The fascination with buried treasures and lost civilizations transcends all ages and serves as an effective magnet for drawing students toward the study of archaeology. Connecting students to the past gives them a better understanding of their own present and future. In this article, the author describes how the scientific method of investigation…

Two articles discuss the controversy about exploration of the shipwrecked Titanic. Suggested are questions for discussion and activities to stimulate student interest and to explore ethical issues involved in the treatment of historic artifacts. (CB)

This book provides 25 activities giving children hands-on archeological experience, teaches how archaeologists work, and shows what they have discovered from digging up prehistoric bones between the time when dinosaurs roamed the earth to the uncovering of modern artifacts at a contemporary office building. Ancient civilizations come to life as…

Provides suggestions for an archaeology activity for elementary school children. (PEB)

Lesson plans for teaching elementary students about archaeology are provided in this book. The lessons are designed to encourage students to practice the development of critical thinking skills through synthesizing, analyzing, evaluating, hypothesizing, applying, and deductive and inductive reasoning. Lesson and instructional materials, and 13…

This article outlines an eight-week program exploring archaeology in the elementary school classroom. "Relics" from the author's grandmother's attic and contemporary "prepared" garbage bags were studied for insight into the past and processes involved in archeological digs. Famous digs were studied, experts visited the class, and games simulated…

By imagining they are 24th-century archaeologists excavating a 20th-century house, students learn how to make and practice writing specific, precise, and detailed observations. Other science process skills focused on include measuring, making inferences, and communicating the data both orally and in writing. (AIM)

Defines garbology (a combination of garbage and archaeology) as being about people and the information one can learn about them from their trash. Provides guidelines for selection and handling of trash for analysis by students. Describes a group of second graders tracing a family's information through their trash and coming to a better…

The main concern of this paper is to determine the accuracy and representativeness of anthropology material from: Anthropology Curriculum Project (ACP); Education Development Center's Man A Course of Study (MACOS); Materials and Activities for Teachers and Children (MATCH); University of Minnesota's Project Social Studies; Anthropology Curriculum…

Describes a unit on local history developed through the classification of projectile points which may be gathered on a field trip or viewed at a local museum. Suggestions for starting the unit and illustrating the nomenclature of projectile points are provided. (JM)

This sourcebook prepares students for a visit to the "Prehistoric Journey" exhibit at the Denver Museum of Natural History. The exhibit opened October 23, 1995, and offered a dramatic exploration of 3.5 billion years of life on Earth. Dioramas and "enviroramas" depict seven critical points in life's history. In addition to the chronological…

A theme issue of the Iowa State Historical Department magazine focuses on elementary readings and activities about prehistoric Iowa. The issue contains a total of 16 articles. In "History Makers," a ten-year-old recounts his family's discovery of a mammoth bone on their farm. "Imagine a Camping Trip Long Ago" looks at how the…

This booklet describes how to make large two-dimensional models of dinosaur skeletons which can be effective teaching tools. Small laminated wood dinosaur models are enlarged, traced, and transferred to tri-wall cardboard (one-half inch thick) and cut out with a saber saw. Parts are then slotted and numbered for easy assembly. The result is a kit…

This article describes an archeological dig planned for and executed by a class of 10 and 11-year-old children. The structuring of other subjects around the dig, and follow up activities are reviewed. (SB)

Explains how archaeologists who found the "Mesa Site" in Northern Alaska used evidence to make interpretations about America's earliest settlers. Includes related science activities and a color poster. (PR)