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Investigating Sources-Artifacts
Students discuss artifacts. In this social science lesson, students realize that artifacts can help one in determining about the person the artifacts belonged to. Students will be put into small groups and will look at objects from a box...
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Kidding Around In The 1980s
Students examine pop culture of the 1980s. In this historical time period lesson, students view a Smurfs cartoon from the 1980s and discuss its similarities and differences to cartoons today. Students work in groups to...
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Contextual Clues
Learners observe and interpret images of artifacts in different contexts in order to recognize importance of leaving artifacts in original context to correctly understand their meaning, and observe what is surrounding object to interpret...
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Treasure Chest
Students explore Chicago in the fur-trading era. In this Chicago lesson, students discover what life what like during this time. Students read an historical fiction story about life in the fur-trade era. Students view replicas of...
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Traveler's in Time
Students analyze artifacts to become familiar with the Great Migration. In this migration lesson plan, students read an article and answer comprehension questions. Students role play a migration scenario using an artifact to help...
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A Siouan Village
Fourth graders examine the artifacts obtained from an excavated Siouan village site. They make inferences about the people who once lived there based on the artifacts and complete a Research Team Report.
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To Protect and Preserve
Learners discuss the impact of war on the Iraqi National Museum and the importance of protecting artifacts of cultural heritage. They write letters to the Milwaukee Public Museum to show support for funding for the protection of the...
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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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Treasure in the Trash
Learners decode archaeological artifacts in order to recreate an event, using discarded objects as a model for real-life artifacts. They apply this model to reconstructing historical or literary events from artifacts they create.
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Of Amulets And Scrolls
Students come to an understanding of the time period covered in the first five books of the Bible by researching and recreating ancient artifacts. They recreate artifacts that represent the people, lifestyles, and culture of people...
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Real-Life History
Students collect artifacts which are part of their family/community history. They gather at home and share in the classroom at a specified time when extra care and supervision might be provided.
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Mongolian Museum
Learners act as curator of a Mongolian museum and create a brochure detailing a new exhibit of artifacts. The brochure include a floor plan of the exhibit and a description that be used in the museum tour.
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How Do We Learn About the Past?
Students examine archaeological discoveries. In this learning about the past activity, students view a "Magic School Bus" video, discuss the role of an archeologist, and complete a graphic organizer. Students discuss a variety of...
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Mesoamerican Market Fair
Students organize an Mesoamerican market fair. In this early civilizations lesson plan, students celebrate the culmination of a unit on Mesoamerican cultures by planning, marketing, and hosting a market fair complete with food, games,...
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Foods and Languages of the World
Students study world cultures with an emphasis on languages and cultures. In this world cultures lesson, students study the countries of Spain, China, Italy, and the United States. Students read the story Everybody Cooks Rice and move...
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Digging Into the Past
Students participate in an excavation simulation, and explore the ruins of Sardis. They ponder which clues scientists use to determine if artifacts found in the excavation are of Persian, Greek, Roman, Byzantine, or Lydian origin.
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Right About Now… and Then
Students discuss significant figures in music history and read an article about the Smithsonian's Hip-Hop exhibit. In groups, they develop and curate an exhibition of hip-hop music and history using artifacts that represent relevant...
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Sticks, Stones, Sinews and Stuff: How Early People Used the Environment to Meet Basic Needs
Students create an artifact. For this early survival lesson, students use found objects to create an artifact that could have been used to help early people meet their basic needs.
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Remains of the Day
Students consider how archaeologists discovered and pieced together artifacts that indicate a Celtic presence in ancient Turkey. They research ancient civilizations and create archaeological digs containing items representative of these...
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My Family: Past, Present,
Second graders explore the lives of actual people who make a difference in their everyday lives. They differentiate between events that happened long ago and events that happened yesterday by studying their family histories. The unit...
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The Early Peoples
Students, after studying The Early Peoples, explain and give examples of how Native Americans and Europeans adapted to living in certain environments. They give examples of early cultures and settlements that existed in North America...
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Bushy Run: A Decisive Battle of Pontiac's Rebellion
Students study the battle at Bushy Run. In this Pontiac's Rebellion lesson, students examine an 1765 map of the Bushy Run battle as well as letters and a modern topographic map of the area in order to simulate the event and research how...
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Turmoil In 20th-Century Europe
Students study the Titanic disaster. In this research skills instructional activity, students watch "Turmoil in 20th Century Europe," and then discuss how experts have provided the public information about the disaster. Students research...
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Alexis de Tocqueville’s America
Students analyze de Tocqueville's America. In this democratic history lesson, students use primary sources to determine what de Tocqueville found to be so unique in the America. Students analyze artifacts, maps and documents through...