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Announcement: The class that turns in all of their homework next Monday, on time and completed
correctly will win a prize for the class.
PART I
DO FIRST- Write what you know about each word- the first student to finish will get a prize. This must be
done SILENT SOLO the entire time. GOOD LUCK!
Hinduism

caste

karma

dharma

reincarnation

Confucianism

Buddhism

monotheism

nirvana

Eightfold Path

Christianity,

filial piety

missionaries

Five Relationships

Neo-Confucianism

Judaism

diaspora

Islam

sharia

hajj

Five Pillars

Turn to page 2 for the short map game.

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Watch religions spread around the world:
While you watch, write down 3 things you noticed:

Tell your shoulder partner the 2 religions that occupied the most space for the longest time (2 minutes)
(5 minutes)
Important terms:

1. Confucianism​: Respect for family, hard work and education

2. Taoism​: Keeping your life simple
3. Buddhism​: Respect for other property and all life
4. Legalism​: All power to the legal ruler

PART II

World Religion project

AP World History - Spread of Religions Project

Religion in a variety of cultures is an emphasis of study during the first semester. To prepare for this, you
will research the spread of one of the world’s major religions for your first quarter project grade. Your
choices include 4 of the most commonly practiced religions:
Hinduism Buddhism Christianity Islam

Note to students and parents:​ The objective of this assignment is to teach students about religion and
philosophy, not teach them to become members of any particular faith. The essays on the AP World
History Exam are Comparison, Causation, and Change and Continuity Over Time (CCOT), so this project
is designed to help students develop the necessary higher level thinking skills for these essay types.

You will briefly examine the religion/philosophy’s origins, major beliefs, and practices. You will then
research its major turning points in history. Finally, you will examine it as it has been practiced in the
Postmodern Era (1900-present). You will be given some key topics to aid your research. Based on that
research, ​you will create a Prezi presentation that you will give to others who did not research
your religion, addressing aspects of causation, change and continuity found in your research.

You will present on Wednesday, Thursday with spill over on Friday with your group.
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GRADE 1 CUA GRADE: This project will count 100 points – the same as a unit multiple choice test – so
it is essential that you start work early and ​do not procrastinate.​ There are several deadlines to be met,
which should help cut down on any tendency to put off work until the last minute. You are also welcome
to come to office hours any time you need help with research or analyzing your work for change and
continuity. I will be staying afterschool this week, I will be available during advisory and lunch.

Research Phase/Notecard Construction

Begin by looking for the basic beliefs/origins, the major turning points, and how the religion is practiced
currently. Your main focus should be how the religion has changed over time, causes and effects of
those changes, and what has remained the same, all while considering the different periods in World
History. You are NOT simply giving a report on the history of the religion. The turning points you choose
to include must be significant. When assessing the major shifts of global religions/philosophies, ask
yourself a few key questions to focus your thinking:

- Approximately when (what century) and how was this religion or philosophy established? How
was the faith originally practiced? What were some of the main beliefs that can be traced to original
scriptures and texts at the faith’s beginnings?

- What were the turning points for this faith? What are some crucial events that changed how it was
practiced by followers? What are some significant decisions made by the followers/leaders that may have
changed the original intent and practices of the founder?

- Were there any divisions that appeared in the faith (ex. different sects that broke away)? What
differences caused these divisions, and what were the results of the divisions occurring?

- Were there important changes as the faith spread from one place to another? How did it spread
and who made that possible? Were there conflicts between this faith and others, and what were the
consequences?

- What is the current state of the faith? Would the original founder or leaders recognize it as it is
practiced today? What elements have remained throughout the centuries?

To help you get started, I recommend that you search the Strayer textbook, namely the index, for
historical events regarding the faith you choose. This will give you at least some good search terms for
your research.

It is very important that you include all of the time frames in our AP World course – you must find at least
one major event for each time frame: 8000 BCE-600 BCE (Hinduism only), 600 BCE-600 CE, 600-1450
CE; 1450-1750, 1750-1900, 1900-present. Follow this link to Mr. Freeman’s Freeman-pedia – skim
through the page until you see the faith you are researching:
https://www.freeman-pedia.com/religions-of-the-world
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The details you record in answer to the questions above should be recorded in 3x5 index cards. I
generally recommend no more than 1 fact per card, but you can combine facts if you prefer. You should
not have more than 3 details on any single card. These cards will be used while you give your
presentation in order to limit the number of words on your Prezi for the audience to read. You must
address the questions above as best you can, in your own words, not copied and pasted from a website
or anywhere else. You should write in bullet point form in order to avoid accidental plagiarism.

Works Cited
You must record your sources for the project. You must have a minimum of 2 sources total, and at least
one must be a print-based source, not a website (You may use our Strayer textbook). You may use the
Stearns book as your print source. Another good place to look for print-based sources is Google Books;
if you’ve never tried this before, I highly recommend it. The other sources can be digital. There is no
maximum limit to the number of sources you can use. Here is a recommended list of sources that might
prove helpful to you:
http://www.beliefnet.com/
http://www.bbc.co.uk/religion/religions/ - this page has been archived but is still useful
http://www.religionfacts.com/
http://www.learner.org/courses/worldhistory/ - Unit 5 addresses Hinduism; Unit 7 addresses Buddhism,
Christianity and Islam

Websites to stay away from:

Wikipedia is NOT accepted since it often has requests for editing on pages that lack references.
Ask.com, ChaCha, Yahoo Answers, World Book Encyclopedia, Encyclopedia Britannica, and any source
which has hyperlinks (blue font underlined) throughout the text on its site - you need better sources than
these!

* Note: the above rules do not apply for Image URL links - you can take those from any site for your
Prezi. *

For each source you use, you must create a slide that has only the source information on it. You will
need to use full Works Cited information for this task, following MLA citation rules. If you need help
creating a Works Cited properly, use this website:
http://www.citationmachine.net/mla
Always give the full URL for any website in your Works Cited!

Prezi Construction Phase

You will create a Prezi presentation that shows this faith’s timeline, although you do not have to use a
typical timeline format. Your Prezi must reflect the origins, the major turning points and other changes,
and the present day – as well as continuities along the way and/or present until now. All of the AP World
time frames must be represented in your Prezi, and the visuals you choose to represent the faith and its
turning points must be significant. To access Prezi and begin learning how to use it, visit:
https://prezi.com/pricing/ and click on Basic to create a free Prezi; don’t pay money for a plan - you don’t
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need to spend a dime on this! You will have access to both Prezi Next and Prezi Classic – I recommend
you stay with Prezi Next because it is easier to create and edit presentations that way.

The majority of your Prezi should be composed of visuals, with brief explanatory captions. Consider
including works of art, architecture, sacred writings, pictures of important leaders, maps that show the
spread or extent of the religion, symbolic representations of concepts, and so on. Each “slide” caption is
limited to a maximum of 10 words; you must also include the image URL below any image you take from
the internet or book source information for any image you choose to scan (URLs do not count as words).
Eight slides is the minimum number you must have; I would not recommend more than 20 slides.

* Note to students who choose Islam for this project: it is considered a violation of the faith to
make images of Muhammad or God. Consider symbolic representations instead. (Other
historical figures may be shown as people – just not these two.) Also, out of respect for Mrs.
Waler (Ms. Perosi) whom you know celebrates the Islam faith PLEASE do not use pictures of
Muhammad or Allah. I will be crushed if you disrespect Islam in any way.*

If you need an example to go by, the Judaism Prezi Mrs. Russell created is somewhat helpful, but it does
not have anything besides changes in it. You will need to address ​continuities, causes, effects, and all
of the AP World time frames in your Prezi ​(8000 BCE-600 BCE (Hinduism only), 600 BCE-600 CE,
600-1450 CE; 1450-1750, 1750-1900, 1900-present)​.​ Here is the link to the Judaism Prezi to get you
started (you can choose the timeline background for yours, pick a different background, or design your
own Prezi from scratch): https://prezi.com/crn2gc2rrjnc/a-brief-history-of-judaism/

Order of Presentation/Slides
1) Introduction: Your first slide should contain the name of the faith, your name, and 1 or more images
that represent the faith. You will be stating a thesis while showing this slide, but do not type a thesis
statement on this slide or the slide following it. This is not a text-heavy presentation; it’s a visual
representation of what you will be saying and teaching others.

2) Origins: Start with a brief description of how this faith began and how it spread initially. Images of
early beliefs and practices of the faith can be included here. Do not spend more than 2 minutes on this
section – remember that we have learned about these faiths in class already.

3) Changes and Major Turning Points: You might want to structure your spoken presentation around a
timeline, so that it is easy for listeners to follow along. Chooses changes to address, and decide which
ones count as turning points in the faith. Explain why each turning point is a crucial one. This section
may be the most challenging in terms of choosing visuals.

4) Present Day: You must address major continuities here if you have not already done so for this faith,
as in which beliefs and practices have persisted (Hint: It’s not “all of them”).
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5) Conclusion: Include 1 or more images to sum up the presentation. Again, there should be few words
on this slide. You will be saying out loud which of the turning points you identified have been most
significant to the religion or philosophy and/or why the faith is worthy of study.

6) Works Cited: Your final slide(s) must include an alphabetical list of all sources in your research,
formatted according to the guidelines I will give you. You are not required to go over your source
information as part of your presentation; it is primarily for me to grade. The images will each have their
own URLs, so you won’t need to copy those in the Bibliography slide(s).

Inserting images into a Prezi can be done once you have saved images to your device. Research and
save all the images you wish to use. Make sure you also save the URLs. When you are ready to add an
image, you will select Insert, then Image, then choose the image you want. You must give the URL for
every image you, use, however. You can do this by copying and pasting the URL (Ctrl-V) into the Prezi.
(If you are using Prezi Classic, these instructions won’t work. Send me an email if you need help.) Move
the URL to below the picture in the Prezi. Make sure to shrink the font so it does not disrupt the slide
design or distract from your images.

I do NOT recommend you just copy and paste images into your Prezi. The reason is because you will
need to double-check your Prezi on a school computer using Google Chrome as your web browser to
make sure the images appear. Copying and pasting a picture is the number one culprit when you go to
present and your Prezi suddenly has images missing. Use Prezi Next instead of Prezi Classic and follow
my instructions in the above paragraph to avoid this problem.

When your work is complete, upload it into your google classroom for a CUA grade.

All Prezi links must be posted in your Google classroom no later than 9:00PM Thursday, January 23.

Rehearsing the Presentation

Your spoken presentation will be an explanation of the images in your presentation and how they
represent the defining features of the faith. The presentation should be 6-8 minutes long, and most of it
will be about changes/turning points in the religion. A good rule of thumb is about 1 “slide” per minute,
unless you have several slides which you can speak very quickly about.

For the Introduction to your presentation, no version of “I did a project on…” is acceptable. You need
strong and clear spoken statements about:
- to what extent this faith has changed
- which of those changes qualify as turning points
- to what extent this faith has stayed the same
It is also unacceptable to say any faith has “an equal amount of change and continuity.” You need to give
strong opinions on the subject, as you will be required to do when you write essays in this class. You
also need to make judgment calls about which of your changes count as turning points. (Hint: It’s not “all
of them”).
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Just as a precaution, be prepared to describe the images on your Prezi if they don’t show up. You will
not lose points if you present without them, and it helps if you’ve thought about this situation ahead of
time so you don’t panic or get flustered.

You will be speaking to small groups instead of presenting to the whole class. Other presenters will also
be speaking around you, so if you have a naturally quiet voice, a tendency to speak very quickly, or a
tendency to mumble, work on that while you rehearse. Practice making eye contact versus looking at
your cards or the computer screen the majority of the time. Plan on asking audience members if they
have any questions at the end of your presentation.

All presentations will take place in class Friday 1/24

Absences and Late Work

Because this project is so important to your quarter grade, it is crucial for you to be present in class on
due dates and have work completed and turned in on time. Students who are absent from school on the
day of a deadline should still be able to complete work at home and upload it to Google classroom.
Students who miss the presentation day must bring a note from a parent regarding an excused absence
– illness, family emergency, doctor’s appt. We will schedule a presentation make-up day once you return
to school. Students who do not have an excused absence or who are unable to complete the work on
time will receive half credit for any missed deadline that is completed during office hours.

A warning to students who put off work: If you miss a day of school in order to complete project work that
you do not have ready on the deadline, the best you will receive is half credit. DO NOT
PROCRASTINATE! Staying home to finish project work is the same as skipping school. It is a bad
coping strategy for when you are stressed. Smart is as smart does – start your research and your work
early so procrastination will not happen to you!

You are welcome to come to office hours, see me before class, or email me if you need any help with this
project. I want to help you do your best, but I can only do that if you are working ahead!
(lperosi@kippaustin.prg)

AP Religions Project Rubric

+ = outstanding ✓+ = excellent ✓ = exactly what is required
✓- = needs work - = problematic 0 = missing

Prezi 40 points Prezi saved to Moodle Forum by 4 pm: Mon. 10/9

Link to Prezi posted to Google Classroom in time? Y N

Here and ready to present on Presentation Day? Y N Make-up Day? __________

Following Directions/Formatting
____ Prezi “slides” are logically ordered, color schemes are tasteful and not distracting
____ Font is easy to read; words on slides kept to minimum (no more than 10 per slide)
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____ Pictures are clear/focused; thoughtful, deliberate choices as visual aids
____ Solid number of slides: not fewer than 8, but not too many either
____ Works Cited slide(s) formatted correctly, all sources alphabetized, includes every source used for
research
____ Image URLs or source given below every image in Prezi

Order and Content of Presentation/Slides

____ Origins, basic beliefs and practices clearly but briefly addressed
____ Major Turning Points: multiple points across time frames (no large gaps in time)
____ Changes addressed in chronological order
____ Visuals well-explained and well-chosen
____ Explanations of why turning points are significant and critical; not just reciting historical events
____ Present day status; continuities of faith addressed

Comments:

Presentation Skills 30 points Tues. 10/10

____ Introduction given in thesis format; spoken versus written onscreen
____ Obvious demonstration of knowledge of CCOT, causes & effects for faith
____ Presenter distinguishes turning points from other changes
____ Conclusion well stated; may include why faith is worthy of study
____ Presenter speaks clearly and loud enough, in a sophisticated manner, is well prepared
____ Presenter has good eye contact, does not read from notecards or Prezi
____ Presenter asks for questions; can handle them well when asked
____ Presentation is between 8 and 10 minutes in length

Comments:

Research/Presentation Notecards 30 points Tues. 10/10

Used 3x5 index cards? Y N

Handed in at the end of the presentation? Y N

Works Cited Cards

____ Has at least 4 sources, each on their own index card How many exactly? ______
____ Has at least one print-based source How many exactly? ______
____ Has correct Works Cited information, in proper format
____ Good quality sources/no unacceptable sources

Notecards
____ Minimum number of cards: at least as many as Prezi “slides” How many exactly? ______
____ Has between 1 and 3 facts per notecard
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____ Evidence of good note-taking skills (notes/sentences, in student’s phrasing, no evidence of
plagiarism)
____ Cards match up well to Prezi content, no disconnect between cards and presentation

Comments:

Grade out of 100 points: ______

Check Point Seal of approval

3 slides finished (30 minutes into class check point)

1. Intro
2. Origins
3. Changes over time

4 slides finished and 3 note cards finished (end of

class day 1)

4. Present day

EXIT TICKET:
Create a map of Afro-Eurasia. On it, sketch the location of each major religion in the year 1200. Annotate
each religion with one key belief and one effect on society. It doesn’t have to be perfect, just the basic
shape of the continents.
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Continued on the back page

Which is a major belief of both Judaism and Christianity?
A. There is only one God.
B. The Noble Eightfold Path is a guide to right conduct.
C. A devout follower must pray five times a day.
D. A person's soul is reborn into a new body many times.

All of the following were part of the Confucian social order EXCEPT
A. loyalty to the ruler
B. filial obedience to one’s parents
C. respect for the old
D. equality between men and women

Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of Buddhism?

A. It denies the usefulness of gods.
B. It believes in the need for a caste system.
C. It emphasizes the search for spiritual truth.
D. It focuses on living one’s life in a manner that minimizes desire and suffering.