I love delivering Archaeology Days, because Archaeology Days allow time for me to really develop children’s interest and enable them to progress from one activity to another. Hopefully, by the end of the day they leave for home with a good grasp of what archaeology is, what it sets out to achieve and some information about the period they are studying, as well as smiling faces at a day well spent!
One such day was had at Garstang Community Primary School in Lancashire, when we focused on the Stone Age and the Bronze Age.
Rather than go on about it myself, I’m going to let Suzanne Thomas, Y6 class teacher and deputy head, to tell you all about it in her own words:
“They learned so much! Chronology of prehistory, how the way of life changed for people during this period of time, some specific knowledge about the day to day lives of Stone Age/Bronze Age people in Britain. They also learned a great deal about the skills employed by an archaeologist – how archaeologists look for clues in order to piece together a story, how we can make deductions based on what we find and see… We have really been able to build on these skills in the classroom – our subsequent history lessons have focused on looking for evidence in order to form conclusions…. The work completed on the day provided us with ideas for writing and the children have since written their own archaeological report.
I thought the whole day was wonderful – the sequence of activities allowed the group to develop rapidly – there was a clear progression of skills throughout the day. The archaeological dig and the pottery activities were particularly enjoyable but I think the other activities were essential in enabling the group to get the most out of those activities.
The activities develop a whole variety of skills – thinking, communicating, problem solving. At every point of the day, every child was engaged in active learning.”
And I must just include this last bit!…
“The day exceeded my expectation – it’s astonishing how much we got through! Thank you Catherine – you were fabulous!”
Thank you Suzanne – you and your class were too!
and here are some photos…