Seventh graders examine life at the Jamestown settlement. In this colonial America lesson, 7th graders visit the noted Web site to analyze artifacts from the settlement. Based on their findings, students write descriptive pieces about...

Learners research the prehistoric earthworks site at Poverty Point, Louisiana. They compare the Louisiana artifacts and structure to the remains and knowledge of other ancient cultures. They present their research to the class.

Young scholars who live in the inner city are introduced to the four corners region of the United States. In groups, they examine how the region differs compared to where they live and their culture. They develop maps of the area and...

Students explore the meanings of the word "treasure," and examine the use of clay in the construction of buildings in San Antonio, Texas. They examine clay artifacts, and watch a video about pottery artist, Harding Black. Students then...

Students view a video on a culture and list what would be preserved over time.  In this investigative lesson students study preservation and what gets preserved in different cultures. 

Museums offer more than interesting exhibits—they are key to keeping history alive. An immersive activity uses a virtual field trip to show academics the importance of museums in preserving history. Young historians learn how museums are...

Students study the site of an archaeological dig site in order to begin looking at how they can be interpreted. They look at a soil profile and respond to a research question that simulates a real site. The other questions are used to...

Students use clustering/mind mapping techniques to generate ideas, graphically represent inferences, organize their conclusions and write a report that presents conclusions the writer has reached, and facts substantiating those conclusions.

Learners use the internet to examine what happens at an archeological dig site. In groups, they practice measuring a 2x2 meter square unit and gridding it out as an archeologist would do. They review the possible solutions at the end of...

Fourth graders interview a Native American and write a newspaper article or letter that expresses concern about robbing archaeological sites.

Seventh graders examine the process of constructing a site plan map at archaeological sites. They discuss the process of mapping techniques and calculation of percentages, create a plan site map of a cellar at Jamestown, and calculate...

Fourth graders use a personal item to explain and share the importance of their past. They also connect this importance with reasons why all human past is important.

Fourth graders identify and examine the importance of civic responsibility and the result of losing many archeological sites in Texas. In groups, they are given scenerio cards and act out each scene for the class. They also write a...

Seventh graders discuss continuity and change, identify various plant materials, and compare and contrast ways in which early people used plants in Texas in prehistoric times with ways that modern man in Texas uses plants today.

Seventh graders explain both past and present examples of how people use of natural resources. They use the MVAC website to garther information about the prehistoric cultures in Wisconsin.

Students investigate the four groups of people that existed in the U.S. before the European settlers arrived. They predict how the people arrived in the U.S., then investigate their predictions to find out whether or not they are...

Pupils compare the homes of people who lived in ancient Mesopotamia to their own and explore how climate, natural resources, and cultural differences may have influenced the differences. The house plan can be obtained from the wed site.

Students engage in a lesson that deals with the finding to The Iceman. They conduct research using a variety of resources. Then students work together in order to create different questions about the Iceman. Then the information is used...

Students become cookie paleontologists. In this paleontology lesson, students try to excavate whole chocolate chips from a chocolate chip cookie without breaking the cookie. They use toothpicks and paintbrushes to do it. 

Students create a catalog of gravestones in a cemetery that includes a burial ground from the Revolutionary War. They photograph and document the grave sites, research the Battle of Bunker hill and work with community members to create...

Students will develop a greater awareness of the things surrounding them and will be able to build a bridge between their own material culture and that of an imaginary figure from the past. This instructional activity focuses on the...

Learners imagine they are archaeologists who are looking for treasure under the sand or sea. They work in teams to create the story and site of a shipwreck in a tub or aquarium filled with sand and water.

Ninth graders examine causes and effects of the Uluburun shipwreck. In groups, they develop their own ways to categorize the artifacts found on the ship and decide on the research questions they are going to focus on. They use the...

Students discover the Hanging Gardens through archaeology. In this Near Eastern history instructional activity, students read the book, Ancient Iraq:Archaeology Unlocks the Secrets of Iraq's Past, by Beth Gruber, then create their own...