Hands on History: Dig!
What is Hands on History Dig!
Hands on History aims to bring the past to life through hands on activities for families and schools. The Hands on History Dig! schools pack uses the fascinating theme of archaeology to explore a variety of subjects including History, Art and Design, English and Maths. Curriculum links for KS2 (7-11) are included in the introductory download (PDF).
Activities can run across a term to create a project the whole class can take part in. Begin the term with the first part of the 'Create an excavation (PDF)' activity and complete towards the end of term when the class can discover how their artefacts have changed over time. While the excavation is left to degrade, you can complete the other four activities to explore archaeology further. Extension activities are also included in the pack.
Teacher's notes and activities
- Introduction to Dig!
The Dig! Introduction includes curriculum links for KS2 (7-11). - Activity 2 - Create an excavation
Recreate an archaeological dig in the classroom and explore the ways archaeologists learn about the past. - Activity 4 - Poos from the past
Use the yuck-factor to get your class interested in archaeology and see if you can match the poo to the correct historical era. - Extension activity - dig a little deeper
Ideas for more activities and discussion points to help you explore the subject further and extend each of the core Dig! activities.
- Activity 1 - Get colouring
Eric is at an archaeological dig. Find his tools and colour in the picture. - Activity 3 - Paper excavation
Take part in an excavation without getting your hands dirty and use skills important to a real archaeologist to discover, examine and record. - Activity 5 - Cress Cropmarks
Explore how landscape change is used by archaeologists to understand the past (and cover some areas of Science too).
Pictures
More to Explore
Links in the BBC
- Hands on History
- Primary History
- BBC History: Archaeology
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