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Ancient Hunters of the Great Lakes
Students describe theories on how the first humans came to America and show the evidence that supports it. In this investigative lesson students study given material and prepare written or oral reports in their groups.
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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...
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The Artifact Problem
Students work in small groups and make a map of a familiar room. In this artifact lesson, students decide on a suitable scale for their maps, the tools they will use and how they will make it and decide on strategies they would use to...
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Primary Sources and Archaeology in the Study of Ancient Mediterranean Trade
Tenth graders begin the lesson plan by plotting trade routes, major empires and items traded. Using primary sources, they examine their own values regarding trading items for royality. They participate in a role-play exercise in which...
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Fossilworks
Students research fossils and fossil formation. They explain how fossils are formed, identify fossil formations and use casting plaster to produce fossil replicas.
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Shells on the Mountain Top?
Students work in groups to remove fossils from sediments, classifying as many organisms and parts of organisms as possible into major groups. They study the data from each formation and make conclusions about the types of organisms and...
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How Do We Learn About the Past?
Sixth graders discuss the role of an archaeologist as a class. After viewing photographs, they relate the objects found in their local area and Ancient Egypt. They draw a picture of an object that represents their own culture and gives...
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Kincaid Creatures
Students brainstorm a list of nocturnal and diurnal wild animals they see in their community and discuss how the animals would be different if they were living during the Ice Age. Using a handout, they discover how archeologists record...
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It's in the Garbage
Students analyze how studying garbage relates to methods of archaeology. They examine garbage to determine things about their culture and relate that to prehistoric peoples.
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Create a Classroom Exhibit: Rocks and Minerals
Young scholars bring in rocks and minerals from home. They observe them and describe them carefully, completing a worksheet. Finally, a classroom exhibit is created.
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Plants and Animals, Partners in Pollination
Students participate in multiple hands-on activities to explore reproduction and pollination. In groups, using a cotton swab and powder, students simulate being pollinators and plants. They name the parts of the flowers and the function...
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Rocks and Minerals
Students bring rocks and minerals from home to investigate in the classroom. For this rocks and minerals lesson plan, students observe all the rocks and minerals brought into the class and answer 7 questions about the features of the...
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Under the Spell of Spiders
Learners examine spiders. In these spider lessons, students will view spider images and live spiders to determine physical characteristics, habits, and habitats. Learners will examine fantasy and folklore about spiders to create and...
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"ART ZOO 'Blacks in the Westward Movement', 'What Can You Do with a Portrait', and 'Of Beetles, Worms, and Leaves of Grass'"
Students study black history, examine portraits and portrait making and create their own portraits, and investigate their natural environment. This humanities lesson provides a text that can be used to teach lessons in black history,...
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How Size Shapes Animals
Students investigate how size affects large and small animals differently. In this animal lesson plan, students determine how size affects different animals by constructing their own animal out of marshmallows. Once students create...
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Fossils Footprints Across Time
Students examine fossils to understand how they are formed and how they give information about geological history. In this fossil lesson plan, students research and write about fossils and make models of different fossil types.The PDF...
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Work Made Easy
Second graders maneuver placement of the fulcrum on the lever to see how to lift weight most easily. They role-play as archaeologists with the task of lifting a heavy rock from the dig site. They write in science journals about what...
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Point of View
Learners participate in an inkblot test to discuss how what they see is different than their classmates. After viewing various artifacts, they write down what they believe the object is and then they are placed into a group to discuss...
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Archeological Thinking
Sixth graders review the differences between a historian and archaeolgists. At a recent archaeological dig site, they examine the artifacts and determine their usage. In groups, they are given a bag full of artifacts and write down what...
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Investigating the Mammoth Mystery
Fourth graders go on a virtual dig to find out where the mammoth bones found in a rural U.S. county came from. They determine whether the bones were created by humans or were they the actual remains of mammoths who walked the area during...
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Stratigraphy and Cross-Dating
Young scholars interpret archaeological strata using the law of superposition. They apply cross-dating to determine the age of other artifacts.
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Gridding a Site
Students make observations of effigy mounds and record them in a notebook. In groups, they must determine the scale of measurement and create their own grid to scale part of the Effigy Mounds National Monument. They also practice using...
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Spear Point Production
Learners explore that prehistoric people had to have a good knowledge of the physical world around them in order to choose the best material for spear production. They also explore that prehistoric people were intelligent beings who...
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Ping!
Seventh graders study side-scan sonar and discover how it can be used to locate objects underwater. They complete a sonar simulation activity in which they create and map mystery landscapes inside shoeboxes.