Back From the Future

Students make a box layered with information about grandparents, parents, and themselves. They dig up each other boxes and try to decipher the personality or lifestyle of the person whose box it is.

Learners identify what and how to complete an Archaeological excavation is conducted. They identify the transition from one layer to the next more easily if the colors of the layers are different. When creating a dig, the teacher...

Learners simulate analyzing artifacts in archaeological lab by using real techniques that archaeologists use. Students practice measuring skills, drawing, writing, and brainstorming, and make inferences based on evidence.

Take this simulated archaeological dig one layer at a time with your young pupils to encourage observation, critical thinking, and careful attention. Using a transparent box full of layers of sand and artifacts, pupils examine the...

Dig in! Middle schoolers learn about archaeology by exploring the remnants of the Chiribaya bodies found in Illinois. Compare archaeological investigations, and then write a mystery detailing the discovery of a body! Consider bringing in...

Students imagine themselves excavating their classroom 5000 years in the future. They discuss what they find there, what items be preserved and which not, and what the objects tell about the people who lived there.

Students explore how an archaeologist works and makes discoveries. In this archaeology lesson, students participate in a simulation in which they excavate broken pottery. Students use measurement, geometry, and observation skills during...

In this archaeology instructional activity, learners answer 8 questions about archaeology. For example, "How are most archaeological sites discovered?"

Students assemble a shoe box following a layered pattern alternating between soil and artifacts. The layers of artifacts begin with the grandparents and end with the student's own personal possessions.

Young scholars simulate an archeological excavation to explain how archeologists identify, date, and make inferences about their findings. They explain the importance of spatial and stratigraphic contexts in archaeology.