Artifacts as Historical Sources (Part 1 of 2)

Students learn about the importance of artifacts in the study of history and culture, and consider how their own belongings might tell a story about who they are and their way of life. They also participate in a whole-class analysis of an artifact to prepare for an independent artifact study in the next lesson.

Artifacts as Historical Sources (Part 2 of 2)

Students study selected artifacts from an assigned cultural area. They describe, interpret, analyze, and sketch their artifact as they attempt to identify features that provide clues about the people who used it.

The Ethics of Keeping Artifacts for Display

Students examine perspectives around the use and display of cultural artifacts, and learn about the growing practice of repatriation, the return of items to their place of origin. They discuss these ideas from a text using a Socratic Seminar protocol.

Artifacts Connect Us to People, Places, and Times (Checkpoint Assessment)

Through this Essential Question, students have explored the role of artifacts in connecting people to each other in different places and time. This final lesson may be used as a checkpoint assessment of cumulative learning throughout this Essential Question. Here, students present their final Artifact Analyses to classmates and work in small groups to compare artifacts and draw conclusions about the stories they tell.