STACI ANSON

9-12 | Social Studies | Hands on activities

My Classroom Innovation

I believe teaching must be student-centered and hands-on. In particular, in my anthropology class, I spend March and April of each year teaching my students everything there is to know about archaeological excavation, analysis and preservation. Students work with artifacts in class so as to become familiar with identification and analysis techniques. They also go on webquests of major archaeological sites, using websites such as archaeology.org and programs such as Google Earth. Students even design their own virtual museums of archaeological sites using powerpoint, so as to show how the site was excavated and what objects and information was discovered. Then, in May, I take my classes on a real archaeological dig at a local historical site. Over the past eight years, my students have excavated colonial and early American forges, farms, and houses. Once the excavation is over and students have restored the land, we take the artifacts back to the classroom for extensive cleaning, restoration, and analysis. The last step is for my students to examine the local history, compile their findings, and return the artifacts to the respective historical society. It is this hands-on learning that makes this a truly memorable and educational experience.

How Students were Engaged

Archaeological digs force students to be proactive in their learning. They not only have to apply prior knowledge of the history of the area examined, they must also be able to piece together their finds to reconstruct the goings on at the site in question. Many also see this as a type of puzzle. They find pieces of history and then back in the classroom act as investigators trying to figure out how the artifacts go back together, what people were doing in the location 100+ years ago, and what life may have been like for those inhabitants.

PBS Program/Content Used

I use a few different PBS videos about archaeological sites (ie: Herculaneum Uncovered.)