Clues to the Past

When studying artifacts, especially tools, how do archaeologists determine what the devices were used for? In what ways might researchers' previous experiences influence their perception of an artifact? An article about researchers'...

Picture someone's excitement of seeing a horse for the first time. How about a cow? The Columbian Exchange changed life for not only Native Americans, but also for Europeans and the entire world. The second lesson of a 22-part series...

Students analyze primary and secondary sources to explore slavery and emancipation, and write letter or diary entry from point of view of slave Hannah Harris or plantation owner Robert Carter. Students then dramatize their creative...

Fourth graders study history though the exploration of artifacts. In this Civil War lesson plan, 4th graders examine artifacts such as sweet grass basket, spinning top, photos on tin, cast iron kettle, china"bone plate," bonnet, wooden...

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.

Young scholars explore how historians construct a story out of fragments of the past; a discussion of nineteenth century poetry and art leads students to connect art and literature to their place in time.

Six interactive activities are presented that walk students through how to use their critical thinking skills in the analysis of historical artifacts and documents. The sixth one explains how to balance the various perspectives that...

Students examine how their belongings and their trash represents who they are. In this archaeology skills lesson, students watch a video titled "Discovering the Past" and then give archaeological techniques a try. Students examine and...

Students observe the attributes of an object, infer their uses, and discover how archaeologists use objects to explore the past.

Students construct a timeline of four major culture periods in Native American history from studying archaeological evidence cards.