Digging For…Artifacts 

Fifth graders participated in a simulation archeological dig in their humanities classes led by Dr. Tammy Craddock and Michael Parker. During the two-part assignment, the students created dig sites for other classes by hiding artifacts in the dirt. The second part of the process was the fun part - digging! They started by gridding the dig site, typical of an archaeological expedition, and then went square by square, uncovering artifacts. Once the artifacts were discovered, they wrote down a judgment of what they could have been used for. Wrapping up the unit, Upper School Latin Teacher Bryan Carlson spoke with the students about working with artifacts and his own experiences digging in Italy. 

Years ago, when Carlson taught in the Middle School, he worked with other teachers to develop a hands-on archaeology unit for FWCD students based on a Fulbright grant he had received to create a similar lesson for his Latin class. “I got some additional funding for materials, so I bought some ‘artifacts,’ and we gave it a try,” he shared. “It was fun for the kids and really got them to think about the science of history in new ways.”

Carlson found another grant that allowed him to travel to Italy for a two-week field school. When he returned, he learned he would be the Upper School Latin Teacher. While he helped in the Middle School for one more year, the project was not sustained. 

While walking back to the Upper School last week, Carlson saw humanities students immersed in Dr. Craddock’s and Parker’s archaeology unit. “Michael and Tammy had brought it back! I was so excited,” Carlson said. “ I introduced myself to Tammy and offered to talk to her kids about archaeology and my experiences if they would like.” 

By the end of the week, Carlson had a date and time to talk to the fifth graders. He updated his presentation and brought over some of the tools and ‘artefacts’ from his Italy dig. “The kids were an incredible audience and had loads of questions. Now, we are planning to make my visits a regular part of the archaeology lessons again,” he said. “The collegial nature of the FWCD faculty family and the shared campus with teachers trying new and different things and always supporting one another is a big part of what makes FWCD special.”