Careers, Math, Science and More

The author engaged her students in sixth grade with a hands-on integrated activity that allowed them to explore what paleontologists and archeologists do. This activity explored not only th... See More

The author engaged her students in sixth grade with a hands-on integrated activity that allowed them to explore what paleontologists and archeologists do. This activity explored not only the particular scientific methods of these scientists but it also involved math and social studies skills. All aspects of this engaging activity are laid out in the article. It started with a created dig and moved forward from there. Students learned many valuable tools and also learned about unique career choices.

Can students really "dig" science?

YES! According to Rachel Hallett, a sixth grade teacher in Florida. She writes about how her school supported her efforts to create an archeological dig site at the school. Now the stude... See More

YES! According to Rachel Hallett, a sixth grade teacher in Florida. She writes about how her school supported her efforts to create an archeological dig site at the school. Now the students can learn about paleontology, archaeology, and scientific methodology as they dig for “bones”. The language arts, social studies and math teachers joined the dig activities as they each found ways integrate their curricular materials with the science content. In social studies students learned map-reading skills and facts about ancient cultures. In language arts, student learned how to write informative journal entries. In math they plotted and graphed coordinates of the dig site. Students sketched and took pictures throughout their 3-day dig. The creative ideas for classroom use continue at this school as other teachers find ways to use the dig site to motivate their students to learn about rocks (in geology classes) and the human skeletal system (in health classes). One note: The initi