Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Decomposing Artifacts

For Teachers 7th
Seventh graders participate in an experiment in which they calculate the time of decomposition of different materials. In groups, they fill bags with different materials and cover them in soil. After six months, they create a line graph...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A Journey To Africa: Art And Artifacts

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Middle schoolers create a multimedia presentation based on a piece of African Art. They use the art piece to demonstrate the culture and ceremonies of the area in which it was produced. They research facts for a Power Point, write a...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Clues to the Past

For Teachers 4th - 11th
Students take a 1.3 mile walking tour of Chippokes Plantation, inspect significant historic buildings and artifacts, and make inferences about plantation life from their observations while answering a series of questions.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A Reporter's Recovery of Place

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Students read and write their own story about an artifact they find in their community.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

A Museum as Time Capsule

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Young scholars focus on museum artwork and artifacts as resources to study history and geography.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Destruction in Bamiyan

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Learners examine the destruction of the colossal statues of Buddha, carved into sandstone cliffs of Bamiyan, Afghanistan, that were recently demolished by the Taleban. They look for photos of local artifacts that represent the culture...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Japanese Objects as Cultural Artifacts: A Model Lesson Using Textiles

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students complete a unit on the cultural significance of textiles in the Japanese culturre. They analyze cotton, line, silk, and wool fabrics, examine various fabric creation and decoration techniques, select an object and write a...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Assignment #4 Time Capsule-Your Future

For Teachers 9th - 10th
Class members create a PowerPoint presentation showing artifacts they would include in a time capsule. The artifacts and explanations reflect personal hobbies, grooming choices, school life, etc. A great way for class members to...
PPT
British Museum

Pattern

For Teachers K - 2nd
Discuss patterns found in nature, math, and art; then challenge your class to find the pattern in a series of artifacts from the British Museum. Provided are 13 examples of art and artifacts that are rich with pattern. Learners can work...
Activity
American Museum of Natural History

If Trash Could Talk

For Students 6th - 12th
Trash can talk! Young archaeologists dig through their trash to see what it reveals about their lives. After they examine their midden, links permit users to test their knowledge of archaeology with a 10-questions quiz, learn how...
Lesson Plan
Pennsylvania Department of Transportation

King of Prussia Inn: Exploring Historic Places

For Teachers 7th - 12th
Learners of any age examine the significance of historic sites, how we understand those sites, and what they mean in terms of history and the culture of the past. They look at maps, artifacts, and data taken from archaeological sites to...
Lesson Plan
NASA

Mystery Planet

For Teachers 2nd - 8th
What can one learn about a planet based on a small surface sample? Learners will explore artifacts from a mystery planet and see what they can determine about the planet based on the evidence in front of them. 
Lesson Plan
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Museum of Tolerance

Quilt Activity

For Teachers 3rd - 6th Standards
After completing the first five lessons from the series, scholars assemble their quilt pieces to create a family history quilt. They then rate their experience of learning about their families by conducting interviews, creating family...
Activity
National Park Service

Maltese Cross Cabin

For Teachers 4th - 8th Standards
The Maltese Cross Cabin, a frontier residence of Theodore Roosevelt, is a time capsule that commemorates Roosevelt's time in the Dakota territory. An explanatory video and response guide takes students on a virtual tour of the wooden...
Lesson Plan
Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media

American Indians and their Environment

For Teachers 3rd - 5th
People could take a page in ingenuity and survival from the Powhatans. Deer skins became clothes, and the members of the Native American group farmed the rich Virginia soil and hunted in its forests for food. Using images of artifacts...
Activity
University of California

Religious Influences

For Teachers 6th Standards
While the Roman empire often conjures up images of soldiers and emperors, its culture was more complex. Using primary sources, including ancient historians and pictures of artifacts, pupils consider the religious influences on Roman...
Lesson Plan
K20 LEARN

The Spiro Mounds Builders: Oklahoma History

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Long before European settlers arrived on the shores of what is now the United States, pre-contact Native American cultures thrived. Young scholars investigate the Spiro Mounds Builders' history and learn how archaeologists put together...
Unit Plan
Pardee Home Museum

Geography of Alaska

For Teachers 5th
A unit on the 49th state covers a variety of topics from the geography of Alaska to Native American myths.  Academics work to analyze information found in primary source materials including old newspaper articles and artifacts....
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The Stories of Status Symbols

For Teachers K - 5th
A good writer needs to be observant and have an imagination. Hone those creative writing skills with an activity inspired by a very old Chinese artifact. Learners examine the piece Mandarin Duck Rank Badge, and then write a story from...
Lesson Plan
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Channel Islands Film

Cache: Lesson Plan 4 - Grades 4-5

For Teachers 7th - 10th Standards
After viewing the West of the West's documentary Cache, individuals craft either a newspaper article chronicling the discovery of the cache on San Nicolas Island, a historical narrative of the placement of the cache in the cliff side, or...
Lesson Plan
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Channel Islands Film

Arlington Springs Man: Lesson Plan 3

For Teachers 9th - 12th Standards
Imagine being part of a team of scientists that discover the oldest human remains in North America. Imagine being part of the crew that documents this discovery. Class members get a change to be part of such an exciting adventure in a...
Lesson Plan
1
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Channel Islands Film

Sa Hi Pa Ca (Once Upon a Time): Lesson Plan 2

For Teachers 4th Standards
What tools do archaeologists and anthropologist use to learned about what life was like in the past. After watching West of The West's documentary Once Upon a Time that details how scientists use artifacts to establish a...
Lesson Plan
PBS

NOVA Cloud Lab Lesson Plan

For Teachers 6th - 12th Standards
A sign that washed away from Hurricane Sandy in 2012 beached itself 3,595 miles away in France. This artifact and others from around the world help scientists understand water currents and the far-reaching impact of hurricanes. Scholars...
Interactive
Howard Hughes Medical Institute

Using DNA to Trace Human Migration

For Students 9th - 12th
Can scientists trace all humans back to a small region in Africa? An intriguing lesson turns back time to reveal artifacts leading scientists to believe human life originated in Africa and dispersed from there.

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