The class brainstorms and comes up with additional clues. We discuss and evaluate the clues. Next, I divide my class into cooperative groups of four or five. I give each group a bag or a box with one artifact inside. Each group generates a list of clues for their artifact and groups present their clues to the rest of the class.
Students ask yes-no questions to determine the identity of the object.
As a homework assignment, I ask each student to bring an artifact from home in a bag and to write five clues for that artifact. I remind students that artifacts must safe and appropriate for school. The students present their objects one at a time in front of the class. It gives each child a voice and sets a warm and accepting tone for the rest of the school year. Students create a timeline emphasizing the immense time span between the extinction of dinosaurs and the appearance of early man.