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James B. McPherson Monument (1881) | Rebisso, Louis | General James Birdseye McPherson Collection
CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES

Lesson Plan: "Dig It"

Author: Kevin Barnhard, John Finney, April Keys, Michael Schaffner, Chad Spencer

Subject: History, Archeology
Grade(s): 12

Benchmarks and Indicators

  • Geography 11-12, Benchmark A: Explain how the character and meaning of a place reflect a society’s economics, politics, social values, ideology and culture.
    • Indicator: Grade 12: GLI 1. Explain how people create places that reflect culture, human needs, government policy, current values and ideals as they design and build specialized buildings, neighborhoods, shopping centers, urban centers and industrial parks.

Lesson Summary

  • Learning Outcome: By the end of the lesson, students should be able to identify Native American Mounds in Ohio, their purpose, and how they were created.
  • Procedure: Students will complete the Pre-Assessment and teacher will review correct answers with the students. Teacher will provide pictures and maps to aid in understanding. Students will be organized into small groups and will have 15 minutes to complete each of the three stations. Students will then complete the Post Assessment Learning Log.

Pre-Assessment/Diagnostic

  1. Using the Ohio Exploration Society website for pictures of the earthworks, and the website of the Newark Earthworks Moonrise Working Group, , review the photos and explain the general story behind the Indian Mounds in Ohio and their geographical locations within the state. Project the websites onto the overhead screen for all the students to see.
  2. Show students various pictures and maps of mounds and ask the questions listed below.
  3. Pre-assessment Questions (answers are worth 5 points each)
    1. As a review, where are some the mound structures in Ohio located?
    2. Identify or surmise what you think the purpose of the mounds was?
    3. How do you think the mounds were constructed? What methods, tools, etc. were used?
    4. Who do you think constructed them?
    5. When do you think they were constructed?

Instructional Procedures

  • Station #1- “Excavating”:
    Task: Students, working in a team, will have 15 minutes to move topsoil/dirt from Point A to Point B 50 feet apart. The group that moves the most topsoil/dirt will receive 10 extra credit points. Students will be encouraged to make their own tools from the materials provided by the teacher.
  • Station #2 – “Dig it Up”
    Task: Students will research the objects found in the Native American Mounds by visiting our Ohio Memory scrapbook
  • Station #3 – “Archeology”
    Task: Students will discover and extract ancient artifacts the teacher has placed in the sand using archeologist tools listed above. Students should analyze and discuss the purpose, function, and significance of each artifact. Recommended items can include replicas of items on display at the Ohio Historical Society and in the Ohio Memory Scrapbook listed above. It is important to emphasize archeological methods at this point, in order to show students that archeology is more than just a "treasure hunt." Several websites offer lesson plans that will help describe the process of an archeological dig, and how this can be translated to the school-yard. For instance: Smithsonian Eduction: Decoding the Past: The Work of Archeologists and, from The Museum of Archeology and Ethnology at Simon Fraser University, (for teachers) Doing Archeology in the Classroom: A Sandbox Dig; (for students) Be an Archeological Detective: The Science of Archeology

Post-Assessment

Upon completion of the lesson each student is required to complete the attached homework assignment as a post-assessment activity.