Class presentation
To be given on 10/6 & 10/8/14

Instructions:

The class will be divided up into 8 groups of no more than 6 students per group. Each group will research the role of astronomy in one of the following historical cultures:

• Ancient Greece
• Early Chinese empires
• The Mayans
• The Aztecs
• Early Islam
• The Babylonians
• Ancient India
• Ancient Egypt (prior to Roman & Muslim conquest)

Groups should specifically research major astronomical discoveries, noted astronomers or publications in astronomy, the role of astronomy in the larger society, and general astronomical beliefs or practices associated with that society.

Oral presentation:

In class on the day of the presentations each group will be allowed 9 minutes to present their most interesting findings. The presentation can be made as a team or by one or more representatives. After the presentation, there will be a 1 minute period for questions.

2 page written review:

On the day of the presentations each group will also be required to submit a written review summarizing their findings. The report must be a minimum of 2 pages (not counting any title page or header lines), double spaced, no larger that 12 pt font, with 1 inch margins all around. You should also include a list of references. Again, this can't count toward fulfilling the 2-page requirement.

Grading:

This assignment will be graded based on the quality of your presentations (both written and oral). All members of a group will share the same grade unless there is compelling evidence that one or more members did not participate fully in the project.

	A/B 10-12 points	C/D 5-9 points	F 0-4 points
Oral presentation	well organized, professional, stimulating, spoken with clarity and enthusiasm, appropriate use of visuals	may not be well organized, spoken with clarity or enthusiasm but not both, may have some inappropriate or unprofessional visuals	lacks significantly in organization or professionalism, incoherent presentation, inappropriate or inadequate visuals
Written report	well researched, well organized, adheres to length and formatting requirements, no spelling errors nor major grammatical mistakes	contains some bits of relevant information but not enough, may not be well organized, may contain spelling or grammatical errors	poorly researched or organized, does not adhere to standards, difficult to read because of spelling or grammatical mistakes