History Ages 8 to 11 Let’s play archaeologists. Here is an engaging timeline activity that will add fun to learning about ancient civilisations and give your pupils a feel for archaeology. Bring some plastic bags, each filled with a smashed clay flower pot (one for each group of three). Ask pupils to reconstruct each pot using drafting tape so they can take it apart to put in the difficult pieces. An outdoor variation of this activity is to cordon off three or four patches of field (or use sandboxes) and have them excavate the broken pots using simple digging tools such as spades and brushes to gently remove dirt from the pieces. Once back in the classroom, pupils can proceed with reconstructing the flower p * John Skinner is a teacher at St Aubyn’s School in Woodford Green, Essex