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Social Studies Lesson Plans With Science Connections
There are great social studies lesson plans that can help students make historical connections to science.
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Layer Cake Archaeology
Excavating cake? Why not! Kids spoon into some layers and artifacts during this tasty hands-on activity. The cake, a simulated archaeological dig, is the object of observation and discussion.
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Transparent Shoebox Dig
Take this simulated archaeological dig one layer at a time with your young pupils to encourage observation, critical thinking, and careful attention. Using a transparent box full of layers of sand and artifacts, pupils examine the...
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This Old Ship
Junior archaeologists will be able to describe shipwreck artifacts and the information they reveal. They work in small groups to reasearch wreckage features of different period ships, making this not only a science lesson, but a social...
Henry Ford Museum
Transportation Systems
Learners analyze the evolution of cultural attitudes through the lens of transportation, examining several artifacts, documents, and photographs. Topics covered include how American attitudes have influenced society's evolution into a...
Channel Islands Film
Once Upon a Time (Sa Hi Pa Ca): Lesson Plan 3
What was the most significant tool used by the Chumash? How did the environment make the tool possible? What group behaviors allowed the Chumash be be successful for thousands of years? After watching West of the West's documentary Once...
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Destructive Impact of Environment on Artifacts
Young scholars recognize that artifacts are destroyed over time. In this environmental factors on artifacts lesson, students experiment and observe through the microscope to find the environmental impact on artifacts. Young scholars...
PBS
Predicting/Making a Hypothesis
Students analyze information from a variety of sources in order to create a hypothesis about the origin of an interesting family artifact.They create alternative hypotheses based upon available information to demonstrate that some...
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Shoe Box Archaeology
Students assemble a shoe box following a layered pattern alternating between soil and artifacts. The layers of artifacts begin with the grandparents and end with the student's own personal possessions.
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Life Story of an Artifact
Learners write about an artifact that they are studying. In this artifacts lesson plan, students analyze details of the artifact and answer short answer questions about it.
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Using Artifacts to Engage Students in Critical Thinking Activities
Creating learning centers with artifact-related activities are a great way to promote deductive reasoning and critical thinking skills.
Howard Hughes Medical Institute
Using DNA to Trace Human Migration
Can scientists trace all humans back to a small region in Africa? An intriguing lesson turns back time to reveal artifacts leading scientists to believe human life originated in Africa and dispersed from there.
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Contextual Clues
Students observe and interpret images of artifacts in different contexts in order to recognize importance of leaving artifacts in original context to correctly understand their meaning, and observe what is surrounding object to interpret...
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To Protect and Preserve
Students discuss the impact of war on the Iraqi National Museum and the importance of protecting artifacts of cultural heritage. They write letters to the Milwaukee Public Museum to show support for funding for the protection of the...
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Environment, Technology, and Culture of the Chumash People
Students develop an understanding of the interrelatedness of technology, culture, and environment as illustrated by the Chumash culture. They research the tribe and complete a table for the Chumash people describing their environment,...
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BIRDS OF A FEATHER
Students observe and identify characteristics of artifacts and fossils; explain how artifacts and fossils are used to explore the past; and identify ways that Native Americans prepared food and made tools
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What's in the Soil?
Second graders create stratified soil levels using pictures. In this earth science lesson plan, 2nd graders identify "artifacts" from 3 historic eras and divide them into 3 soil levels. Then they draw their own multi-level soil profile...
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Titanic: Looking for Clues
Students make inferences about a shipwreck based on the location of artifacts. They role play as marine archaeologists and list three processes that contribute to the deterioration of the Titanic.
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Shipwreck Mystery
Learners study web pages on a shipwreck then locate where this took place on a map. In this marine archaeologist activity students examine what clues archaeologists use to find the location of a shipwreck and what they might find.
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Looking into the Past (Archaeology)
Students discover how to be an archaeologist. In this archaeology lesson, students research the basic information about an archaeologist. Students then observe different artifacts and learn what questions to ask in order to discover the...
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For the Last 10,000 Years...
Students study the National Estuarine Research Reserve System and discuss why they have important cultural artifacts. In this estuarine weather lesson students use the Internet and complete a worksheet.
NOAA
I Can't Breathe!
The Gulf of Mexico dead zone, an area of low oxygen that kills marine life, costs the United States $82 million every year. Young scientists research anoxic ocean environments then come up with a hypothesis for the cause of the Gulf of...
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The O Zone-Code Read Alert
What are the effects of an air quality alert? Expert groups receive one component of air quality information resources to study. Pupils then jigsaw into new groups and share their knowledge. Finally, they draft a statement of what they...
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Life in Ancient Mesopotamia
Students reconstruct and make drawings of vessels in the same manner as an archaeologist. In this archaeologist lesson plan, students each get a piece of a broken pot and they have to work together to put it back together. Once it is...