The Website Assignment

Introduction

Instead of writing a report this year, you will instead be building a website that teaches others about an ancient civilization. This assignment is meant to help you practice your research and non-fiction writing skills, learn and develop new computer skills, and learn to work effectively together with a classmate to complete a large project.

You will have at least two weeks of class time to complete this assignment. In that time you will need to research your topic, write a report and other content, and build your website using Google Sites. These websites will be shared with the whole school and your parents so do a good job.

Project Requirements

Your final website must include the following:

• • A home page that introduces us to your topic.

  • Clear and easy-to-use navigation so we can get to all of your pages.

  • Pages that give information about a sub-topic related to your big topic. This is similar to paragraphs in a written report. For example, if your topic is the Vikings, you can have one page that tells us about the Vikings recreational activities and another page that tells about how and why the Vikings raided.

    • Use this outline and research guide to help you prepare this part of your website.

  • Your text pages should include images that help bring extra meaning to the text. Warning: Avoid using copyrighted material on your website. Screen your Google searches and use copyright-free images in your work.

  • Include different kinds of media on each page. Websites must have visuals to be interesting. Google Sites allows you to easily embed images, YouTube videos, and more.

  • Make a "links" page that gives us links to the websites you used for research, other helpful websites that teach us about your topic, and any other resources you think will be helpful.

Other important things to remember:

• • Please spell-check and grammar check your text. (If you see a red line, you spelled something wrong.)

  • A simple, but attractive design. Let Google help you by choosing a nice Theme.

  • This is an educational website, not a personal one. NO USELESS IMAGES AND DECORATIONS ARE NECESSARY. Include only things that will teach.

  • Think about the user. Ask yourself, "If someone new comes to this site, will they be able to easily find their way around tot he content?"

  • You should have a clear and easy-to-use system of navigation.

  • Content is most important. You should spend most of your time on your information, not the images.

  • Work together. You can't finish this project on your own. Divide the work with your partner.

Assignment Resources

To complete this assignment you will need several resources to help. Follow the links below to find the ones you need.

• • Student-made example websites to help you plan your own website. NO COPYING!

  • Romans

  • Ancient Greeks

  • Awesome Ancient Greece

  • Extraordinary Greece

  • Battle of Britain

  • Adolf Hitler

  • Joseph Stalin

  • Google Sites how-to videos - great series of videos for learning how to use Google Sites

• A topic outline and research help sheets

• A team plan, contract, and work agreement

• A list of great websites for researching

• How to search Google for copyright-free images

• A list of websites where you can find copyright-free images

• Other helpful tools for this project

Important Due Dates

Your final website should be completed before the end of class on March 24th. Below are some other important dates to remember. Please follow this schedule so your group does not fall behind.

• 1. Your Team Contract, Work Plan, and organization chart for your website should be completed no later than the end of class on February 3.

  2. First meeting with Mr. Brunken on February 9.

  3. Mr. Brunken's feedback, Feb. 10.

  4. Second meeting with Mr. Brunken on Feb. 12.

  5. Final day in class to work on websites will be March 6.