✨ Mini-Unit: “Design a Civilization"

📄 Student Handout

Welcome to Civilization Builder!
Imagine you’ve discovered a brand-new land. You get to decide EVERYTHING: who lives there, what they believe, what art they make, even their favorite sport.

Your Mission:

1. Explore Real Civilizations

   • Pick 2 real civilizations to study (Egypt, Maya, Vikings, Japan, etc.).

   • What made them strong? Geography? Food? Beliefs? Art?

2. Invent Your Civilization

   • Name your land and people.

   • Draw a map (mountains, rivers, cities, borders).

   • Create a symbol or flag.

   • Choose your civilization’s sport (maybe soccer on ice? Minecraft-style soccer?).

3. Make Culture Come Alive

   • Create an artifact (drawing, LEGO build, Minecraft world).

   • Invent a tradition (holiday, festival, or ritual).

4. Compare & Share

   • How is your civilization like the real ones you studied?

   • How is it unique?

End Product:

Your Culture Guidebook with:

• Map + flag/symbol

• At least 3 artifacts or traditions

• A soccer/football team profile

• One page explaining what makes your civilization strong

Bonus Challenge 💡:
Write a comic where Dogman or Captain Underpants visits your civilization. What happens?

📘 Teacher Guide

Objectives:

• Students analyze cultural systems (geography, art, beliefs, sports).

• Students create an original civilization synthesizing multiple elements.

• Students evaluate similarities and differences between real and imagined societies.

Standards & Depth:

• DOK 3: Analyze how geography influences civilization.

• DOK 4: Design and defend an original culture.

• Bloom’s: Analyze, Evaluate, Create.

Materials:

• Atlases, kid-friendly culture books, or online resources

• Paper for maps + flags

• Art supplies (markers, clay, LEGO optional)

• Access to Minecraft/Roblox (optional extension)

Differentiation:

• For 2E students → allow oral storytelling instead of long writing.

• For high abstraction → challenge to design an economic system or law code.

• For artistic learners → emphasize art + festival creation.

Assessment:

• Formative: Student compares real vs. imagined civilizations orally or in notes.

• Summative: “Culture Guidebook” with creative + analytical elements.

• Optional: Peer “World’s Fair” where civilizations interact.

 🌍 Mini-Unit 1: Design a Civilization

📄 Student Handout

(already created in last message — included here for completeness)

Welcome to Civilization Builder!
Imagine you’ve discovered a brand-new land. You get to decide EVERYTHING: who lives there, what they believe, what art they make, even their favorite sport.

Your Mission:

1. Explore Real Civilizations

   • Pick 2 real civilizations (Egypt, Maya, Vikings, Japan, etc.).

   • What made them strong? Geography? Food? Beliefs? Art?

2. Invent Your Civilization

   • Name your land and people.

   • Draw a map (mountains, rivers, cities, borders).

   • Create a symbol or flag.

   • Choose your civilization’s sport (maybe soccer on ice?).

3. Make Culture Come Alive

   • Create an artifact (drawing, LEGO, Minecraft build).

   • Invent a tradition (holiday, festival, or ritual).

4. Compare & Share

   • How is your civilization like the real ones?

   • How is it unique?

End Product: Culture Guidebook + map, artifacts, traditions, soccer team profile.

Bonus: Write a Dogman/Captain Underpants comic set in your civilization.

📘 Teacher Guide

• Objectives: Analyze real civilizations; create and defend original culture; evaluate similarities/differences.

• DOK/Bloom’s: DOK 3 (analyze), DOK 4 (design & compare), Bloom’s analyze/evaluate/create.

• Materials: Atlases, kid-friendly history sources, paper, markers, optional LEGO/Minecraft.

• Differentiation: Allow oral storytelling or digital builds; challenge advanced by designing laws/economy.

• Assessment: Culture Guidebook + comparison; optional “World’s Fair” presentation.