"Using artifacts, from primary documents to items that can be held in one's hand, is a motivational strategy"(Fuhler, 2006). An artifact bag is a hands-on activity that increases childrens knowledge. Artifact bags can be used with any subject, topic, and grade level. Artifact bags are super engaging and informative. Students are able to become a real live
historian for the day! Artifact bags follow the inquiry investigative process. The inquiry investigative process is shown through artifact bag presentations because students have to figure out what the items are, and why they are in the bag.
I got to make my own artifact bag! My artifact bag contained items that related to The Voyages of Christopher Columbus, which was my unit plan topic. I had the opportunity to go a flee market the weekend before the artifact bag was due. I found 3 very cool items there! I was excited to share my artifact bag because my items were tangible.
The first artifact I included in my bag was an Italian flag. An Italian flag represented Christopher Columbus' nationality.
The second artifact I included in my bag was a compass. I found this compass at the flee market. I thought it was really cool because it was important to Columbus's journey. Without the compass, Columbus would have had a hard time figuring out which way to sail to reach land
The third item in my bag was a map. Columbus took 4 voyages after discovering America. He also used a map to help him figure out how to reach land!
The last item I included was this little pilgrim I found at the flee-market. This pilgrim represents the Taino people who were already in the Americas once Columbus arrived.
At the end of my presentation, my group and the group we were paired with (Kristen and Cassandra) were able to figure out that the artifacts belong to Columbus. During class, we shared our artifact bags with our group and group 3. Kristen and Cassandras artifact bags were interesting. They were on the Spanish conquistadors. The artifacts they created were really cool. Kristen included armor worn by the conquistadors. Cassandra included a fake bullet which was really cool. Cassandra included a piece of headwear that she made by herself that mirrored Moctezuma's headpiece
.
In my presentation, I included a book to learn more about Columbus. This book tells the story of Columbus and takes you through his journeys. This is a great book for children who want to learn more about Columbus from reading!
I also included a website where you can learn more information about Columbus.
Overall I love the artifact bags. Creating the artifact bag was really fun. I loved that I was able to get tangible items. I will most definitely be using these in my future classroom. Artifact bags are great for students to research. They can be used to introduce a topic or to end the unit. It is great for the visual learners, and it is just really FUN!
Click on the links below to explore the class' individual artifact bags!
My Artifact Bag Presentation
Alexis Artifact Bag
Gauen's Artifact Bag
Rachel's Artifact Bag
Cierra's Artifact Bag
Cassandra's Artifact Bag
Amanda's Artifact Bag
Kim's Artifact Bag
Aimee's Artifat Bag
Michaela, I really enjoyed reading about your artifacts! I think this activity is super cool and I would really like to use this activity one day in my future classroom. The artifacts that you used were very interested and fun. I think the students would really enjoy doing and activity like this in the classroom and it makes social studies more meaningful for them.
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