Mascil Project
Pottery
Don't cry over broken pottery. A cross-curricular lesson challenges pupils to consider how to restore ancient pottery. Using a computer program and their knowledge of transformations, they come up with a way to recreate the original...
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Hands-on History of Pottery
Students make pottery in the same evolutionary order as archeology indicates. They begin with simple pinch pots and then move to plain coil pots, manipulative decoration, and surface decoration. For each type of pot they discuss the...
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Indian Women in Texas History
Fourth graders study Indian women in Texas. In this US history lesson, 4th graders discuss what each Indian woman's contribution was by completing a timeline and table. Students examine the Caddo Women's pottery tradition and write an...
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Discovering Pi
Students investigate the math concept of Pi (specifically, what pi is, the significance and how it is used in the real world). This is a hands on lesson in which the students actively participate with their investigations.
The...
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Investigation of Pot Sherds
Fourth graders review their prior knowledge on the concept of pi. Using broken pieces of pottery, they calculate the circumference from a section of the circle. In teams, they compete against one another to get the most accurate...
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The Mound Builders
Fifth graders examine mound building Indian tribes. They identify the two groups of Mound-Building Indians and explore the reasons for building mounds. Students identify places where the mounds exist. They create a model of an Indian mound.
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You Can Dig It!
Students act as archeologists to examine, describe and hypothesize about 'artifacts' they have been given for their archeological interpretation. They rely on the descriptions and hypotheses of other students to identify the 'artifacts'...
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Learning from Artifacts Uncovering Clues, Large and Small
Students observe artifacts from Fort St. Louis at a website in order to make inferences about the people who lived there. They paint pottery in the style which might have been used by one of the cultural groups who inhabited the fort.
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Investigating Pot Sherds
Sixth graders measure pot sherds and use their knowledge of Pi to infer possible uses of pottery. They also infer possible functions of ancient ceramics. After tracing rounded pottery pieces onto paper, 6th graders use compasses to...
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Digging Detectives
Students demonstrate basic procedures for archeological excavations. They explore an archeological site, students using various archeological methods and techniques to determine some of the aspects of past life and culture.
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Classifying Artifacts
Students examine pictures of pottery and classify them. They work together to create a list of characteristics for each piece. They share their findings with the class.
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Pieces of the Past
Seventh graders compare and contrast the way of life of Native Americans in Texas and around the country. As a class, they brainstorm about the uses of pottery today and use broken pieces of pottery to create an artifact. In groups,...
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Protecting the Past: Give a Hoot, Don't Loot
Young scholars discuss the looting and vandalism of various archeological sites. In pairs, they read and complete a worksheet and review their answers as a class. In groups, they role play a artifact preservation skit and perform it to...
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Lesson 6: Examining Events from Different Perspectives Friend or Foe?
Fifth graders sequence events of European exploration and colonization by creating timelines. They define the differences between primary and secondary sources. They discuss claims to Texas land in the 17th Century.
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Seeing Ancient Worlds
Students view the images from the Nature Images Photo Gallery and identify various elements of nature. They then group the elements into categories and discuss what these images tell about the worlds of ancient Native Americans.
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Protecting the Past: Give a Hoot, Don't Loot!
Students, in small groups, simulate an ancient civilization and the art they created, another group represents vandals, and the final group represents archaeologists who try to figure out what life was like for the "ancient peoples". ...
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Archaeology
Students examine how observations lead to investigations, and how archaeologists conduct their investigation.
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The Ancient Cliff Dwellers of Mesa Verde
Students research evidence discovered during Mesa Verde archaeological dig, view images of ancient artifacts, simultate real dig and reconstruct items buried on school grounds, and create newsletter or video tape skit.
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Dell House Dig
Students experience an archaeological dig exploring off the shore of Black Hawk Island and Wisconsin River. They study in the same place where the infamous Dell House once stood. Dell House and its historical significance is reviewed...