Browse lesson plans

Measuring pots

In Intrigue of the Past, page 2.7

Students will use an activity sheet or modern pottery rim sherds to compute circumference from a section of a circle and construct analogies based on their own experience about possible functions of ancient or historic ceramics.

Format: lesson plan (grade 7–8 Mathematics and Social Studies)

Mending pottery

In Intrigue of the Past, page 2.9

Students will mend broken pottery to learn what archaeologists learn by mending pottery.

Format: lesson plan (grade 4–5 Visual Arts Education and Social Studies)

Mountain cultures graphic organizer

In Two worlds: Educator's guide, page 2.4

As students read the article "Peoples of the Mountains," this graphic organizer will help them develop an understanding of the cultures that existed in North Carolina's mountains hundreds of years ago.

Format: /lesson plan (grade 8 Social Studies)

By Pauline S. Johnson.

Name that point!

In Intrigue of the Past, page 4.4

In their study of projectile points (i.e., spear points or “arrowheads”) dating to the Archaic period in North Carolina, students use activity sheets to compare projectile point attributes and to identify and classify points based on clearly defined variables. They will also match projectile points to a chronology and determine when the points were made and why the information is important to archaeologists.

Format: lesson plan (grade 4 and 6 Social Studies)

"Native Carolinians" additional activities

In Two worlds: Educator's guide, page 2.10

These lessons from the UNC Research Laboratories of Archaeology's Intrigue of the Past can be used as additional activities for the digital history textbook module "Two Worlds: Prehistory, Contact, and the Lost Colony."

Format: lesson plan (grade 8 Social Studies)

By Pauline S. Johnson.

North Carolina place names

In Intrigue of the Past, page 4.8

This lesson contrasts and compares the names that Native Americans living in North Carolina gave to their villages and places with the names that European and other settlers gave to theirs.

Format: lesson plan (grade 4 and 8 Social Studies)

Observation and inference

In Intrigue of the Past, page 1.4

In their study of observation and inference, students will use activity sheets and coins to differentiate between observation and inference through a problem-solving approach, and demonstrate their knowledge by analyzing an archaeological artifact and creating their own observation-inference statements.

Format: lesson plan (grade 4 Visual Arts Education and Social Studies)

Piedmont cultures graphic organizer

In Two worlds: Educator's guide, page 2.3

This activity will assist students in understanding Piedmont cultures as they read the article "Peoples of the Piedmont."

Format: /lesson plan (grade 8 Social Studies)

By Pauline S. Johnson.

Pottery traditions

In Intrigue of the Past, page 4.5

Students will learn how Indian people of North Carolina made and used coiled pottery, summarize why archaeologists study pottery, and make and decorate a replica of a North Carolina coiled pot.

Format: lesson plan (grade 4 and 8 Visual Arts Education and Social Studies)

Rock art

In Intrigue of the Past, page 5.3

Students will use art materials, drawings, and rock art examples to differentiate between symbol, petroglyph, pictograph, and rock art. They will also interpret rock art to illustrate its importance in the cultural heritage of a people and as a tool for learning about the past.

Format: lesson plan (grade 4, 6, and 8 Visual Arts Education and Social Studies)

Scientific inquiry

In Intrigue of the Past, page 1.8

In their study of scientific inquiry, students will use an activity sheet to make inferences about what activities go on at different places in school (desk, locker, etc.) and form an hypothesis about how space is used. They will also simulate how archaeologists learn about past people by designing and conducting a research project.

Format: lesson plan (grade 8–9 English Language Arts and Social Studies)

Shadows of North Carolina's past

In Intrigue of the Past, page 4.2

Students will infer past Native American lifeways based on observation, construct a timeline of four major culture periods in Native American history, and compare these lifeways and discuss how they are different and alike.

Format: lesson plan (grade 8 Social Studies)

Shifting coastlines

In Intrigue of the Past, page 4.3

In their study of North Carolina's changing coastline during the Paleoindian and Archaic periods, students will determine the positions of the coastline at different times and decide what types of archaeological information has been lost due to rising sea levels.

Format: lesson plan (grade 4 and 8 Science and Social Studies)

A Siouan village

In Intrigue of the Past, page 4.6

In their study of an excavated village site, students will record observations about a site feature and infer how past peoples used individual features and the site as a whole. They will also summarize how archaeologists use observation and inference to determine past lifeways.

Format: lesson plan (grade 4 Social Studies)

Site robbers

In Intrigue of the Past, page 5.6

Students will use an interview with a Native American to write a newspaper article or letter that expresses concern about robbing archaeological sites.

Format: lesson plan (grade 4 English Language Arts and Social Studies)

Stratigraphy and cross-dating

In Intrigue of the Past, page 2.3

Students will use an activity sheet to interpret archaeological strata using the law of superposition and apply cross-dating to determine the age of other artifacts.

Format: lesson plan (grade 8 Science)

Take action, save the past

In Intrigue of the Past, page 5.8

In their study of archaeological resource conservation, students will use a problem-solving model to identify a problem and solve it creatively.

Format: lesson plan (grade 8 English Language Arts and Social Studies)

Tree-ring dating

In Intrigue of the Past, page 2.5

In their study of dendrochronology, students use activity sheets and a discussion to apply principles of dendrochronology to determine a tree's age and to recognize climatic variation. They will also analyze and experience how archaeologists can sometimes use tree rings to date archaeological evidence and study past climates.

Format: lesson plan (grade 5 Science)

Why is the past important?

In Intrigue of the Past, page 1.2

As an introduction to the study of North Carolina's archaeological heritage, students will use personally owned object to share the importance of their past and connect this importance with reasons why the human past is important.

Format: lesson plan (grade 3–4 Social Studies)

Resources on the web

Ancient Egypt: Science and Technology

Interactive website about the science and technology of ancient Egypt. (Learn more)

Format: website/lesson plan

Provided by: Museum of Science, Boston