Hands-On Archaeology: Authentic Learning Experiences That Engage Students in STEM (Grades 4-5)

by John R. White, Mattie Oveross

Overview

Hands-On Archaeology immerses students in the world of real-life archaeologists. Through engaging authentic learning experiences, students will discover artifacts from the past and participate in archaeological digs while building STEM skills, as well as making connections to geography, history, art, and English language arts. This book is packed with activities that can easily be conducted in the classroom using everyday materials and includes everything teachers need to help students conduct real-life archaeological digs. From participating in digs in the classroom to conducting digs in the community, students will not just learn about archaeology—they will be archaeologists!

Grades 4-5

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781618218513
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	06/15/2019
Edition description:	2nd ed.
Pages:	212
Product dimensions:	8.50(w) x 11.00(h) x (d)
Age Range:	9 - 10 Years

About the Author

John White has been a professor of anthropology and archaeology for more than 35 years. Presently the chair of the department at Youngstown State University, Dr. White is actively involved in field research covering a wide range of interests. His research has resulted in the publication of more than 200 scholarly articles, reports, monographs, and books on various subjects ranging from archaeological method and theory to Native American civil rights and Ohio and Oregon prehistory, early ironmaking, archaeoastronomy, and industrial archaeology. He is the local forensic anthropologist and along with his students is involved in local crime scene investigations. He has been awarded six research professorships and on five occasions has been voted Distinguished Professor. Since 1980, he has been involved in archaeology as a teaching tool in elementary and secondary schools. It was this latter interest that led to the writing of this book for teachers. He presently is working on a book on forensic anthropology for students in grades 6-12. He enjoys acting—he has been in more than 25 plays—and sitting on his deck with a good book and a pair of binoculars for bird watching.

Mattie Oveross is a doctoral student at the University of North Texas pursuing a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology with a concentration in Gifted and Talented Education. She is also the curriculum director at a private school that serves gifted and talented students.

Table of Contents

Introduction 1

Part 1 Introduction to Archaeology

Chapter 1 Getting Started 13

Activity 1.1 Archaeologist by Day 25

Activity 1.2 Building an Archaeology Kit 26

Activity 1.3 Making an Excavator's Scoop 27

Activity 1.4 Keeping a Journal 29

Activity 1.5 Site in a Bag 30

Activity 1.6 What in the World? 32

Activity 1.7 Shape and Material Equals Function 33

Activity 1.8 Wastebasket Archaeology 35

Chapter 2 Using the Scientific method and Recording Data 41

Activity 2.1 What Do You See? 45

Activity 2.2 Forming and Testing Hypotheses 48

Activity 2.3 Designing a Recording Form 52

Activity 2.4 Filling Out Forms 54

Part 2 Preparing for Fieldwork

Chapter 3 Pre-Excavation Research 59

Activity 3.1 Measuring Distance on Maps 65

Activity 3.2 Map Reading 69

Activity 3.3 Learning UTM 72

Activity 3.4 Measuring UTM Distances 76

Activity 3.5 Who Lived There? 81

Chapter 4 Laying Out the Site 87

Activity 4.1 The Classroom as Site 93

Activity 4.2 Gridding a Site (Arbitrary Units) 95

Activity 4.3 Gridding a Site (Nonarbitrary Units) 99

Part 3 The Dig

Chapter 5 Excavation 105

Activity 5.1 Excavation Techniques 109

Activity 5.2 Playground Pick-Up (Phase I) 111

Activity 5.3 Playground Pick-Up (Phase II) 113

Activity 5.4 Tabletop Archaeology 116

Activity 5.5 Labeling Unit Bags 119

Chapter 6 Maintaining Field Records 121

Activity 6.1 Recording the Throwaways 126

Activity 6.2 Recording Features 128

Activity 6.3 Recording Artifacts 130

Activity 6.4 Informative Photography 131

Activity 6.5 Completing a Photo Log 133

Chapter 7 Cataloguing and Maintaining a Repository 135

Activity 7.1 The Accession Log 141

Activity 7.2 Pot Repair 143

Activity 7.3 Labeling Artifacts 145

Activity 7.4 Separating the Artifacts 147

Activity 7.5 Building a Repository 151

Activity 7.6 Repository Opening Ceremony 153

Part 4 Post-Excavation

Chapter 8 Producing a Site Report 157

Activity 8.1 Setting Up a Site Report 159

Chapter 9 Creating a Museum Display 165

Activity 9.1 Building a Diorama 168

Activity 9.2 Building an Interpretive Exhibit 170

Activity 9.3 Advertising an Event 172

Activity 9.4 Prepare a Press Release 174

Chapter 10 Taking the Show on the Road 175

Activity 10.1 A Suitcase Museum 177

Activity 10.2 TV News Show 179

Appendix A Additional Archaeology Resources 181

Appendix B Archaeological Forms 185

Appendix C Letters of Communication 195

About the Authors 199

Common Core State Standards Alignment 201

Next Generation Science Standards Alignment 203

Editorial Reviews

This book could actually serve as the backbone of your curriculum. It definitely is a hands-on resource for teachers who want to inspire new and amateur archaeologists to learn more about the past and how the past can shape our future. Students will be able to gain an overview of human history and the science that brings it back to life.,Linda Biondi,MiddleWeb, 2/13/20

From the Publisher