Lesson Plan
Name: Mark Stevens
Date: September 16, 2010
Topic: Herc & Pompeii: History of Excavations
Syllabus outcomes addressed:
Class: 11AH2
No. of students: 22
Time: 55 mins
H2.1 explains historical factors and assesses their significance in contributing to change…in the
ancient world; H3.2 discuss relevant problems of sources for reconstructing the past; H4.1 use
historical terms and concepts appropriately.
Lesson outcomes:
Students learn about the series of excavations before 2000. Students learn to use some important sites
for Pompeii and Herculaneum research.
Equipment/resources required:
Electronic white board; computers lab; handouts; scaffold
Assessment
Diagnostic: test knowledge of history of archaeology? Formative: monitor student’s task work.
Summative: How effective were earlier archaeological methods in preserving the past and creating
knowledge about Pompeii and Herculaneum?
Key question: How effective were
earlier archaeological methods in
preserving the past and creating
knowledge about Pompeii and
Herculaneum?
Teaching strategies: Narrative history;
linguistic
Stage
Teacher
Students
10 mins
Introduce the outcomes and the key questions. Diagnostic questions: When
did archaeologists start excavating and removing items from the site? What
were their methods like? What was an antiquarian? What did
antiquarianism develop into?
Questions and
answers.
15 mins
Google Earth the physical sites of Pompeii and Herculaneum. Aerial
archaeology. Invite students to show where the town walls might be. What
features lead you to that conclusion? What other characteristics are notable?
Where is the Sarno? Turn on Panoramio and view some of the excavated
areas. Go to Herculaneum. Ask a student to point out the shoreline. Was
that the shoreline in 79AD? Where might it have been? Turn on Panoramio
and view some of the excavated areas.
Discussion. Questions
and answers.
20 mins
Direct the students to the task file on the faculty site. Explain the task and
answer questions.
Go online and
complete the task.
5 mins
Summative questioning: How effective were earlier archaeological methods
in preserving the past and creating knowledge about Pompeii and
Herculaneum? Who first started a methodical approach to excavation?
Why? What were the most important developments that followed? What is
the current archaeological strategy for the two towns? Why?
Questions and
answers.
Bring the homework assignment to the attention of the class.
Questions and
answers.
Skills: online research