Before they begin…
Play the Telephone Game—where students sit in a semi-circle, and the first student whispers a message to their neighbor, who passes it on via whisper to the next person... until it gets to the end.
Sample sentence: (make it not too short- it should tell a story…)
The road traveled was long and bumpy with many hardships but they saw their friends and families at the turn of every season.
At the end… last student says the sentence aloud. Was the message the same or different?
To students: “This is an example of an oral tradition, where stories are told and perhaps some facts and ideas are changed throughout the ages.
“Can you imagine if you were telling your stories across generations? Each of you, from the most ancient times (first person) up until today (last person) shares your stories and passes them down, generation after generation.
“But we don’t always have a link to a generation before us to tell us what the artifact means. For many reasons, the story is lost, (pull a student out of the semi-circle) forgotten, (To another student, “What do you mean you can’t remember?”) So we are left with an artifact- a symbol- and no one to tell us the story behind it. We have to figure it out ourselves.
“Today we are embarking on a journey to examine an artifact from long ago in Alberta’s past- and to do our best to tell its story.
Students get Glenbow Petroglyph Exhibit assignment. Hand out artifacts, (to pairs of students) and have them begin deciphering possible meaning behind the artifacts.
If needed student pairs may share their artifacts with another pair to brainstorm thoughts as to symbols and meanings.
Next page: sharing exemplars and building criteria…
Sharing Exemplars and Building Criteria.
Once students are into the work and have a grasp on what they are looking for, share exemplars with them that answer the four questions. Have students determine how well the exmplar answers the questions. Which of the versions do they like the best? Why?
NOTE: It is VERY important to NOT USE another petroglyph in your exemplars. This would lead students into pre-conceived ideas about a circle being a shield- or a stick being a weapon.
One idea (Thanks Lorne Millar!) is to use street signs and treat them as ‘ancient artifacts’. You can still create exemplars by answering the four questions- to varying degrees of success- and let the students judge these exemplars. But this way, students are not being lead into what teachers think petroglyph symbols mean.
From this discussion with exemplars, move into building criteria.
“Ok, so you know what looks good and what doesn’t look good. Now, tell me, what are the criteria for making a top-notch, museum-quality placard for the Glenbow’s Petroglyph Exhibit?”
Students build criteria about how a high quality placard will look, and what it will say.
Feel free to revisit the criteria often and change as students discover new ideas to add to the discussion.
Showcasing Projects
· When students have completed their placards- find a place to display the “museum” travelling exhibit. (hallway, library, or have your class visit another class and share what they found.)
· Perhaps out of their criteria discussion, you can have them mark their own placard, discussing why they deserve the mark they give their group.
· Feel free to modify this lesson as you see fit, and share those changes with other teachers.