Teacher Guide

This guide provides an overview of the three lessons. It also includes:

• Ideas for when in the school year to teach the lessons

• Possible Modifications

• Colorado Academic Standards for Fourth Grade Social Studies addressed

• Key Terms

Lesson 1: Introduction to Archaeology

In this lesson, students will get an introduction to the discipline of archaeology. This information will prepare them for the next lesson in which they will apply their new vocabulary. (approx. 45 minutes)

Lesson 2: Colorado's Earliest Residents

In this lesson, students will learn about the first people (that we know about) to live in Colorado, the Clovis people. Students will apply the knowledge they gained from the previous lesson about the basics of archaeology. (approx. 45 minutes)

Lesson 3: You're the Archaeologist!

In this two-part lesson, students will apply their knowledge from the previous two lessons and they get to be the archaeologists! Students will first get background information on the Dent Site, a key site to our current understanding of the Clovis people. They will then examine the artifacts archaeologists found at the site and make a map of where the site is in relation to the development surrounding it.

Part 1: Interpreting the Dent Site

In this part, students will view the artifacts found at the Dent Site. They will work in small groups to analyze the points and mammoth bones to develop hypotheses about the Clovis people. (approx. 1 hour)

Part 2: Mapping the Dent Site

In the final part of teaching about archaeology, the Clovis culture, and the Dent Site, students will map the location of the site in Northern Colorado and discuss its relationship to the modern development around it. (approx. 1 hour)