Total Duration: |
31 to 60 Minutes |
Materials and Resources: |
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Technology Resources Needed: |
Video:
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Background/Preparation: |
For the Students: This is an introductory lesson. No prior knowledge needed. For the Teacher: Before the lesson, the teacher should collect several plastic bags of clean, safe trash: no food, cans, or glass. Each bag ideally, will come from a different location. Examples: office, family home, or movie theater. Teachers need to be familiar with the Woodland Period in Alabama and with archaeology.
Williams, Randall, and Christine Garrett. The Alabama Guide: Our People, Resources, and Government 2009. Montgomery: Alabama Dept. of Archives and History, 2009. 36, 39, 40, 41, and 239. Print.
Bridges, Edwin C. Alabama: The Making of an American State. Tuscaloosa, Alabama: U of Alabama, 2016. 10-13, and 26 & 28. Print.
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Before: Ask students, "If someone sorted through your trash, what clues could they find about you?" Have students brainstorm a list of items that could be found in someone's trash that could give "clues" about the people who left the trash. Then lead a discussion about how archaeologists use the "evidence or trash" they find to piece together information about human cultures. Show the following video: Archeologists: Career Spotlight by Kids.gov During: Explain to the students that archaeologists are able to learn about the lives of prehistoric peoples by studying the remains of the things they left behind. (Before the lesson, the teacher should collect several plastic bags of clean, safe trash: no food, cans, or glass. Each bag ideally, will come from a different location. Examples: office, family home, or movie theater.) Group students into groups with 3 students per group. Give each group a bag of trash and the Garbage Can Archaeology worksheet found under attachments. Explain that each group will assume the role of archaeologists and analyze the contents of each trash bag to determine the location the garbage came from. They will also make inferences about the people who left the garbage. Give groups 15 minutes to sort through the garbage and make their inferences. Then discuss their findings. After: Explain to students that pottery is generally the most common type of artifact found at prehistoric sites because pottery and stone do not deteriorate as easily as other remains. The types of clay people used to make their pottery and the different patterns and methods they used to decorate their pottery indicates the age of the pottery and the culture from which it came. These are all clues archaeologists use to gain information about prehistoric people. Show students the picture of the 2 artifacts: Woodland Duck Pot - Artifact B and Creek Water Jar - Artifact A, both located under attachments. Ask the students, "Are there similarities between the two? Are there differences? What can these two pictures tell us about the people who used them? Are these objects similar to anything we have or use today?" Complete a Venn Diagram together on the board to compare similarities and differences. Have students choose one of the two objects (Woodland Duck Pot or Creek Water Jar) and write a narrative story from the picture about the artifact. Students will write a scene explaining its origin, how it ended up buried in the dirt, or what happened once it was excavated by an archaeologist (the student). They can write the scene from the point of view of an archaeologist, a character, or the item itself. |
Assessment Strategies |
Formative assessment strategy for this lesson is the Garbage Can Archaeology worksheet (found under attachments) used in the Garbage Can Archaeology Activity (during part of the lesson). Summative assessment strategy for this lesson is the Rubric for the Archaeology Narrative Writing (found under attachments) used in Archaeology Narrative Writing (used in the after part of the lesson). |
Acceleration: |
Students can choose one of the sites from the ancient archaeology site from the list under the attachments, research the site via the internet, and design a travel brochure for that site using a template from Microsoft Word. Suggested Reading List:
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Intervention: |
Students who need extra support should be placed in groups with teammates sensitive to the needs of that student. The teacher may need to more closely supervise groups that contain students who are struggling with the concepts of this lesson. Students may also need additional time to complete their Narrative Writing Activity. |
View the Special Education resources for
instructional guidance in providing modifications and adaptations
for students with significant cognitive disabilities who qualify for the Alabama Alternate Assessment.
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