Curriculum
Objectives

Materials and
Resources

Pre-Activity

Investigations
and Other
Activities

Assessment

Reflections

Tech-Know-Build

Field Trip

To introduce the students to the Driving Question, we will first take them on a field trip to Crown Hill Cemetery (700 W. 38th St., Indianapolis, IN, 46208).  There the students will be required to complete several activities to be used in their projects.

The students will be required to do a leaf collection, at the cemetery, and to keep an eye out for some topic that they might want to explore further in science.  Also, the students will collect a variety of measurements, follow a map through the cemetery, and collect a variety of information about the people who have been buried there. 
 
 

Leaf Collection - Science
 

*  As you do the activities throughout the day, observe things that you might want to investigate.

Activity:

Intitial Activity - First, the students will brainstorm about the shape and description of leaves.  Then, they will be given information about leaf arrangements and simple/compound leaves.

• Simple Leaves = One leaf per stem
• Compound Leaves = More than one leaf per stem

Summarizing Activity - Students are to compile a folder of their gathered leaves.  They are to separate them into simple and compound, and labled as such (for example:  Compound, alternate, single-toothed).  Also, a guess is to be made as to the identitly of the tree (for example: Oak).
 

Measurement Gathering - Math
 

Activity:

Initial Activity - Students will review how to measure with a tape measure in inches, feet, and yards. 

Activity - The students will be required to gather different measurements at the cemetary to use in later calculations.  The measurements will include:

• Measure circumference of 5 trees 
• Length, width, height, and depth of 5 gravestones
• Height and width of the Font (writing) on 5 gravestones
• Length and width of 5 gravesites
• Birth and Death dates of 10 different people
• Birth and Death dates of 5 soldiers
• Find 5 soldiers in different roles, companies, regiments, and wars
• Find and Collect 10 leaves

 

Activity:

Intitial Activity - The students will be involved in a variety of activities to give them some background information before the field trip.

     Questions:

• What might you find in a cemetery?
• What interesting words might you use to describe a cemetery?
• What is an interesting epitaph?
• What information do you want to be put on your tombstone?
• What famous people are buried in Crown Hill cemetery?
• What clues to the past are found in a cemetery?

     Activities:

• Discuss where you would find dead stuff.
• List in your journal what you would find in a cemetery.
• Discuss the meaning of the word “epitaph.”  Give some examples. 
• Discuss some of the well-known people who are buried at Crown Hill cemetery.
• Read an article about John Dillinger.
• Read poetry written by James Whitcomb Riley.
• Read a sample of folklore about Crown Hill cemetery.

• Copy all of the information that is shown on each of five tombstones.
• Copy ten epitaphs that you find interesting or unusual.  Make a crayon etching of one epitaph that you thought was unique.
• Locate the site of five well-known people.  Copy the dates, epitaph, and any other information that is displayed on the marker.
• Sketch at least five different varieties of marker designs.

Burial of the Dead . . . or not - Social Studies

Activity:

Initial Activity - Students will obtain necessary information, and complete a survey based on topics that the students will encounter at the cemetery.

     Vocabulary:

• Cemetery 
• Mausoleum 
• Burial plot 
• Obituary 
• Repository
• Tombstone
• Etching
• Epitaph
• Geneology

      1.  What is a tombstone? 
      2.  What do you want on your tombstone?
      3.  What kind of things do family and friends of the deceased person do?
      4.  Do different people do different things surrounding death?
      5.  Do you think that you can learn something from a cemetery?
      6.  Why do we have cemeteries?
      7.  Have you ever been to a cemetery?
      8.  Was it scary?
      9.  Is there anything "good" about a cemetery?
      10. Can people have fun in a cemetery?
      11. What information contained in an obituary, would be useful to someone living today?

Activity - Students will be encouraged to:

• Follow map directions to a specific site in the cemetery
• Find 3/4 tombstones of gravesites that interest them, read and copy all information; full name, date of birth, date of death, cause of death, etc.