West of the West's Arlington Springs Man series documents the history of the archeological digs on Santa Rosa Island and the discovery of human and mammoth bones that challenge the once-popular theories of human migration to the Americas. Before watching the video, class members use the Question Formulation Technique to learn how to create and refine closed-ended and open-ended questions. They then use these techniques to develop questions to guide research to learn more about the Arlington Springs Man. Next, class members read a two-page scientific article and complete a reading comprehension exercise that asks individuals to craft a one-page summary of information gathered from the video and the article. The series ends with young archaeologists engaging in a role-playing activity. One team creates and then buries artifacts, a second excavates the pieces, and a third group documents each discovery—a fascinating series.
