Tips for Teachers

8th  grade students grasp the concept of supervisor notebooks pretty well, while the 7th graders struggled somewhat. You may need to further simplify the locus sheets for the younger ones.  Students need to understand the importance of constantly checking their locus notebooks to make sure everything is filled out before they move on to the next locus. Have them get approval from you before they proceed. Some students will take this job very seriously and do very well at it while others may become frustrated with the responsibility--hence the rationale for assigning two supervisors per square so they can help one another. Explain to them that the supervisor's job is very important. Students will get a very real feel for how important cooperation is on a dig.

When the digging starts you will have to explain digging techniques and how important it is not to "pit". It will be very difficult for them when they start to uncover a burial or tablet, but stress that proper digging is part of their grade.

I found that my most usually troublesome kids became my best diggers. After a few weeks I assigned a few of them as supervisors, paring them with someone who could help them. My problem students blossomed with the responsibility and even though it called for much patience on my part it was well worth it to see their self-esteem pick up.

It may help to assign a student to be responsible for making sure all of the digging tools are in order each day and to make sure they are all picked up.

For line levels it's best to assign a benchmark with the number 0.

It is the artist/photographers responsibility to fill out  photo sheets each day and to record them on the appropriate locus sheets.  For a camera it is best to use a Polaroid so that the pictures can be pasted on the photo sheets right away. Remind the artist/photographer daily and check his/her top plans.

Remember you can certainly simplify any of these locus sheets and do as much or as little recording as you like depending on your class.

You can greatly add to the excitement of the dig by treating it as a big deal.  Have your principal dress up as an Arab sheik .  You should dress up too, either in Arab gear or as Indiana Jones. Send flyers home inviting parents to come visit the "site". Put up a big sign by your dig proclaiming it as "Tell (insert name of school)."   Call your local newspaper and/or television station and have them come out and report your story.

Overall the kids will get a true to fife experience of what an actual dig is like and come face to face with the responsibilities of the scientific recording of data. Even though they realize the stuff they are digging up isn't "authentic" I was amazed at the student's enthusiasm and excitement when they "discovered' something.

This mock dig can easily be adapted for any historical time period.

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