This resource goes in depth to explain archaeology and archaeological methods in plain English, lists parks to visit, links to other educational programs especially the Southeast Archaeological Center, and has lesson plans. There is also a section called Teaching with Historic Places.
This link provides information on Florida’s history and how it is being remembered and preserved. There are several links to very cool archaeological projects, and information on Archaeology Month events around the state.
This website is a good resource for information on specific events in Tampa history, mostly in a timeline format from Paleoindian to present. Great pictures!
The Education Division of AIA was formed in 2004 and will provide resources, lesson plans, and commentaries on popular movies relevant to archaeology. They also have an “Ask the Experts” section.
Make sure you look at this site. It is extremely well done, and has tons of information for students, educators, and archaeologists. I especially appreciated their “Artifact of the Month” page where you get to guess what the artifact is. They also have a newsletter entitled Archaeology and Public Education, back issues are in pdf format for downloading. Most of the resource information is from this publication, although some of the information was outdated – still the articles and lesson plans were helpful.
The Florida Anthropological Society is a very active community of professionals, advocationals, and interested people who share a passion for Florida’s past. They hold an annual meeting in May and publish The Florida Anthropologist, which is included with membership – the best way to keep up with what research is happening in Florida.
Even though this is not a Florida-based organization, we share a lot of commonalities regarding the archaeological record. They have two publications of particular interest – Used Archaeology and Frontiers in the Soil. Used Archaeology is an issue of their publication Early Georgia that contains narratives and wonderful lesson plans. It is downloadable from http://www.thesga.org/arch_classroom.htm. They also have a link on their homepage to purchase a copy of Frontiers in the Soil, a book and teacher’s guide for use in a classroom setting ($24 for both). Along with detailed information and cartoon illustrations, it also provides activities that reinforce archaeological concepts.
Decoding the Past has lesson plans and activities to teach students from 3rd – 8th grade about the work of archaeologists. There are also many other subjects such as history, technology, and our voting system – all with well planned out lessons and activities.
One of the models used to form the Florida Public Archaeology Network, this site offers education resources such as downloadable teacher resources and handouts – much of which is easily adaptable to teach Florida’s past. Several handouts relate to archaeological concepts.
The Grand Adventure is a downloadable program that teaches about New Mexico from Spanish exploration to present. They are available in English or Spanish.This site has vocabulary and activities listed by grade level. It also speaks to the curriculum requirements met by lesson plans for the state of Texas.
You will find downloadable lesson plans, activities, and overheads on this website. You can order publications from the Louisiana Division of Archaeology that they will mail you for free. Poverty Point Expeditions is an activity book written by a teacher to enhance learning of the Poverty Point archaeological site. Although these activities are site-based, they can be used away from this context to teach general archaeological concepts. There is also a publication called Classroom Archaeology that has lesson plans and games.
Athena Review
Journal of archaeology, history, and exploration geared toward both professional and student audiences. They have full versions of back issues online and free.
Texas A&M’s Department of Anthropology keeps a web page that has links to current stories involving anthropology or archaeology. These links lead to full version articles available online, however some of the sites do ask the user to register.
ArchNet is a virtual library of archaeological information. Searches can be done by subject or region.
This site has a searchable database of the world’s museums, with links to webpages if available.
This website has over 3,000 lesson plans as well as video clips for all ages and grades.
Classroom activities to teach students about the built environment can be found here.
This site from the National Archives has lesson plans that focus on collecting information from primary sources.
