Project Details and Outcomes:
The WYAAS Education and Outreach Coordinator makes regular visits to Trinity and All Saints College (part of Leeds University) to deliver sessions to trainee teachers on How to use Archaeology in the Classroom. As a result of discussions between staff and students it became clear that there were no suitable materials or methodologies for introducing KS1 children to the subject of archaeology. TASC and WYAAS therefore brought together a number of interested students who wished to develop such strategies and resources for use during their teaching placements.
The students all had various subjects to cover depending on the requirements of their host school. These included Materials, Textures and Noah’s Ark. After some discussion it was decided that sandpit excavations could be adapted to suit all cases, and ideas and activities to support the various activities were considered. These included ways to introduce the topic through story-telling, the use of puppets and model figures, what to bury in the sandpit and various matching and sorting strategies.
Further discussions took place by email as the students worked to turn the concepts, which were outlined at the meeting, into full lesson plans. At the time of writing (February 2007) these are now being tested in the schools to which the students have been assigned for their teaching practice.
When the students have finished their teaching practice a further meeting will be held to evaluate the teaching strategies which were developed during the project. Examples of successful strategies will be posted on the WYAAS website where they will be freely available to everyone.