MUIDS Social Studies

Civilization, Culture and Society: Project Guide

Objective: Design a research proposal that responds to one of the following prompts. Present
your findings in a creative, original format of your choice.
Prompts:

Choose a significant topic from modern culture and/or society. Trace the origins of your chosen
topic back to an early civilization, clearly showing how it has evolved throughout time.

Choose an area of the world and explore the conflict of tradition vs. modernity for the people of this /
these societies. Clearly reference the historical roots of the regions traditions.

Explore the components that define the culture of a group of people. Choose the aspect of culture
you feel to be most important and compare the development in two different parts of the world,
using historical and modern examples.

You may also design your own prompt, but it must include a discussion of pre-historic or ancient
humans as well as modern humans.

Requirements: See attached Rubric for more information.

1. Focus and Thesis (25 Points) You must create a clear, original, and open-ended research
question that will focus your project. The final product should clearly answer your research
question.

2. Research (25 Points) You must evaluate the credibility of all sources you use and correctly cite
them in APA format (see attached Source Evaluation Sheet). The information from your sources
should clearly support your thesis. There will be a minimum of three sources per project, plus two
for each additional group member.

3. Professionalism (25 Points) All necessary supporting documents should be neat and completed to
a high standard of quality. The final product should be professional and reflect careful thought,
planning and revision.

MUIDS Social Studies

Civilization, Culture and Society: Project Guide

4. Creativity and Effort (25 Points) All students must be on task working on an aspect of the project
at all times. The final product should be creative and show a great deal of original thought.

MUIDS Social Studies

Civilization, Culture and Society: Project Guide

Topic Selection Page

Make sure that the geographic focus of your project fits the requirements of the prompt you choose to
explore.

Local Community

Choosing this option, you will research an

issue that faces a very specific part of the
world. It should be something like a city, a
village or a community of people.

Region within a Country

This option includes a slightly larger area. It

could be a state or province within a country,
a geographic region like a mountain range or
coastal plain, or it could be a cultural region
within a country.

Country

This option will allow you to examine an issue

facing an entire country.

Region of the World

This option will allow you to focus on a group

of countries, a geographic region, a
continent, or a cultural group that goes
beyond one countrys borders. An example
might be the ASEAN community.

Comparative

This is the option that allows for the largest scope. Choosing this
option will mean that your research will compare two very different
peoples, regions, countries, cultures, time periods, or some other
category decided by you and approved by your teacher. You will
compare them to see how the two examples you have chosen are
similarly and/or differently affected by the issue you have chosen.

_____________________________________________________________________________________
Fill out the following sections. Be sure to check for final approval from your teacher before you begin your
research.
Research Scope:

Research Topic:

Research Question:

MUIDS Social Studies

Civilization, Culture and Society: Project Guide

TASK MANAGEMENT SHEET

This sheet is used to document the contributions of each member of the group. You should include a
detailed description of what each group member accomplished each day. In addition, you must keep a
written (paper) version with a short summary of the planned tasks on the desk. Students who are off-task
or are not working will have points deducted from their final grade. You can expand this table to include
more days by using the Tables feature on Microsoft Word.
Student Name / Date

Task

MUIDS Social Studies

Civilization, Culture and Society: Project Guide

MUIDS Social Studies

Civilization, Culture and Society: Project Guide

EVALUATING THE CREDIBILITY OF YOUR SOURCES

Remember, sources are used to support and prove an argument you have made. This means that the sources
you reference need to be credible and authoritative. How do you know that your sources are of value? Answer
the following questions:

1. Where / How was the source published?

What is the organization that published this? Why should we trust information from this publishing
organization?

2. Who wrote it? (Author / Organization)

You can do some quick online research into the author. Is the author part of a university or another
institution? What else has the author written? Why should we trust this author?

3. Is the piece timely and appropriate for its field? (Updated or outdated?)

For some topics, information needs to be current and up to date. For others, older publications might
still be valuable. Do you think the source is up to date enough for your topic? Why?

4. What is the purpose of the source? Does the author have an agenda?

Are the arguments backed by facts or opinions? Is the presented view biased?

5. Source (APA format):

MUIDS Social Studies

Civilization, Culture and Society: Project Guide

Abstract:
Create a summary of your thesis and supporting evidence from your research. This should be no longer
than one page in length and should highlight main ideas only.

The following is a list of possible products for your project. If you have another idea, you may
submit it to your teacher for approval.

MUIDS Social Studies

Civilization, Culture and Society: Project Guide

Requirements:

The product must answer the Research Question that you created and was approved by your
teacher.

The product must be created by you and/or your group. It must not be plagiarized in any way.

The final product must be appropriate for the number of people you have working in your group.

Possible Final Products:

Infographic

Concept Map

Illustrated Timeline

Prezi Presentation *This should likely include a video of you presenting, especially if you have a
large group

Informational Brochure or Pamphlet

Booklet

Newspaper Article

Magazine Article

Essay (informational, thesis, etc)

Report informational, the type that might be presented at an organizational meeting

Editorial, Opinion Piece (for newspaper) or Satirical Piece

Letter to a world leader

Issue Awareness Campaign

Speech

Website

Comic Strip

Art Work (drawing, painting, etc) *This option will likely require a written component which makes it
clear how the art work answers your Big Question

Musical Composition / Poem - *This option will likely require a written component which makes it
clear how the musical piece / poem answers your Big Question

Narrative / Story

Newscast

Animation or Video

Advertisement / Propaganda Video

Construct a debate

Restate your Research Question:

MUIDS Social Studies

Civilization, Culture and Society: Project Guide

Explain how this product will prove your thesis and incorporate your research:

Explain the scale of this product and how the product is appropriate for the number of people in your group:

Unsatisfactory
10-13 points

Needs
Satisfactory
Improvement 18-21 points

25 points

Focus & Thesis

25 points

Professionalism
25 points

22-25 points
In addition to all
satisfactory conditions
it also contains one or
more of these
features:

14-17 points

Research

Excellent

Evidence is missing or
totally inaccurate
Evidence is unrelated
or unreasonable
Research
requirements are
missing or incomplete
Sources are unreliable
and/or unrelated

Evidence is based
on some
misinformation
Some evidence does
not clearly support
main points
Research
requirements are
completed incorrectly
(ex: not in APA
format)
Some sources are
questionable or
unrelated

Evidence is based
on accurate
information
Evidence clearly
supports main
points
Research
requirements are
all completed and
correct
All sources are
credible &
reliable
All sources are
relevant to the
topic

All evidence
greatly adds
credibility to
students thesis
Evidence is taken
from scholarly,
peer reviewed,
and/or highly
credible sources
only

No clear thesis is
present
Project does not
address the thesis
and/or research
questions at all

Thesis is unclear or
unoriginal
Project does not
clearly support the
thesis and/or
research questions

Student work
contains a clear
thesis
Project clearly
supports the
thesis statement
and answers the
research questions

Thesis is original,
highly creative,
and inquisitive
Project supports
thesis in a variety
of creative ways

Required documents
are missing or
incomplete
Project is incomplete
Communication is
unpracticed and
incomprehensible

Some required
documents are
completed incorrectly
Project is not ready
for presentation
Communication of
ideas and
information is
somewhat unclear

All required
documents are
completed
correctly
Project is neat,
organized, and
complete for
presentation and/
or due date
Communication in
project is
practiced and
effective

Students take
great pride in the
presentation of
their work
Communication is
highly professional
and tailored to the
audience

MUIDS Social Studies

Civilization, Culture and Society: Project Guide

Creativity & Effort

25 points

Work contains little

evidence of creativity
or originality
Students are
consistently off task
Project is incomplete
or rushed

Work has been

paraphrased or is
unoriginal
Students are
occasionally off task
Project does not
appear completely
finished, though all
elements are there.

Project contains
original work from
the students
Students add
unique elements
to project
Students are on
task at all times
Project is polished
and complete

Project contains
completely original
elements designed
by the students
Project is highly
practiced and/or
polished