Computers with Web connections for student research. To introduce students to early urban states or to review early urban states they have studied previously, direct them to create a travel brochure, a newspaper, a newscast, or a government meeting that features one of the early urban states. Students read the project description and examine samples of travel brochures, newspapers, newscasts, and government meetings. Each group decides which format it wants to use.
Students conduct research to collect the information for their projects.
If possible, students may also use the World Wide Web. The teacher should be sure students understand the categories in the chart before student presentations begin, of course. The teacher guides discussion after each presentation to ensure that all students have gleaned useful information from the group presentations. When all the group presentations are complete, the teacher leads a whole class discussion to help students look for patterns of comparison and contrast in the information on the chart. Students list similarities and differences among the civilizations.