 AD to 1500 AD. This goes for their geography too. Use where the majority of the population was at this time.
Islam 500 AD to 1500 AD. I think you get the point.

Categories

Follow these suggestions to help with the 5 categories. These are just suggestions, each one does not have to be researched, however, these suggestions will help you find answers for the project.

Daily Life

Daily life deals with the social aspects of a society. The things that are addressed and followed directly and indirectly. Here are some examples of questions that can be asked for Daily Life

Home

Society

Government

Marriage Customs? Ages? Arrangements? What were some of their public buildings? What type of government?

Rites of Passage? (Age 16 driving etc.) Women's' Rights? What is the name and type of leader of the government?

Types of Housing Amount and types of Social Classes? Taxation? Types of taxes?

Nuclear, Extended, or Both Slavery? Interesting Laws?

Social Festivals?

Types of Entertainment?

Clothing and Dress customs?

Religion

This section is to find the similarities and differences between cultures. Again, these questions are to help you find answers.

Are they monotheistic or polytheistic?
Do they have similar gods like a god of the sun, moon, harvest, etc. Be sure to give the name of each.
Do they have similar religious practices of worship?
Is their creation story similar? You can not say they both had a creation story.
What is the chain of command on earth? Who is the head of their religion?
Who is in charge of services?
Do they have a holy book?
Do they share similar beliefs?
What type of sacrifices did they perform?

Geography

Some of the cultures are difficult to realize where they are located. Here is a list of the areas that you will find them:

Remember, geography deals with elements that are NOT man made!!!

Greece is still located in Greece
Rome was located in western Europe, and Northern Africa
Vikings were located in northern Europe, namely Scandinavia: Sweden, Finland, Denmark
Feudalism was located on the entire continent of Europe, most people focus on the areas of France, Spain, Germany, England, Italy.
Aztec/Mayas are located in Central America
Incas were located in the western part of South America, namely the coasts: Peru, Argentina, Colombia, etc. Nothing over the Andes Mountains
China is still China
India is still India
Ancient Christianity will use the area of southern Europe.
Ancient Islam will use the modern areas of Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan
Ancient Judaism will use the modern area of Israel

Advancements and Inventions

This section is anything that advanced a society through inventions, intellect, or communication. This is different than daily life because these are specific materials.

What type of writing did the culture use? Symbolic or pictorial?

Name of major structures. Are there structure comparable in each culture?
Inventions for work
Did they have a calendar? How did it work? How many days long?
Did they use money?

Modern Day

This section deals with these ancient cultures today. Some of these cultures had more than one modern day country. When using this for geography, use the modern day equivalent. You may use anything you need to get the amount of similarities and differences. This means you can use religion along with geography, and inventions, and population.
Now, if you use population, if the cultures are within 5 million people, consider them similar. No culture has the exact same population.
As for land size, use your best decision. If you are still unsure, check with me. Here are the modern geographical areas:

Greece is still Greece
Rome is Italy
The Vikings are modern day Sweden, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Denmark
Feudalism is the modern countries of England, France, Spain, and Germany
Aztec/Mayas are the countries of Mexico, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama
The Incas are Peru, Argentina, Colombia, and Venezuela
China is still China
India is still India

History and Great Men

This section deals with the great leaders, thinkers, poets, writers of a culture. It seems that a culture can define itself by the actions and words of great people. If there are great women that is fine too, however, historical figures are most males. You are looking for men or history that both culture share:

Topic: Great generals: Julius Caesar (Rome) Alexander the Great (Greece)

Topic: Evil leaders: Emperor Ch'in (China) Nero (Rome)

Great leaders: Ramesis the Great (Egypt) King David (Judaism)

Great thinkers: Confucius (China) Socrates (Greece)

Shared territory: Rome controlled Egypt, Greece controlled Egypt

Great writers: Homer (Greece) Ovid (Rome) Must give an example of both people's work.

Similarities and Differences

This section is to help you realize the difference between a similarity and a difference. Similarities are things that are exact or very, very closely related depending on how you are using them. Here are some examples:

The main god for the Greeks is Zeus, and main god for the Vikings is Odin.
The sun god for the Egyptians is Amon, the sun god for the Incas is Virachoca.
The names are different, but the jobs are the same.

Some examples can be used as both a similarity and a difference:

Both the Romans and the Aztecs used a solar calendar (similarity)
The Romans had a 350 day calendar, the Aztecs used a 365 1/4 calendar (difference)

On the side for Geography, Daily Life, and Advancements on the side you must state the concept you are using.

EX: Greece no Ocean (Geo 2), China Pacific Ocean (Geo 2) Concept: Major bodies of water.

Citations

You are required to account where you get your information. For these projects, your resources are limited for certain reasons. Here is a list of your resources for all 4 times. The abbreviations are located with them:

Class notes= (CN)
Text book=TB + page #, ex: (TB, 714)
My web site, www.westmifflinmoritz.com= www, link used, ex: (wmm, Greek geography)
Research Books=(The Grays), Page # ex: (R,12) or (Geo, 18)
Region Books=Country + page, ex: (England, 2)

Home	Society	Government
Marriage Customs? Ages? Arrangements?	What were some of their public buildings?	What type of government?
Rites of Passage? (Age 16 driving etc.)	Women's' Rights?	What is the name and type of leader of the government?
Types of Housing	Amount and types of Social Classes?	Taxation? Types of taxes?
Nuclear, Extended, or Both	Slavery?	Interesting Laws?
	Social Festivals?
	Types of Entertainment?
	Clothing and Dress customs?