Teacher Resources

Drawing on their expertise in experiential education and their firsthand knowledge of archaeology, Crow Canyon educators have developed a variety of materials for teachers to use in their classrooms. The printed and online resources listed below are designed to actively engage students of various ages in the study of archaeology and American Indian history.

Study Guides and Lesson Plans
These study guides and lesson plans are based on the results of actual research conducted by Crow Canyon archaeologists at ancestral Pueblo sites in the Mesa Verde region. Grade level: see individual guides and plans.

Archaeologists Use Maps
This workbook teaches students observation and mapping techniques used by archaeologists. Students learn about scales, measurements, and cardinal directions, and they make interpretations on the basis of observations. Available for purchase on campus only. Grade level: fourth through eighth.

Community History Trunks
Trunks containing historical objects and replicas representing different ethnic groups and time periods in the Four Corners area help educators teach local history.

Windows Into the Past
Written by Crow Canyon educators and published by Kendall/Hunt, this book for teachers explains how to use experiential education methods to teach archaeology and American Indian history in your own classroom (grades 4–8).

Collaborative Digitization Program
The Collaborative Digitization Program makes digital resources from Colorado archives, historical societies, libraries, and museums available via the Internet. Includes color photographs of Crow Canyon’s excavations at Sand Canyon Pueblo, Castle Rock Pueblo, and Woods Canyon Pueblo.

Education Bibliography
This education bibliography lists texts that deal specifically with the application of educational theory to the teaching of archaeology and anthropology.