Archaeology and Communities
A Second Grade Social Studies Unit
By Jeffrey D. Reed
Archaeology and Communities
Washington Social Studies Grade Level Expectations (GLE’s) for 2nd Grade
 1.1.1 - Understands the key ideal of public or common good within the context
of the community
 3.1.1 - Understands and applies basic mapping elements such as compass rose,
labels, and a key to read and construct maps that display information about
neighborhoods or local communities
 3.2.1 - Understands that people in communities affect the environment as they
meet their needs and wants
 4.1.1 - Understands and creates timelines for events in a community to show
how the present is connected to the past
 4.2.1 - Understands individuals who have shaped history in the local
community
 5.3.1 - Engages in discussions to learn about different points of view on issues.
Part One: Understanding What Makes a Community
Lesson 1: What is a community? What are the important parts of a
community? How are urban and rural communities alike and
different?
Objective: Students will be able to understand the definition of community.
Objective: Students will identify parts of a community, and how those parts help
the community function.
Objective: Students will be able to identify the differences between what makes a
rural community, and what makes an urban community.
Materials:
 Letter to send home to parents
 Computer with projector to show an online video to the class
 Books about communities (There is a suggested list below.)
Vocabulary Terms: Community, Urban, Suburban, Rural, Population
Unit Pre-test:
 Have each student write about what they know about artifacts and
urban and rural communities.
Procedure:
1. Send home a letter to the students’ families, informing them that their
children will be handling artifacts from the past, and that their children will
be wearing protective gloves when handling the artifacts. This letter will
also be asking for parent volunteers, for days in which the students will be
handling the artifacts. The Clark County Historical Museum will also be
referenced in the letter, informing parents about the exhibits that are on
display at the museum.
2. Use the following link to show this PowerPoint presentation to the class:
http://www.graves.k12.ky.us/powerpoints/elementary/ffklyle.ppt#1
3. Show the following link that contains a video that introduces the ideas of
urban, suburban, and rural areas. This video can be a great place to begin
the discussion about, “What is a community?”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GuF2o7SaRWU&feature=related
4. Pose the following questions to your class for a class discussion:
o What is a community?
o What are the important parts of our school community?
o What are the important parts of our city’s community?
o How are urban and rural communities alike and different?
During this discussion, point out the important aspects of communities, such as
police, fire fighters, hospitals, government, schools, stores, families, etc.
5. The following is a list of books that you may choose to read to your class to
help your students understand the meaning of communities:
o What is a Community: From A to Z by Bobbie Kalman
o The Hospital by David and Patricia Armentrout
o The Police Station by David and Patricia Armentrout
o I want to be a Police Officer by Dan Liebman
o Children Just Like Me: A Unique Celebration of Children Around the
World by Barnabas and Anabel Kindersley
o The Mayor’s Office by David and Patricia Armentrout
Assessment:
 Have the students write about what they learned about communities on a
piece of paper for the teacher to collect.
Lesson 2: Mapping Our Community
Objective: Students will be able to construct a map of the classroom community, or
the school community.
Objective: Students will understand the meaning of North, South, East, West, Key,
by studying a real map.
Materials:
 A map of Vancouver that has a key, scale, and a compass rose
 A map of the teacher’s own backyard, or a map of a room in their house
 A map of a neighbor teacher’s classroom
 Chalkboard or whiteboard
 1cm grid paper, enough for each student to have at least two pages
 Pencils, colored pencils, crayons
Vocabulary Terms: Map, North, South, East, West, Key, Label, Accurate
Procedure:
1. Ask the class: “What is a map?” Discuss items that may be seen on a map,
and make a list on the board.
2. Show the class the map of Vancouver. Ask the students to match the items
in the map to their list on the board. Point out the similarities and
differences of the map and the items on the board.
3. Now, show the class the map of the teacher’s backyard or the room in their
house. Ask the students to match the items in the map to their list on the
board. Point out the similarities and differences of the map and the items on
the board.
4. Introduce the vocabulary terms of North, South, East, West, Key, Label,
Accurate, Scale, and Compass
5. Now, show the map of the neighboring teacher’s classroom, and have the
students compare/contrast this map, with the list on the board. After the
compare/contrast discussion, tell the kids that this map is of the teacher’s
room next door.
6. Ask the class: “Why is it important for maps to be accurate?” Accept
reasonable responses.
7. Discuss with the class that it is possible to read and create maps of our
communities, and that they will be creating a map of their classroom
community. Demonstrate for students how to use a ruler to create straight
lines on paper, and how to label items in a map. Refer the students to the
three maps previously shown, and make these maps available for students to
refer to them as they work. For students who may struggle to make a map of
their own, pair them up with a partner to work with them.
Assessment:
 Use the students’ maps for assessment.
Part 2: Connecting Archaeology and Communities
Lesson 1: What is an artifact? What is archaeology?
Objective: Students will be able to make conclusions about their teacher(s) based
on artifacts that the teacher(s) provides about herself/himself.
Objective: Students will understand archaeology is a study of the past, and artifacts
are items that give us evidence.
Materials:
 Large, clear plastic storage box.
 Small “artifacts” from the teacher’s personal life, which could give students
clues about the interests or hobbies of the teacher, clues about where the
teacher has lived or visited, clues about the teacher’s family members, or
any other clues about the teacher’s past. It will benefit the students to use
some items that have dates, such as dated letters, coins, or baseball cards.
For this lesson, it is best NOT to use family photos or items containing
names.
 Small “artifacts” mentioned above, but from another teacher that the
students know well, such as a neighbor teacher or specialist.
 Three or four different colors of shredded paper, preferably black, dark blue,
green, and yellow.
 Chart paper and markers
 Archaeology journals (Described below in the procedure.)
Vocabulary Terms:
Artifact: Objects made, modified, used, and deposited in the past
Archaeology: The study of past societies – primarily through their material
remains
Archaeologist: Archaeologists seek to reconstruct the lifeways of past
cultures through the analysis of material remains that people in the past have
left behind
Layers of Sediment: Solid, inorganic particles accumulated by natural or
human processes
Stratigraphy: The study of the sequence and correlation of sediments and
soils
Procedure: (Day 1: Archaeology Journals - Day 2: Teacher Artifacts)
Day 1:
 Introduce “Archaeology Journals.” In a guided lesson, demonstrate for the
students how to set up a journal entry for each day. Each journal entry must
have a date and title for each day’s lesson. The back two pages of the
journal should be reserved for a glossary of terms that the students will learn
throughout the unit, including the words from part 1.
 Add the words Community, Urban, and Rural to the glossary of the
archaeology journals using the following format:
Word
community
How we say it
Kum-Yoon-i-tee
Meaning
a place where
people work, play,
and live
Drawing
(draw a picture
representing the
word)
urban
Day 2: (Set-up)
 In the large, clear storage box, make four equally-thick layers (sediments) of
shredded paper that will represents layers of soil. Make the darkest color the
bottom layer, with the lightest color being the top layer.
.
←Lightest Color (possibly yellow)
← 2nd Lightest color (possibly green)
←2nd Darkest color (possibly dark
blue)
←Darkest color (possibly black)
 Place both teachers’ personal “artifacts” into the layers of sediment (colored
paper)(the artifacts may need to be taped to the inside of the clear box), with
the oldest being in the bottom layer, with the most recent being in the top
layer.
Day 2 - Lesson
1. Ask the class, “What are artifacts?” Take a few responses, but if nobody
knows, don’t give the answer yet.
2. Place the large, clear plastic storage box onto a table for all students to see.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Do NOT tell the students from where the items came. Explain to the class
that the box contains colored paper that represents dirt or soil. Choose one
student to carefully look through the bin, and when they find something, to
hold it up for the class to see. Write a description of the item on the chart
paper, noting which layer of sediment the item was found in.
Repeat step 2 until all items are located and labeled on the chart paper,
noting which layer of sediment in which each item was found. Lead a
discussion with the class, guiding them into realizing that the oldest items
were found near the bottom of the box, and the more recent items were
found near the top of the box. Explain to the class that these “artifacts”
were found in the same way that artifacts are found in the real world, with
the oldest being in the lower layers of soils and “sediment”, and the more
recent being in the higher layers of soils and sediment.
Discuss the meaning of artifacts and layers of sediment. Consider using a
jar filled with water and containing silt, soil, and small gravel. Shake it up,
let it rest, and discuss with the class how the layers are formed by the
materials in the jar.
Ask the class: “What do these artifacts tell us about the person or people
they belonged to?” Lead the class in a discussion about whether or not the
person was male or female, how old they might be now, and whether or not
the artifacts are from one or more people. Also, have the students sort the
artifacts into categories created by the students in order to gain more
understanding of where the artifacts came from.
Reveal to the students that the artifacts were from the teachers.
Add the following vocabulary words into the students’ archaeology journals:
Artifact, Archaeology, Archaeologist, Layers of Sediment, Stratigraphy
Assessment: In the students’ archaeology journals, have them write to the
following questions:
 Where do artifacts come from?
 What did you learn about artifacts?
Lesson 2: How do urban and rural communities change?
Objective: Students will discuss the difference between urban communities and
rural communities in the Vancouver, Washington area between the years of 1890
and 1920, and in the present.
Objective: Students will understand that communities change over time, through
observing photographs.
Materials:
 Pictures and books showing current urban and rural life: The following is a
list of possible books that you may want to use with your class:
o Why Do Roosters Crow: First Questions and Answers about Farms,
by Time Life for Children
o Parents in the Pigpen, Pigs in the Tub by Amy Ehrlich and Steven
Kellogg
o Biscuit Visits the Big City, by Alyssa Satin Capucilli
o Town Mouse, Country Mouse, by Jan Brett
o This is New York, by Miroslav Sasek
o Where Things Are, From Near to Far, by Tim Halbur
 Chart paper and marker to make a Venn diagram or other
comparing/contrasting graphic organizer
 Photographs from Clark County between the 1890’s and the 1920’s. Find
photographs that the students can easily see the differences between people
living in urban and rural communities. These can be found at the Clark
County Historical Museum website: http://archive.vancouver.wsu.edu/cchm/
 Photographs from Clark County from the 1890’s through the present. Try to
choose 1-2 photos per decade, both urban and rural, so that students can see
how the community changes over time. These photographs can be found at
the Clark County Historical Museum website:
http://archive.vancouver.wsu.edu/cchm/
 Archaeology journals
Vocabulary Terms: Urban(review), Rural(review),
Procedure:
1. Begin this lesson by asking the student what they remember about the terms
urban and rural. Consider writing the definitions of each word on the chart
paper, even though the terms are already in the students’ journals.
2. Read a book to the whole class that shows how urban and rural communities
are alike and different.
3. Show the set of photographs between the 1890’s and the 1920’s that show
urban and rural life in Clark County.
4. Using a Venn diagram, or another type of comparing/contrasting graphic
organizer, lead a class discussion to compare urban and rural life in Clark
County between the 1890’s and the 1920’s.
5. Following the discussion about rural and urban life, explain to the class that
the next set of pictures show communities in Clark County. Begin by
showing the older photographs first, and continue through the photographs
by showing the most recent ones last.
Assessment:
 In their journals, have students make a “T” chart, with “Urban” on the
left, and “Rural” on the right. Have the students write about how both
urban and rural communities in Clark County have changed over time.
Lesson 3: How can we learn about people from long ago?
Objective: Students will demonstrate understanding of how photographs, written
documentation, and artifacts allow people to learn about the past.
Objective: Students will view and hold a Convention Center artifact and begin to
predict what it is and how it was used.
Materials:
 3-4 artifacts from the Convention Center dig - Make sure to choose
artifacts in which the students can fairly easily guess what they are.
(Possibly choose a piece of ceramic from a dining room or kitchen, a
button, and a doll or toy.) Make sure to keep the artifacts hidden until
they are called for in the procedure.
 Chart paper with markers
 7-8 Photographs of the teacher that show the teacher changing over time
 Letters, newspaper articles or clippings, or diaries/journals about the
teacher, showing written documentation about the teacher’s life
 Archaeology journals
Procedure:
1. Begin the lesson by asking the students, “How can we learn about people
from long ago?”
2. Show the students the photographs of the teacher. Begin with the oldest
photographs, and end with the most recent.
3. Ask students how photographs can let us know about the past.
4. Next, read to the students the letters, newspaper articles/clippings, or
diaries/journal entries about the teacher’s past.
5. Ask students how written words can let us know about the past.
6. Now, ask the students, “What are artifacts?” Hopefully, students will
mention the previous lesson in which the teacher’s personal “artifacts”
were found in the clear box or they will refer to the glossary in their
archaeology journals.
7. Pull one Convention Center artifact out of a box. Do not explain where it
came from, just let the students know that it is a real artifact.
8. In their archaeology journals, have the students sketch the artifact, write
about what they predict the item is, and how it was used. Also, have the
students predict about how old the item is.
9. Call on a few students to share their ideas. This is where the lesson will
end today, as it will lead into tomorrow’s lesson.
Assessment:
 Use the class discussion and the archaeology journal entries for
assessment.
Part 3: Convention Center Artifacts
Small groups of 2nd and 5th graders will be working together for the
duration of part 3.
Objective – Students will clean, sort and analyze Convention Center Artifacts.
Objective – Students will be able to distinguish artifacts by material, patterns,
shapes, categories, etc. to help with the cross-mend process.
Objective – Students will learn to use a modified New Brunswick Method of
Analysis.
Objective – Students will learn about the tools archeologists use when processing
artifacts.
Materials:
 archeology journals
 Artifact Kit
 Convention Center artifacts
 supply bag from Artifact Kit: sieve, toothbrush, wire brush, water basin,
cm/mm ruler, rubber gloves, masking tape
 Field Guide References from kit.
 broken plate (thrift store)
 New Brunswick Method of Analysis – in kit
Procedure:
1) Review what an artifact is and have the students make a list of predictions of
what artifacts they think they will be looking at from the given time period
of the Convention Center Dig. Have them record in their journal.
2) Introduce tools activity: Prepare some brown bags so each one has a
different tool in it. (sieve, toothbrush, wire brush, cm/mm ruler, rubber
gloves, masking tape, and water basin.) Use a large brown bag for the basin.
Have a variety of students come up and hold the closed bags in front of the
class. One at a time, have the students open up their bag and show the class
their tool. Ask volunteers how each tool could be used by an archaeologist.
Safety: Have a talk with the class on the importance of safety with using various
tools and with the artifacts themselves as some are glass and rusty. This could be a
time to introduce the use of safety equipment like gloves and goggles.
** Jessica Hale ** comes in to go through steps of the cleaning process and
analysis procedures.
3) Cleaning artifacts – Set up cleaning stations consisting of water basins and
cleaning tools. Have a drying rack for the cleaned artifacts. The cleaning
process may take several days, but needs to be completed before moving on
to other activities.
What do archaeologists do with artifacts? Have students answer in their journal
and then discuss.
4) Teach The New Brunswick Method of Analysis (Modified)
Using an already cleaned artifact, model the steps of The New Brunswick
Method of Analysis. Give each group a sample of artifacts to go through the
steps on their own.
5) Sort – Depending on what artifacts you are using ask student what they
notice about their artifacts (colors, patterns, textures, materials.) Ask
students what different ways the artifacts can be sorted. Once a method has
been decided by the class, set up some designated sorting stations. Have the
students get into their groups and begin sorting. Suggested sorting
categories could include:
 Tools
 Dishes
 Food waste (bone or shell)
 Metal
 Medicine Bottles
Students will use the help of the internet and the field guide references
(included in kit) for the sorting and cross-mending activities.
6) Cross-mend – In order to define cross-mending, take an old plate from a
thrift store and break it ahead of time into large pieces. You will use this
when you demonstrate how to cross-mend. Now model using your broken
pieces and masking tape how to cross-mend by fitting the pieces back
together, point out to the students certain patterns or “clues” that may help
puzzle it back together.
7) Categorize/Catalog/Analyze – For each item, have students work in groups
to talk about the items they cleaned and sorted. Tell them each artifact is a
clue about the family or person who owned it. Construct a large chart to
show each item, what it is, what it was used for and what it tells us about
their lives.
Artifact
What is it?
Use?
What does it tell
us about their
lives?
8) Photograph – Using a digital camera or iPad have the students take a picture
of select artifacts to give a digital reference. Make sure they use a ruler to
show scale. These pictures can be added to the chart under the artifact
section.
Optional Extensions or Activities:
 Have the students pick one artifact and follow it from cleaning to identifying
to sorting then to labeling and cataloging.
 Have the students pick an artifact to write a narrative story about the artifacts
life from how the family acquired it, to how it was used, to how it ended up
being discarded or lost. Then write about how it was discovered by the
archeologists and was stored and the process of being brought back to life.
 Crayon rubbing labels – Art activity or just for closer identification. This
would work well on bottles maker marks.
 Bottle use identification and comparisons to today’s bottles using the
identification book in the kit.
Post Test:
 Draw your favorite artifact. Write a paragraph about what it is, where
it came from, and tell what you know about the people that it
belonged to.
Culmination ideas of Convention Center Artifacts
Mock museum as culmination comparing site artifacts and present.
Draw or create a side by side comparison of past vs present vs future
Draw a picture of what certain rooms might look like.
Do we need all of our possessions to live happy lives?
Ideas for 5th Grade helpers:
 Greet your 2nd grader with a smile, handshake, and a compliment
every day.
 Stay positive!
 Ask questions, instead of giving answers.
 Make sure that you hold artifacts gently, and teach your 2nd grader
to do the same thing.
 When your second grader is holding an artifact, DO NOT TAKE
YOUR EYES OFF OF THEM! 
 Work with your 2nd grader to
o Ask questions
o Make predictions
o Analyze predictions
 Have fun!
Communities and Archaeology
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