Hammurabi For President!
A WebQuest Designed for Middle School Students
by Peggy Pennington
Introduction
Hammurabi (the ancient Babylonian king) has traveled through time and wants to be elected president of the United States! He has enlisted you and your team to be his chief election officials. It is up to you to help him get elected.
You will be getting to know your new election candidate during this time. You will work with your team to become an expert in one aspect of Hammurabi’s Life and his experiences as leader of Ancient Babylon so that you can “spin” his experiences to make him sound like the best guy for the job!
Task
Okay, its just a couple of months until the primaries and Hammurabi has hired you and your team to create some magic! He has arrived in this century and wants to be in charge again, but people are worried that he is not modern enough. He needs your help to sway public opinion to get people to elect him President of the United States.
Your team will research him and the types of problems that he dealt with during his ancient rule and translate that information into the skills he has to run our country today. You will become an expert in one part of his life and report that information back to your team. Remember, heads together think better.
Process
Each person in your three or four person group will become an expert in one aspect of Hammurabi’s life.
Farming Issues in Mesopotamia
Crime Control in Mesopotamia
Economy in Mesopotamia
Women’s Issues (optional)
Websites resources listed below.
Each group will create 3 campaign materials to assist Hammurabi in getting elected.
You must create at least one campaign item from each section.
Section 1
A Speech to United States televised on TV
A Speech to Fortune 500 Delegates
A Speech to National Organization of Women
A Speech to Fraternal Order of Police
A TV ad with storyboard or script
Section 2
A Campaign Button
A Campaign Bumper Sticker
A Campaign Election Poster
Website Resources
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Farming Issues in Mesopotamia
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Crime Control in Mesopotamia
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||||||||
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Economy in Mesopotamia
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Women’s Issues (optional) |
Evaluation
| 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | |
|
Campaign Item 1, 2, and 3 each scored separately |
All four of the
following objectives are met:
|
Three of the four objectives are met. |
One to two of the objectives are met. |
Item is attempted. |
| Team Work | Students work together to combine researched information into effective campaign tools. All students in the group are involved in the project and are encouraged to be involved by classmates. | Students work together somewhat to create campaign tools. Students are mostly involved in the projects. | Students somewhat work together on the project. | Students work on their own to create campaign tools. Students are not encouraging to classmates. |
| Individual Work | Student is actively involved with the project. | Student is involved with the project. | Student is somewhat involved with the project. | Student is minimally involved. |
Conclusion
Congratulations! You just helped Hammurabi successfully get elected to the Presidency of the United States. Thanks to your hard teamwork and willingness to do your research, Hammurabi is now President Hammurabi! Way to go!
Credits
Clip Art Provided by Microsoft Office Online