Artifact Bag Activity

Last week we completed the artifact bag activity in class. Throughout the week we discussed the importance of teaching history and different methods to do so. Exposing children to primary sources, artifacts, and things they can explore for themselves, is much more effective than lecturing about history. Similar to science, and from my personal experience, being able to explore things with your own hands allows you to much better understand the concept or object. Unfortunately, I was not able to be in class Friday for the sharing of the artifact bags, due to a family problem. However, Rachel helped fill me in on what people brought in their artifact bags. I will be bringing my bag in on Monday in case Dr. Smirnova would like me to share.

My artifact bag consists of three pictures; one of Monsters Inc., one of Walt Disney Pictures, and one of a few different companies with words beneath. Each of these pictures was specifically chosen due to its representation of something our group taught the class at Bishop Dunn. For instance, the Monsters Inc. picture was included because I explained to the class that this is my favorite animated movie, and it was used to show a successful commercial. Additionally, the picture of Walt Disney was included in my artifact bag because our group taught the class about logos. The students learned that every company needs a logo that is easy to remember and sticks in someones head. Finally, the picture of a few different companies was used to signify slogans. Our group discussed what slogans are and the importance of a good slogan for a company. For instance, Nike's "Just do it," is simple and to the point. In fact, many people remember what Nike's slogan is without prompting!

All in all, I felt that this activity could be successfully used in an elementary classroom on a multitude of different topics. I believe that it would be most effective to have the students choose and research a specific person from the past and create an artifact bag based on the person they researched.