A WebQuest for Ninth Grade World History/World Geography I

Designed by

Scott M. Peterson
speterso@mail.pulaski.k12.va.us

Introduction | Task | Process | Evaluation |

Introduction

Movies such as "The Mummy," Saving Private Ryan," and "Gladiator" have been very successful at the box office in recent years. SOL Films wants to capitalize on this success by producing a movie in the historical fiction genre based on Ancient Greece or Rome. SOL Films has hired you and your classmates to learn about the movie making process and create this feature presentation. You must provide historical research to present an accurate view of life in the Ancient Greece or Roman time period but, you must also develop an interesting script that will captivate audiences at the box office. The executives from SOL Films will screen each movie concept in order to decide which will be produced into a full-length feature and released to theaters nationwide.

The Task

The task of each group will be to research either Ancient Greece or Rome in terms of geography, daily life, religious beliefs, and social structure. You will also need to choose a story, person or event on which to base your movie. Using this information, each group will develop a script, design sets and costumes for their movie. You will then present these to the movie company executives in a PowerPoint presentation. Your goal will be to persuade the movie executives to select your concept for production and release.

The Process

Use the following steps and procedures to help guide you. Each member's job and responsibilities are listed below as well as a list of links to help you get started.

1. Students will be placed in groups of four or five and members will decide who will perform the following tasks:

• Scriptwriter(s): Will use the event/story to write a 3 page "script" for the movie.The script should be a summary based on the story/event and the characters. The script writers will also decide which Hollywood actors they would like cast in their movie.

• Illustrator(s): Will create 3 pictures/storyboards to go with the script. Illustrators will have to perform extra research in order to include information about clothing, housing, etc.The illustrations must reflect knowledge of the story and of the daily lives of the people in your civilization. This person will also be responsible for creating a promotional poster for the group's movie.

• Set designer(s): Will conduct research on the geography of the area in which the story takes place.They will need to use the information to create a full-color set design based upon their findings. The set should reflect knowledge of the story and of the physical geography of the area in which the story takes place.

• Presenter(s): Will combine the work of other group members in order to create a 5 slide PowerPoint presentation about the movie. Presenters should scan illustrations from the script and the set. You will also write a persuasive pitch that you will use in your meeting with the movie company executives in an attempt to convince them to choose your idea.

2. Each group will research either Ancient Greece or Ancient Rome to find a subject for their movie. The following sites should help you get started:

General Ancient Greece Sites:

http://www.ancientgreece.com/

http://www.museum.upenn.edu/Greek_World/Index.html

http://www.arwhead.com/Greeks/

http://harpy.uccs.edu/greek/greek.html

General Roman Sites:

http://www.kent.k12.wa.us/curriculum/soc_studies/rome/Rome.html

http://www.exovedate.com/ancient_timeline_one.html

http://www.ghg.net/shetler/rome/

http://www.taisei.co.jp/cg_e/ancient_world/rome/arome.html

http://clawww.lmu.edu/faculty/fjust/Rome.htm

Sites for both Greece and Rome:

http://www.mythweb.com

Movie Production Sites:

Desktop Movie Production: Based on the Hollywood Model http://www.apple.com/education/k12/imagine/0203/grossmont/process/production/

How to write scripts: http://howtowritescripts.com/how2/index.htm

Script Writing Tips: http://pocahontus.doit.wisc.edu/IATutorial/resources/scriptingtips.htm

http://www.exovedate.com/the_real_gladiator_one.html "Gladiator" Get a look at the historic events in the movie.

http://www.dreamworksfansite.com/gladiator/The_Movie.htm Another look at "Gladiator"

3. The group should decide on a historical event, person, legend story or myth from the specific civilization that they are studying. This story or event will be the basis for the movie.

4. Group members will work together to create the script, set design, storyboards, etc. for the movie.

5. Create a 5 slide PowerPoint presentation using the script, set design, and storyboards. This presentation should include a title page, 5 pages that summarize the story (script), visuals on each page (storyboards and set design), and a credit page.

Project Due Date: March 28

This Project will count 100 points!

6. The presenters will exhibit their movie ideas in a PowerPoint presentation to the class (movie executives) in an effort to get your movie produced.

7. The class will then play the role of movie executives and vote in order to select the best movie for production.

Evaluation

Each group will be graded using the following rubric. Grades will be determined using the star rating system (Just like movies!). The more stars that your movie gets, the better.

Ratings	Zero Stars
Collaboration: Did students work together to complete the project?	Group members did not work together and no part of the assignment was turned in on time.	Students did not work well together but some work was turned in. Work was completed by one or two students from the group.	Students worked together and completed the project with the exception of one or two students.	Group members worked together and each completed their role in the group. They solved all internal conflicts on their own and all work was turned in on time.
Presentation Did the group Present a convincing argument for their idea? Did the group members exhibit good verbal skills and body language?	Presentation was not organized, clearly presented or completed in a fashion to persuade the movie company	Presentation was not organized. Students did show good verbal skills and body lanuage	Group presentation was very well-organized but the delivery was not very convincing.	Group presentatin was very well organized and appealing to the audience. The grouop made a very cnvincing argument for their idea.
Accuracy of information Was the information based on historical fact and cited appropriately	Information presented was not based on historical fact	Research was performed but many of the resources were questionable. No work was cited	Information presented by the group was factual but no work was cited	In depth research was completed by the group and appropriately cited. The information presented was based on historical fact
Visuals Was the PowerPoint Presentation organized and aesthetically pleasing?Did the visuals include all of the information required? Did the students display an understanding of the technical aspects of the equipment?	PowerPoint was not very well-organized and students did not show mastery of computer skills.  Group did not include the required information	Students displayed a technical understanding but failed to include all of the information that was required.  Presenation lacked in organization and appearance	Students included all of the information that was required but lacked the technical knowledge	All of the required information was included, students showed mastery of computer skills, and the presentation was aesthetically pleasing.
Set Designs Was the set design in accordance with historical fact?  Was it completed in a neat, organized fashion	Set design did not show knowledge of historical fact. Set design was not neat or organized.	Set design was neat and organized but was not historically accurate	Set design was historically accurate but was not neat and organized	Set design was accurate and presented in a neat, orderly fashion.
Script Was the script appropriate for the civilization and the time period? Was the script presented in an organized fashion? Was the script entertaining enough to be made into a movie?	Script is not appropriate for the civilization or the time period.Script is of little entertainment value.	Script is appropriate for the civilization and the time period, but was not completely developed.  Script was not organized and entertainment was not stressed	Script is appropriate for civilization and time period. Characters are developed and organized. Script is somewhat entertaining	Script is appropriate, characters and storyline is developed, and the script is very neat and organized.The script presented a very entertaining story for the audience.

Conclusion

Now that SOL Films has decided which movie idea to produce, all you have to do is wait for the feature presentation to arrive at a theater near you. Hopefully, you have learned about the different aspects of Greece and Roman history that have been presented. I also hope that you have learned a little about the movie-making business and realize that many of the historical films that you see in theaters are not always completely factual. So, next time you see a movie like "Gladiator" in the theater ask yourself the following questions: How much of this movie is based on fact? Did the writer/director/producer sacrifice fact for entertainment value?

Credits & References

Clip Art Provided by the Microsoft Corporation

Last updated on August 15, 1999. Based on a template from The WebQuest Page