First-graders at William O. Schaefer Elementary School have been digging up artifacts as part of their archeology project! The project is part of the first-grade Enrichment unit, which was designed by Enrichment Teacher Robin Courtwright.
Over the past few weeks, students have been “discovering” artifacts connected to the history of the land where their school was built and their community. In the outdoor classroom, students worked in groups to uncover artifacts in designated dig sites. Students then reviewed and recorded their findings in their archaeology journals. Using what they have learned in their social studies unit, they drew what they found as well as recorded the time period it was from and what they thought the object was used for.
Going back as far as 400 years ago, Courtwright has been teaching students about the various communities that lived here including the Lenape community. “This unit is all about connecting what they’re learning in their social studies unit and teaching them about different communities that lived in this area throughout history. This is to help them compare life before they lived here to what they’re experiencing today,” explained Courtwright.
