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The Pack contains associated resources for the learning experience, typically in the form of articles and videos. There is a teacher Pack (with only teacher information) and a student Pack (which contains only student information). As a teacher, you can toggle between both to see everything.
Here are the teacher pack items for The First People Arrive:
Overview In this experience, students generate questions about the oldest human bones found in the Americas. Then they examine how the Paleo-Indians arrived from Asia and how they survived as hunter-gatherers. Next they explain a significant development of the agricultural revolution and the beginning of villages. Finally, they study an object found at an Aztec archaeological site and pose questions and theories about it. Estimated duration: 30–40 minutes Vocabulary words: Objectives
Many U.S. history books used to begin with the voyage of Christopher Columbus and say that he “discovered America.” That is not accurate. The Americas were already home to many Indigenous peoples and nations. People had lived in the Americas for thousands of years before Columbus arrived.
Columbus was not the first person to reach the Americas, and he was not the first European known to reach North America. However, his voyages changed history because they led to more European exploration, conquest, and colonization in the Americas.
In this experience, you will learn about some of the first people who lived in the lands that are now the United States. You will explore how people may have arrived, how they survived, and how they built communities in many different environments.
Objectives
An Archaeologist at Work
In 1953, Keith Glasscock, a pipeline welder and amateur archaeologist, was searching near Midland in West Texas. He found pieces of human bone. Scientists later studied the bones and learned that they came from a woman who lived thousands of years ago.
The remains became known as the Midland human remains. Some early reports called them “Midland Man,” even though scientists later identified the person as female. At the time, the remains were considered among the oldest human remains found in North America. Today, scientists continue to study and discuss how old the remains are, with many estimates placing them around 9,500 to 10,000 years old.What can the Midland human remains help scientists learn about people who lived in Texas thousands of years ago? Write one question scientists might ask and explain why that question matters.
Review student questions and choose one evidence-based question to use as a guiding question during the experience. Remind students that the Midland human remains belonged to a real person and should be discussed respectfully. Guide students away from pretend interview questions or personal questions that cannot be answered with evidence. Instead, help them ask questions archaeologists might investigate, such as: What can bones, tools, or the place where remains were found tell us about how people lived? What might scientists learn about food, shelter, health, movement, or the environment? If needed, model a respectful guiding question, such as: “What clues can archaeologists use to learn how people survived in Texas thousands of years ago?”
