Library Digital Services and Development


Ancient Americas

Created By: John M. Kirkpatrick, Edison Middle School (Champaign, IL)
Grade Level: 7th
Content Area: Social Studies
Database Integration: Students will access the TDC database to find and compare images of artifacts used by archaeololgists to theorize that the first inhabitants of the American continents migrated from Asia across the Bering Land Bridge. They will also compare these to later artifacts that seem to indicate the transition from a nomadic lifestyle to a sedentary lifestyle.


Illinois Learning Standards Achieved

Standard Achieved

Activity that Meets this Standard
16.D.3 (W): Identify the origins and analyze consequences of events that have shaped world social history including famines, migrations, plagues, slave trading. Students create a Word document in which the theory of ancient American settlement is explained using resources from the TDC database.
17.C.3c: Analyze how human processes influence settlement patterns including migration and population growth. Students create a Word document in which the theory of ancient American settlement is explained using resources from the TDC database.
17.D.3b: Explain how interactions of geographic factors have shaped present conditions. Students create a Word document in which the theory of ancient American settlement is explained using resources from the TDC database.


Materials:

Computer Lab and "Across the Centuries" textbook


Procedures:

  1. Students will read ATC chapter 15 lesson 1 "Origins" p. 296-399
  2. Students will be given two days in the computer lab to search the database to find examples of artifacts that support the theory of Asian migration and a transition to sedentary lifestyle.
  3. Students will create a Word document that includes the following:
    • a. examples of similar artifacts from Asia and the Americas
    • b. examples of artifacts from a later period indicating a sedentary lifestyle
    • c. a brief written comparison describing the similarities between the objects
    • d. propose a reasonable alternate theory to explain the similarities (extra credit)

Assessment:

Students will be assessed on the entire project by a teacher-created rubric that is presented to the students and discussed at the start of the project.