Material Culture Teacher Resources

Discuss with the class the reasons for identifying and defining the term material culture as refering to a vast array of objects and activities that people make and do traditionally. Your class can identify diverse crafts and decorative...

This resource outlines an extensive list of websites about different kinds of material culture in Louisiana. The list covers five categories: outdoor and indoor crafts, Louisiana folk life articles, quilt making, house types, and general...

Seventh graders create sculptures using objects from contemporary material culture to explore issues that are relevant to a world issue and to the student's own life.

Students investigate the cultures of Native Americans and Euro-Americans through their clothing.  In this photograph analysis lesson, students observe historic photographs and analyze the style of clothes people wore and how it signifies...

Good enough for a college class, this resources discusses multiple aspects pertaining to the issues with globalization and the differences between pop and folk culture. It defines major terminology, provides concrete examples, and...

In this folk regions worksheet, students study the objects by visiting the URL links, and then decide whether each of the 25 belongs in the North Louisiana, South Louisiana, or New Orleans folk regions.

Students explore the meaning of the term "material culture" and its role in piecing together the past. They research ancient Egyptian material culture and the style of ancient Egyptian art. They then reproduce a portrait in the manner of...

Students research the importance of symbols to the material culture of the Ancient Egyptians. They investigate the use and meaning of the scarab in Egyptian culture and recreate the Egyptian artifact using white Crayola Model Magic.

Students design a realistic replica of a Crow or Kiowa circular shield. They examine the material culture of the Plains Indians and the role of shields for the Crow and Kiowa. They study animal symbolism as used by North America's...

Learners create art work that examines the role of craft in our culture. They assess and apply complex image development techniques to create artwork that communicates intentions. They explain why cultures develop various expressions...

Students explore art when it is used as a source of information about society and material culture. They communicate with students in a foreign country, and share ideas and experiences in order to create drawings of their homes to exchange.

Eleventh graders study the relationship between economic level and material culture: markers of gentility (architecture, material goods) as demonstrated by a single structure.

In this teaching and learning through objects worksheet, students find and research at least eight material culture artifacts made from different materials by using the websites listed on worksheet.

Young scholars explore and analyze categorizing objects, material culture artifacts, from a variety of perspectives, to consider the story behind each one. They research skills by assessing how to look at artifacts as cultural outsiders...

Students will develop a greater awareness of the things surrounding them and will be able to build a bridge between their own material culture and that of an imaginary figure from the past. This lesson focuses on the significance of...

Pupils explore American history through hands-on use and demonstration of musical material culture representing early colonial America. They compare the music of colonial America to modern music.

This cross-curricular activity could be used to teach economics, business, practical math, and more. Learners pretend they are craftspeople and choose a craft to market. Using a graphic organizer and provided models, class members...

Learners explore American Indian cultures and changes caused by European exploration in North America.

Students identify what and how to complete an Archaeological excavation is conducted. They identify the transition from one layer to the next more easily if the colors of the layers are different. When creating a dig, the teacher...

Ninth graders are introduced to the Prown's technique of describing various objects. As a class, they view pictures of the pyramids in Egypt and discuss how the size and shape of them show their belief in eternal life and religion. ...

Students read excerpts from The Story of an Old Piano. They choose a personal object and write paragraphs from the object's point of view. Their stories can be bound for the class library.

Students learn what it was like to be a gold miner. In this California gold rush lesson, students watch a movie about the California gold rush and discuss what they learned. Students use the Internet to examine the gold nugget that...

Fourth graders complete activities related to the California gold rush. In this gold rush lesson, 4th graders go to an Internet website video that discusses the gold rush. They complete discuss miner's experiences, sing a gold rush song,...

Students create a virtual exhibit. In this gold rush lesson, students watch a movie about the California gold rush, view a virtual image of the gold nugget that started the gold rush and examine the sources. Students research and...