Lesson Plan: Garbage Can Archaeology
| Name: | Ima Sample |
| Name of lesson: | Garbage Can Archaeology |
| Name of subject: | Social Studies |
| Time Period: | Block C -1:45- |
| Date: |
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| Materials Needed: |
5 wastebaskets from 5 different pre-determined areas of the school filled with trash. 5 large pieces of chart paper with a wastebasket divided in three areas drawn on them. |
| Objective: | TLW explore the use of stratigraphy to date objects by sorting the material in the wastebasket. |
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Anticipatory Set: |
Ask students to recall the idea that things used many years ago get covered up under soil, dirt and leaves. Ask students what kinds of thing archaeologists find when they are excavating an area. They find things that people used, but also things that people threw away. A lot of information is found just by examining the garbage of a society. Share the garbage can transparency and ask students to think about the things they might learn by looking through someone's garbage. |
| Instructional Input/ Modeling: |
Gather students and go through the trash in our classroom. Discuss the meaning of each object and ask students questions such as: What items were placed in the wastebasket first and last? By using only the trash, what can be learned about the activities and the people in this room? If we didn't know before we started which room this trash came from, would you be able to make an accurate prediction just by examining the contents? As you sort through the items place them on the layered chart paper demonstrating stratified layers from bottom to top. The oldest layers are near the bottom, more recent deposits near the top. |
| Check for Understanding: | Divide students into 5 groups of 4 and have each group sort through a different wastebasket using the principles of stratigraphy. Students are to put the top third of the garbage in the top layer, the second in the middle, and the last third in the bottom layer. |
| Independent Practice: |
Using
the worksheet, students will make a list of actual items from the garbage can and their possible uses. Using the worksheet students will categorize the artifacts. The students will decide the original location of the wastebasket and explain how and why they arrived at that location. |
| Teacher Evaluation: |
Discuss the
application this activity has with the work of an
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