Before I tell you about this motivating project, I have to tell you about the amazing woman who planned this activity for our fourth graders.  Yes, our one and only Erin Few!  She loves to dress up and got the perfect outfit for the dig!  Here she is!  Cute, huh?  Love it!!!!!!  I am trying to get her to start blogging too!

Here are the directions and some pictures!

Archaeology Dig Directions

Tools Needed:

Magnifying glasses
Rulers
Toothbrushes
Tongue depressors

Items to bury:

Arrowheads
Wooden beads
Leather string
Shells
Clay pots with pictographs (then break them)
Gummy worms (hehehe)

Other Items:

Plastic bins or baby pool
Soil

Set up:

1.Decide on how many groups.
2.Get enough bins and soil for your groups.
3.Bury the items
4.Place the tools on construction paper.
5.Print off the forms.

Directions:

  1. Tell students that they will be archaeologists for the day!  Then explain your rules for conduct, management, and clean up.  Give your students enough time to excavate!  We had our classes dig for 20 minutes and then fill out the form.  It seemed to be a good amount of time.
  2. While digging, tell them to brush off the dirt to examine the items.  Explain that they will need to choose one item after the dig to examine and record.
  3. While digging, they will come across pieces of a broken pot.  They can try to put them back together just like a real archaeologists!
FUN!!!!!!