Digging Up History

This is Michele from A Lesson Plan for Teachers, and I wanted to give you a creative idea for those dreaded testing reviews!  Instead of having students complete the traditional worksheets or reviewing the course content through the projector, get students up and digging for the information they need!

Creating an archaeology dig in your classroom is easy!

1. Start by asking your Guidance Office to save the shredded paper for you for about a week.  This should give you ample supply of dig material.
2. Create a frame for the dig site.  This can be as simple as a wooden frame or one made of taped cardboard.
3. Fill the frame with the shredded paper and divide into quadrants with twine.
4. Place topic cards into the dig materials.
5. Let the fun begin!

Since my subject area is Social Studies, I created a topic card for each unit I taught in the year.  I assigned students into pairs or small groups, and as they dig the cards, they complete a SPRITE Graphic Organizer to review the topic.  If they can't remember the facts, they can refer to their notebook or other sources.

As the class finishes up all of the topic cards, share as a whole group with each team summarizing their SPRITE review.  For a more comprehensive written review, have all students complete SPRITEs on all topics.  Place the SPRITEs in chronological order in notebooks for further study, added research, or other tasks for review.

SPRITE SOCIAL STUDIES GRAPHIC ORGANIZER

What other ideas can you contribute for making review more engaging?