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$14

weekly
or $70 for 5 classes
Class

Archaeologist in Training! Learn How to Excavate Your Own Site.

Completed by 3 learners
Ages 7-11
Live Group Class
In this 5-week course, students will learn excavation techniques from finding a site location to presenting their own finds and get hands-on experience!
Average rating:
5.0
Number of reviews:
(80 reviews)

Live video meetings
1x per week, 5 weeks
3-6 learners per class
50 min

What's included

5 live meetings
4 hrs 10 mins in-class hours

Class Experience

US Grade 2 - 5
Do you dream of being an archaeologist? In this hands-on class, you will learn about the field of archaeology, (literally) dig up artefacts, process them in the lab, present your findings, and play an archaeology game!  This class will help you experience what it's like to be a real archaeologist!

Week 1: On the first day we will cover what archaeology is, the process of archaeology, the tools we use and the types of jobs archaeologists do.  This will be in an open discussion format with slides where students can talk about the types of archaeology that interests them - from field to underwater archaeology, and more!

Week 2: ***Parents, instructions for the dig box and trash day activity are provided below.  This box must be ready for Week 2 as your child will use the materials up to the end of the class in Week 5.***   
Our young archaeologists will begin a dig of their own sites.  Using spoons and soft brushes, they will slowly uncover the dirt just like real archaeologists do.  I excavate along with them and they can see me excavating as they work on their own boxes.  They will share their finds as we dig.  Each find will be cataloged (a worksheet will be provided) and bagged.  Students will also be encouraged to draw a diagram of their trench if there is time.

Week 3: Trash Day!  On trash day, students will look through some of their recycling, as parents will have prepared a bag filled with clean and safe objects from their house.  We will use this exercise to understand how archaeologists piece together the past and find information about people who lived a long time ago.  We will look at our artefacts from Week 2, talk about what can and what cannot be washed, and why.  Have a small bowl of water ready as we may start washing our own finds.

Week 4:  Lab day!  Our future archaeologists will process their artefacts in the lab.  They will clean, measure, and analyze their artefacts.  They can also take a closer look at them by using magnifying glasses and note down whatever they see!  Then, they will prepare for their interpretation and presentation the following week.

Week 5: Presentations and archaeology game!  Our archaeologists will share their results with their peers, just like archaeologists at conferences, presenting their artefacts and telling us what they think their site is all about.  Students will be virtually awarded a certificate of completion at the end of the class.  

A clarification for parents: archaeologists do not study fossils, and I have almost no expertise in them.  Archaeologists study artifacts left behind by ancient humans.  Dig boxes are welcome to have fossils/dinosaurs, but I will not be able to provide much expertise in this area of study. I use slides from my own collection for each class as I believe visual materials are inspiring and help the learners in all the steps of their activities.

Learning Goals

Students will learn about the field of archaeology and its related jobs.  We will look at the technology behind finding a site, its excavation, how to clean artefacts, their analysis and publication.  This hands-on class will ignite their imagination as they will gather various objects and create a storyline about how ancient people used them.

Other Details

Parental Guidance
Archaeologists do not study dinosaurs or fossils, and I cannot provide any expertise in that area. Fossil lovers are absolutely welcome and dig boxes can have them as well! Just be advised I will not be able to discuss dinosaurs with any more experience than a layperson. As you need to provide your student with items from the trash/recycling, please ensure these are safe for them to handle and be sure to have them wash their hands afterward.
Supply List
This class requires preparation ahead of time on the parents' part.  PLEASE do not enroll your child if this can't be done, as your learner would not be able to follow the activities.
Three black/white handouts will be supplied through the class page.  They include a "field notebook" (3 pages), a trash activity page (1 page) and a laboratory log page (1 page).  The dig box and trash bag activities require the following materials:
(Photographs of my dig box and trash bag will be provided on the class page. Please message me if you have any questions).

DIG BOX REQUIRED MATERIALS:
1. Small box/bin of any kind at least the size of a laptop, filled with soil/sand, and an empty box in which to put the discarded soil/sand
2. Spoon
3. Paintbrush
4. Artifacts (all can be from things already in your home)
5. Markers
6. Pencils
7. Surface to write on 
8. Print outs from the classroom page (3)
9. Toothbrush
10. Bowl with water
11. Place to dry artifacts - a plastic tray with paper towels is great
12. Measuring tool - small ruler
13. Place where students can get a little messy
14. 2 paper plates 


TRASH DAY ACTIVITY:
In a paper or plastic bag, place 8-12 clean items from your recycling bin.  My bag includes items such as newspapers, food wrappers, cat food can, small plastic container, paper clip, small toy, etc.
External Resources
Learners will not need to use any apps or websites beyond the standard Outschool tools.
Sources
I will present the class material through the use of slides from my own extensive private collection and from archaeological excavations and museum collections. As an archaeologist, I base my classes on scholarly texts, scientific secondary sources such as textbooks, scholarly journals (Archaeology Magazine, National Geographic, Penn University publications, etc.), and archaeological reports, while keeping it age appropriate. Other visuals than my own are drawn from sites such as Open Licensed Images, Ancient World Image Bank, World History Encyclopedia, the New York Public Library Digital Collection, and Public Domain Pictures. All sites allow for free use of images, with credits. For the specific purpose of this class, I use a USB camera, which allows me to switch from my laptop camera to my work table where the learners can clearly see my dig box as I excavate along with them. This process reinforces the archaeological practices that we address in Week 1. Learners do not need to access any external sites during class.

Meet the teacher

Joined August, 2022
5.0
80reviews
Profile
Teacher expertise and credentials
Master's Degree in Music or Theatre or Arts from Queen's University, Ontario, Canada
I am a trained archaeologist, and I excavated at sites such as Mytilene and Kommos in Greece for many field seasons. I have travelled extensively through Europe, and I have taught Greek and Roman art, archaeology and mythology at Concordia University, Montréal.  I held a position at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, Canada, where I created and led tours for children on the topics of Greek, Roman and Egyptian archaeology, the Medieval period, dinosaurs and natural history. More recently, I have taught labs on water science and solar energy to Kindergarten and Grade 1 students through Scientists in School. Since July 2021, I have had the pleasure of teaching many archaeology and ancient civilizations classes on Outschool. 

Reviews



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