Submitted by: Candice Royall
School: Pocahontas Middle School
Summary
Students were visited by “India Jones,” (teacher) an archeologist from the past. She brought with her 8 shoe boxes filled with 15 artifacts from the year 2010. The artifacts were pictures of cell phones, video game consoles, types of housing and clothes, etc. Students had to help “India” decipher what each artifact was and its use. Students worked together in small groups at their table groups to dig out the artifacts (held in plastic bags) from the sand in the boxes. They used tools like tongs, a cup, and a magnifying glass. Then, students worked together to sort the artifacts into categories of food, shelter, clothing, transportation, technology, etc. A class discussion followed to go over each of their categories. Then the teacher introduced a project to students challenging them to find artifacts representing each of the above categories for an assigned Native American tribe. Students collaborated together to create their own “box” of treasures representing either the Inuit, Iroquois, Kwakiutl, Lakota, or Pueblo tribes. Their “box” could be presented in a medium of their choosing (shoebox, poster, scrapbook, movie, PowerPoint, flipchart, etc). After their “box” was completed, students presented their findings to their classmates so that the entire class could know about the artifacts each group found for their assigned tribe.
TIPC Ratings
Approaching: Students researched using the internet and online databases to find information about their assigned tribes. They were also required to properly cite any images used in their projects found from an online source.
Approaching: Students must communicate and collaborate with one another in completing this project. They will discuss the research they do to find out about the lives of their assigned tribe, they will discuss the role of each team member, they will collaborate in creating a final product, and teams will communicate their findings with the class using a presentation tool of their choosing.
Ideal: Students put themselves in the position of an archeologist for this project. They took on the role of investigating about a Native American tribe and presenting their findings to their classmates. They found out that we study archeology so that we can know about how others lived and understand why they lived that way.
Ideal: Students creatively designed their own artifact “box.” They were not limited to a particular medium for their “box.” Many students chose to use their artistic skills and mold artifacts out of clay while others used their technology skills to create a digital story presenting their assigned tribe. Every student had the opportunity to shine using their best skill set.
Student Artifact
Download Files
- Lesson PLan
- Student Handout
- Lesson Rubric
- Student Sample Flipchart
- Link to video
