Artifact Unit

25 years ago I walked into District Office and they handed me a box of binders and said, "Good Luck Kid!" There were no textbooks with the exception of Math and I was a scared first year teacher.

I stared at my Social Studies binder titled Clues to Our Past and decided I needed to come up with something, but was at a total loss. At this time in my life I regularly visited my Grandmother in Brookfield. During one of these visits I mentioned my Social Studies dilemma.

My Grandmother dragged me into her basement and began pulling out objects from the cupboards, shelves and work benches. She laid the objects in front of me and said, "Use these." Slowly I began to create my Artifact Unit in which we use primary sources to learn about the past.

The students in class have been examining 30 artifacts that belonged to either my Grandmother or Grandfather. The students are slowly starting to piece together my Grandparents story and the history of the 1940s, 50s and 60s by investigating these primary sources using the questions:

• What is it made of?
• What is written on it?
• Are there dates?
• What does it remind you of from the present?
• What do think it was used for in the past?
• What does all this information tell you about the past?

 

The students will also have the opportunity to share an artifact of their own. Any object from home that is older than the student qualifies as an artifact for this project.

 

 

Discovery is an amazing way to learn. Hopefully this unit grabs the students' attention and shows that History books don't just fall from the sky. History comes from real people, real objects and real stories.