Making old things new again

Artifact

a simple object (such as a tool or weapon) that was made by people in the past

(Learnersdictionary.org)

This semester we developed many different inquiry lessons involving strategies for our students to have a better understand of social studies. A particularly interesting inquiry lesson, was the use of artifact bags in the classroom. 

The previous four pictures are of the artifacts I chose to show to my peers in order to present the artifact bag lesson on Henry Hudson. We were to choose 3-4 artifacts and have the "students" explore why these artifacts are important. What made me pick these artifacts instead of others? What can we learn based on the artifacts? 

The students explored each artifact, using research techniques and the internet. Their task was to find out about the artifact individually and then come back and figure out why it was important to Henry Hudson's exploration. The students were to fill in the 5 W's on each artifact and would then write a paragraph about one artifact and it's importance to the voyage. 

I found this lesson to be fun to create. I feel the students would really enjoy this type of lesson because it is engaging and interactive. I would use this lesson as an introduction to Henry Hudson instead of a lesson after instruction has already occurred.