Build-a-museum: Historical Artifact Activity for Grades 1 - 4

Historical artifacts are more than just fossils and pottery. Things we use every day will one day be considered artifacts. Challenge your students to think like historians and find artifacts from their everyday lives that will be significant in the future. This is a great project-based learning opportunity.

Grades 1 - 4 concentrates on the 20th century. This resource includes a list of possible artifacts for students to choose from. Not all of the artifacts are that important (like bubble gum) but I wanted to keep it fun and relatable for students.

Organize time with the librarian and help students conduct research on their chosen artifacts. There are no links in this resource. It is NOT a webquest. You will need to organize time for students to research.

Information gathering pages are included to help students pinpoint the important information about their artifacts. A more formal writing page is included to have students write a display page that explains their artifact to museum visitors.

When it comes to displaying the artifacts, students can bring in their own artifacts but I'd suggest you gather them beforehand so students don't feel alienated if they can't provide an artifact. It is also acceptable to print images of the artifacts. Use real artifacts or toy representations.

This is the print-only version. If you'd rather get the Google Classroom™ version click here.

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What's Included:

• 1, 2, 3, or 4 artifacts pages
• Information gathering pages
• Display pages
• Artifact list
• Teacher guide

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Add more social studies to your classroom with one-page skill builders. Built around 3rd grade PA social studies standards, students have an opportunity to practice and review social studies lessons in a quick and easy manner. Add a page a day to their morning, create a social studies center, weekly packet, or use with a substitute. Check out Social Studies Skill Builders for more details.

Practice writing AND work on geography skills at the same time. When I realized my son couldn't describe a tree I decided to create a resource that would get students to think about the world around them while at the same time working on environments. Check out Geography Descriptive Writing for more details.

For my friend B who gave me the idea in the first place. : )