Hands-On Archaeology: Real-Life Activities for Kids - Softcover

White, John R.

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1593631626 ISBN 13: 9781593631628

Publisher: Prufrock Pr, 2005

Synopsis

Written by renowned archaeologist John White, Ph.D., this book shows any teacher or parent how to help kids become young archaeologists. Imagine the thrill students will experience as they discover artifacts from the past. There isn't a single student who won't love the activities in this book!

From creating simulated archaeology, to participating in digs in the classroom, to conducting digs in the community, this book is a how-to for teaching archaeology. Of equal importance is that while learning the discipline of archaeology, students will be acquiring skills in math, biology, geology, art, geography, history, and language skills, as well as motor, social, and conceptual skills.

Hands-On Archaeology shows teachers everything they will need to help students conduct real-life archaeological digs. Packed with activities, this book first offers small-scale activities that easily can be conducted in the classroom using everyday materials. Then, the author takes kids out of the school to an empty lot in the community. Students will not just learn about archaeology―they will be archaeologists!

About this title

About the Author

John White has been a professor of anthropology and archaeology for more than 35 years. Presently the chair of the department at Youngstown State University, Dr. White is actively involved in field research covering a wide range of interests. His research has resulted in the publication of more than 200 scholarly articles, reports, monographs, and books on various subjects ranging from archaeological method and theory to Native American civil rights and Ohio and Oregon prehistory, early ironmaking, archaeoastronomy, and industrial archaeology. He is the local forensic anthropologist and along with his students is involved in local crime scene investigations. He has been awarded six research professorships and on five occasions has been voted Distinguished Professor. Since 1980, he has been involved in archaeology as a teaching tool in elementary and secondary schools. It was this latter interest that led to the writing of this book for teachers. He presently is working on a book on forensic anthropology for students in grades 6 12. He enjoys acting he has been in more than 25 plays and sitting on his deck with a good book and a pair of binoculars for bird watching.

Review

Here is another example of the type of educational book that should be used with gifted students in grades four through middle school. White is an experienced archaeologist and anthropologist. His book teaches the fundamentals of archaeology by having students excavate empty lots of recently demolished buildings. They must engage in the following activities: making careful observations of a site, building a resource library, developing a working hypothesis, pre-excavation research, making an excavation, taking care of artifacts, and writing a research report. The author strives to accomplish a goal of education emphasized by Jerome Bruner (Toward a Theory of Instruction, 1966) — educating students to think and approach problems like a scientist. --Gifted Education News

Edition details

• Publisher: Prufrock Pr
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 1593631626
• ISBN 13: 9781593631628
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 194