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This Layer Cake Archaeology lesson plan also includes:
Excavating cake? Why not! Kids spoon into some layers and artifacts during this tasty hands-on activity. The cake, a simulated archaeological dig, is the object of observation and discussion.
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Concepts
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Instructional Ideas
- Tie the cake dig into your current unit of study by burying laminated artifacts from the particular point in time or history
- Create smaller simlutions by making layered cupcakes
Classroom Considerations
- There is quite a bit of preparation necessary for this lesson, including baking several cake layers and carefully creating an edible dig site
- While designed for very young archaeologists, this activity could be adapted for older learners
- Depending on the dietary restrictions of your students, you may need to adapt the cake recipe or try out a different simulated dig
- See the materials for a teacher reference page on simulated digs
- If not everything you put into the excavation site is edible, make sure to keep a close eye on youngsters as they munch
Pros
- This activity is really fun and engaging while still simulating what could be a fairly realistic dig site
- Cross-curricular activity covers both science and social studies
- Encourages pupils to observe closely and be very careful with their actions
- Provides step-by-step instructions for how to create the cake dig site as well as detailed materials lists
Cons
- None