Patience is Key to Discovery in 5th Grade

Recently, Parker’s 5th grade students had a lesson in slow looking, discovery and the fine art of archaeology as members of the 5th grade team transformed the garden plot behind the JK classrooms into a distinct site archaeological dig!

To begin this lesson, 5th grade teacher Mike McPharlin spoke to the students about the tools and tasks archaeologists use to excavate artifacts. Using this newfound knowledge, the students broke off into groups, and teachers assigned them specific plots to begin their search. While half of each group used trowels to remove the top layer of dirt, the other members looked carefully through the dirt to ensure no artifact pieces were lost. After spotting their artifacts, the students switched over to brushes and carefully cleaned off the surrounding area. Once they had cleared all the dirt, the students removed the artifacts and restarted the process to ensure they located all pieces in their sections. Finally, the students analyzed their artifacts down to the smallest details, generating questions to figure out each one’s purpose and history.

This hands-on experience complemented the students’ study of Rome effectively, giving them insight into how archaeologists are able to understand and know what we know about ancient civilizations by studying the items they have left behind. The process was also practice in patience and perseverance, which will serve the students well as they move to a more research-based type of study.

Click here to see photos from this experience.