COLONIAL DORCHESTER
STATE HISTORIC SITE
300 State Park Road
Summerville, SC 29485
(843) 873-7475
that put color into the picture of life in colonial South Carolina. Colonial Dorchester
is listed on the National Register of Historic
Places.
Colonial Dorchester
We invite you and your students to visit
Colonial Dorchester State Historic Site and
participate in an educational program.
Colonial Dorchester preserves and interprets the archaeological site of a village
founded in 1697. For nearly one hundred years Dorchester prospered as an
inland trade center. Several generations
of South Carolinians, free and slave, lived
and worked in the homes and shops that
lined Dorchester’s streets. Evidence of the
affluence of the village can still be seen
today. A fort built during the French and
Indian War stands guard over the Ashley
River and is the best-preserved example of
tabby fort construction in the nation. The
brick bell tower of St. George’s Anglican
Church looms over the graveyard in what
was once the center of the village. Beneath
the surface lie remains of the village in an
archaeological record that spans much of
South Carolina’s early history. Today archaeologists are examining that rich record
and historians are delving into documents
Directions
From I-26: Take exit 199-A. Travel 3 miles
on U.S. 17 through downtown Summerville
to S.C. 165. Turn left onto Highway 165/
East Carolina Avenue. Stay in right lane
and travel .5 miles, veer right and continue
on S.C. 165/Bacons Bridge Road. Travel
2.5 miles to S.C. 642/Dorchester Road.
Travel 2 miles and the park entrance will be
on the right.
Reservations and Program Information
For reservations, contact:
Colonial Dorchester State Historic Site
Phone: (843) 873-7475
[email protected]
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Colonial Dorchester: Pre-Site
Content Area:
Social Studies
Colonial Dorchester: Pre-Site
Grade Level:
3
The following classroom activity was designed to reinforce the material covered in
the field trip and for the teacher to assess
the knowledge gained from the visit to Colonial Dorchester State Historic Site.
Focus Questions
Time to Complete:
1 class period
Title of Program:
A Sense of Place
1. What is an artifact?
2. What do artifacts tell us about the
people who left them behind?
3. How do artifacts provide only a piece of
the “history puzzle” of a site?
Culminating Assessment
See post-site activity.
South Carolina State Standards Addressed
Social Studies
Standard 3-2 - The student will demonstrate an understanding of the exploration and settlement of South Carolina
and the United States.
3-2.6 - Summarize the contributions of
settlers in SC under the Lords Proprietors
and the Royal colonial government,
including the English from Barbados
and the other groups who made up the
diverse European population of early
South Carolina.
Science
Standard 3-1 - The student will demonstrate an understanding of scientific
inquiry, including the processes, skills
and mathematical thinking necessary to
conduct a simple scientific investigation.
3-1.1 - Classify objects by two of their
properties (attributes).
Language Arts: Writing
3-5.3 - Create written descriptions about
people, places, or events such as those
important to South Carolina history.
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Program Description
Material/Equipment/Resources
• Pre-site Activities Guide (Teacher should
make copies of all the Activities Guides
and provide to the students.)
Pre-site Guide contains:
• Map of the village of Dorchester
• Synopsis of history of Dorchester
• Archaeology worksheet
• Archaeology vocabulary matching worksheet
• Archaeology vocabulary
Teacher Resources:
• http://www.history.org/media/jigsaws
• Students’ common household items
(real or list)
• Pre-site Activity Guide
Procedures
Activity I
Have the students bring a common item
(artifact) from home, or write the item on a
sheet of paper. Have each student explain
what his/her item tells about his/her family.
Make a class list from the individual items.
Compare the class list with the list of items
from the INVENTORY sheet.
Activity II
Have the students read and complete the
pre-site sheets. Lead a class discussion on
their answers.
Colonial Dorchester: Pre-Site
Activity III
If you have internet access and A/V equipment in the class, visit www.history.org/media/jigsaws . Have a student complete a
puzzle in the easy mode. Discuss with the
class how artifacts at an archaeology site
are similar to puzzle pieces – the larger
they are, the easier it is to see how they fit
together and the more of the historical “picture” you can recognize. Change the size
and numbers of the puzzle pieces in the
website activity to emphasize this point.
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Colonial Dorchester: On-Site
Content Area:
Social Studies
Colonial Dorchester: On-Site
Grade Level:
3
Time to Complete:
4 hours 15 minutes
Title of Program:
A Sense of Place
South Carolina State Standards Addressed
Social Studies
Standard 3-2 - The student will demonstrate an understanding of the exploration and settlement of South Carolina
and the United States.
3-2.6 - Summarize the contributions of
settlers in SC under the Lords Proprietors
and the Royal colonial government,
including the English from Barbados
and the other groups who made up the
diverse European population of early
South Carolina.
Science
Standard 3-1 - The student will demonstrate an understanding of scientific
inquiry, including the processes, skills
and mathematical thinking necessary to
conduct a simple scientific investigation.
3-1.1 - Classify objects by two of their
properties (attributes).
Language Arts: Writing
3-5.3 - Create written descriptions about
people, places, or events such as those
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important to South Carolina history.
Lesson Description
In the setting of the 1700s colonial village
of Dorchester, students will experience a
sense of time and place. They will learn
how the town was settled by a group of
Congregationalists from Boston, Massachusetts.
Students will hear how trade developed and
see the remains of the tabby fort built to
protect the town from the French and then
the English. Students will see how archaeologists are working to uncover the story of
colonial Dorchester.
Focus Questions
1. What is an artifact?
2. What do artifacts tell us about the
people who left them behind?
3. How do artifacts provide only a piece of
the “history puzzle” of a site?
Culminating Assessment
See post-site activity.
Items to Bring
•
•
•
•
•
•
Clipboard
Field Guides
Pencils/pens
Name tags
Insect repellent
Insect bite spray/ointment (to relieve
itching and stinging)
• Lunch
• Trash bags (trash must be taken with
you)
Special consideration:
Dress appropriately. Clothes and shoes will
get dirty during excavation. Also, temperature can change drastically during day, so
dressing in layers is recommended. Cold in
mornings (40s/50s) and hot in afternoons
(mid 80s).
This is a trash free park. All trash must be
carried with you off of the park.
Material/Equipment/Resources Included
• Artifact bags and tags
• Artifacts
• Archaeology tools
• Field Guide (Teacher should provide
a copy of the Field Guide to each
student, and the students should
bring the Field Guide to the park.)
Teacher Preparation
Read lesson and activities completely and
contact Colonial Dorchester State Historic
Site with any concerns or modifications.
Implement pre-site activities several days
before scheduled program. Plan adequate
time for post-site activities in order to reinforce topics discussed in program. Make
copies of Field Guide and issue to all students.
The History Tour portion of the program
will be teacher-led. Please review the site’s
history from the Visitor’s Guide and the tour
outline which are provided. A map of the
locations around the site will be provided
upon arrival at the site.
Procedures
Students will split into two groups of 16.
One group will be led on a tour of the
market, fort, wharf, and church. The other
group will be divided into smaller groups to
excavate, sift, and analyze artifacts.
Suggested Schedule for On-Site Activities:
9:30
9:45
Arrive at park. Visit rest rooms.
Park ranger meets group
II. History Tour (2 hours)
• Will visit significant sites in the park.
• Will use Field Guide to take notes
and for activities.
• As group travels through the site,
all stops will be marked on map of
village.
III Excavation Group (2 hours)
Excavation Site Tour
• The Archaeologist will lead the excavation group to various areas of the
site that exemplify how archaeology
is used to discover more about the
colonial town of Dorchester and the
town’s inhabitants.
• The group will be introduced to the
use and importance of grids on archaeological sites.
• Ongoing excavations will be used as
an example of previously discussed
concepts.
• The group will proceed to tables to
learn about artifact identification
and interpretation.
Colonial Dorchester: On-Site
Material/Equipment/Resources Needed
10:00
Group 1 – tour and lunch; Group 2 - excavation
12:00
Group 2 – lunch and tour; Group 1 - excavation
2:00
Groups meet at bus
I. Meet Archaeologist / Interpreter at parking lot (15 minutes)
• The Archaeologist will welcome the
group to the site and provide materials to the history tour group leader.
• A brief discussion on site safety issues will be given, with emphasis
being placed on tool safety, fire ants,
poison ivy, and trip hazards.
• The group will be broken into two
groups and the tour and excavation
groups will move to their respective
activity locations.
Artifact Identification, Interpretation and
Site Conservation
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• Students will be shown several artifacts typically found on archaeological sites and the archaeologist will
discuss how archaeologists interpret
them.
• The Archaeologist will explain the
importance of site conservation using the “pieces of the puzzle” example.
• The students will be introduced to
their adult guides for the excavation
exercise and proceed to their excavation unit.
Excavation
• There will be up to four (50x50 cm,
1x1m) excavation units with two to
four students and one experienced
adult guide.
• The Archaeologist will rove between
all excavation units to assist adult
guides with artifact identification and
mapping, and to help students interpret the artifacts being found.
• An overview of the excavation techniques will be given by the adult
guides and the Archaeologist to
include tool safety, mapping of artifacts, and unit paperwork.
• With the help of the adult guides,
the students will excavate, screen,
and draw artifacts on the guide grid.
The students will rotate through the
various jobs to experience all aspects
of the excavation exercise.
• Fifteen minutes before the exercise
ends, the students, with the help of
the adult guides and the Archaeologist, will interpret their unit and write
a short paragraph about what may
have happened there based upon
the artifacts excavated in their unit.
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Colonial Dorchester: Post-Site
Content Area:
Social Studies
Time to Complete:
1 class period
Title of Program:
A Sense of Place
South Carolina State Standards Addressed
Social Studies
Standard 3-2 - The student will demonstrate an understanding of the exploration and settlement of South Carolina
and the United States.
3-2.6 - Summarize the contributions of
settlers in SC under the Lords Proprietors
and the Royal colonial government,
including the English from Barbados
and the other groups who made up the
diverse European population of early
South Carolina.
Science
Standard 3-1 - The student will demonstrate an understanding of scientific
inquiry, including the processes, skills
and mathematical thinking necessary to
conduct a simple scientific investigation.
3-1.1 - Classify objects by two of their
properties (attributes).
Program Description
The following classroom activity was designed to reinforce the material covered in
the field trip and for the teacher to assess
the knowledge gained from the visit to Colonial Dorchester State Historic Site.
Focus Questions
1. What is an artifact?
2. What do artifacts tell us about the
people who left them behind?
3. How do artifacts provide only a piece of
the “history puzzle” of a site?
Material/Equipment/Resources
Post-site activity guide. Guide contains:
• Izard Family House activity sheet
• Role-playing writing activity sheet
Teacher Resources:
• www.history.org/media/jigsaws
• Students’ common household items
(real or list)
• Pre-site Activity Guide
Procedures
Colonial Dorchester: Post-Site
Grade Level:
3
important to South Carolina history.
Complete the activity sheets in the postsite activity guide. Incorporate objects and
artifacts from your excavation and site tour
of the town of Dorchester.
Language Arts: Writing
3-5.3 - Create written descriptions about
people, places, or events such as those
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