Digging up the Past: Teaching Kenya – 2nd Grade
Bianca Monroy
TEKS Objectives: §113.4. Social Studies, Grade 2.
(6) Geography. The student understands the locations and characteristics of places and
regions. The student is expected to:
(A) identify major landforms and bodies of water, including continents and oceans,
on maps and globes;
(C) compare information from different sources about places and regions.
Materials:
• Class set of self-hardening clay
• Play bones, leaves, shells
• Spoons and digging tools(toothpicks, water color paint brushes)
• Large plastic tub or container
• Large amount of soil or sand
• Evaluation graph
• Evaluation picture activity.
Engagement:
The teacher will show a fossil of a foot (the teacher can make this previously with her
own foot using hardening clay) and ask the students if they know what it is or where it
came from. The teacher will then introduce the students to a brief description of Kenya,
explain that it is a country in Africa that has a lot of places that are special to the history
of earth. Introduce the student to ‘The Great rift Valley” a place in Kenya called the
‘cradle of humankind” explain that anthropologist think the first humans lived here
because they have found many fossils: the teacher will explain that what she is holding is
a fossil and describe how fossils are found in the great Rift Valley. The teacher will show
pictures
Facilitation Questions:
• Has anyone ever seen a fossil of something before? Where did you find it (knowledge)
• Can you describe what some fossils might look like? (comprehension)
• Why do you think they found fossils of old human skulls and human bones in the great rift
Valley?(application)
Explore:
Explain to the students that they will be creating their own fossils of things and body parts today.
Tell them that they will use the clay, the bones, their hands, feet, shells, and leaves to make
these fossils. The teacher should give details instructions about how to use the clay and how to
put it to dry.
Facilitation Questions:
• How long do you think it will take our clay prints to dry into fossils? (application)
• How long do you think it takes the fossils found in Kenya to dry? (application)
• Do you think the fossils and bones found had been in the dirt for many years before they
were found? (Analysis)
Lesson Title – Grade Level
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Digging up the Past: Teaching Kenya – 2nd Grade
Explain:
(After the clay and all the fossils have dried up the teacher should place the students fossils at
different levels in the large tub with the soil or sand inside.)
The teacher will explain to the students that the people who discovered the bones, fossils, and
tools are called anthropologist and they used special digging tools to dig out the fossils from the
ground and dirt. Tell the students that they will pretend to travel to Kenya and they will pretend
to be anthropologist. They will use the spoons brushes, and toothpicks to dig up some fossils
from The Great Rift Valley in Kenya (large tub of soil).
Facilitation Questions:
• What do you think you will find when you dig? How far do you think you will have to dig?
(Application)
• What tools will you use? And how will you use these tools? (Application).
• Do you think you will have to dig deeper for fossils that are older? Than for newly
created fossils? (Synthesis)
Elaborate:
The teacher will hand out each student a fossil evaluation graph. Explain to the students that
they will go to the large plastic tub in groups of 2 or 3 and they will begin to dig for 2 or 3 fossils
per group. Each group member will identify what type of fossil they found and in what part of the
tub they found it. (Top, Middle) (Bottom)
Evaluate:
The teacher will use the Evaluation graph to assess the students understanding of how the fossils
were dug out by anthropologist in Kenya. The students will also demonstrate an understanding of
what fossils are by completing the fossil evaluation picture activity.
Questions:
• How long did you think the anthropologist in Kenya had to dig in the Great Rift Valley to
find the human fossils? (Analysis)
• Do you think the fossils found in Kenya had been there a long time if they were found at
the very bottom? In the middle? Or at the top? (Application)
• What is the difference between the fossils we made in class and the ones that were found
in Kenya? Are they the same? (Analysis)
• Do you think the Great Rift Valley is a special place in Africa? Why? (Application)
• Would you like to visit “the Cradle of Human Kind” someday? (Comprehension)
Sources: Lesson was modified from :Countries and Cultures Kenya Instructional Fair-TM Denison
Lesson Title – Grade Level
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Digging up the Past: Teaching Kenya – 2nd Grade
Lesson Title – Grade Level
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Digging up the Past: Teaching Kenya – 2nd Grade
Lesson Title – Grade Level
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Digging up the Past: Teaching Kenya – 2nd Grade
Use the table below as your Evaluation Graph. Identify what kind of fossil you found and
what part of the soil. (top, middle, bottom)
TOP
Middle
Bottom
Lesson Title – Grade Level
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