B1CEFRWriting30 min

Writing: Archaeology and Ancient Objects

Archaeology and ancient objects

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How to Use This Lesson

👨‍🏫 For Teachers:

  • Use this 10-minute module to review key vocabulary before starting the writing task.
  • Monitor students as they complete the tasks and check answers together as a class.

🎓 For Learners:

  • First, read each task instruction carefully and look at the target word list.
  • Next, complete exercises A to D to test your sentence building and word choices.

🏺 Module 1: Archaeology Vocabulary Practice

Let's practice key vocabulary about archaeology and ancient objects before we start writing.

Task A: Put the words in the right order

Rewrite the jumbled words to form a correct sentence.

1. Put these words in order:

found / ancient / archaeologists / tomb / an / The
____ (Type the full sentence here...)

2. Put these words in order:

they / deep / to / hole / a / dig / decided
____ (Type the full sentence here...)

3. Put these words in order:

in / hidden / stone / temple / a / was / The / carving
____ (Type the full sentence here...)

4. Put these words in order:

kings / would / inside / bury / their / They / tombs
____ (Type the full sentence here...)

Task B: Fill in the blanks

Complete each sentence using a word from the word bank below.

Word Bank skeleton remains pottery weapon ruin

1. The old castle is now a ____ because only its broken walls are still standing.

2. Scientists found a whole human ____ in the cave, with all of its bones.

3. This broken piece of clay ____ was used for storing olive oil thousands of years ago.

4. The team found a sharp iron ____ that soldiers used in ancient battles.

5. After the war, only a few ____ of the old royal palace were left.

Task C: Choose the correct word

Select the word that best fits each description.

1. Which word means a place where a dead person is buried?

____ a. weapon ____ b. carving ____ c. tomb ____ d. dig

2. Which action means to break up and move earth with tools or hands?

____ a. bury ____ b. dig ____ c. ruin ____ d. remain

3. An object cut out of stone or wood to create a picture or shape is a _____.

____ a. carving ____ b. pottery ____ c. skeleton ____ d. temple

4. A large building used for religious worship in ancient times is called a _____.

____ a. tomb ____ b. weapon ____ c. ruin ____ d. temple

Task D: Match a question to its answer

Match each question on the left to its correct answer on the right.

Available Answers:

Option A: They used picks and brushes to dig carefully into the ground.
Option B: It was probably used to store clean water or food.
Option C: They were buried beneath the floor of the ancient temple.
Question
Option A
Option B
Option C
1. Where were the royal remains discovered?
____Option A ____Option B ____Option C
2. How did the team uncover the delicate pottery?
____Option A ____Option B ____Option C
3. What was the purpose of this large clay container?
____Option A ____Option B ____Option C

✍️ Module 2: School Blog Writing Task

Now it's time to write your blog post. Use the sentence frame and checklist to guide your writing.

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Sentence Example

Look at how we make guesses about the past using evidence:

"The workers can't have finished the road, because it stops in the middle of the field."
Writing Task 100–120 words

Task Instructions

Write a short post for your school or college blog. Write about an old object that you saw in a museum or in a family home. Describe the object, say what you think it was used for, and say how it made you feel.

🖼️ Sentence Frame

Use these starters to organize your ideas:

Last month I saw ...
It was made of ...
I think it must have been ...
It can't have been ... because ...
Somebody might have ...
It made me feel ...

✅ Checklist of Requirements

Make sure your blog post includes all of the following:

✓ The object and where you saw it
✓ Two things about how it looks
✓ One guess with must have
✓ One guess with can't have or might have
✓ One reason for a guess
✓ How you felt

Your Blog Post

AI Graded Assessment

Type your response below (100–120 words). When you finish, submit to receive feedback on Task Achievement, Coherence and Cohesion, Lexical Resource, and Grammatical Range and Accuracy.

____ (Write your blog post here...)

📖 Module 3: Model Writing & Key Phrases

Here is an example blog post to show you how all the sentence starters fit together.

Model Blog Post Length: 114 words

Last month I saw a strange stone bowl at the local history museum. It was made of heavy dark granite with fine carved patterns around the outer rim. I think it must have been an important tool for preparing medicine, as there were small smooth marks inside from grinding seeds. It can't have been a simple cooking pot because it was far too small and beautifully decorated for daily food. Somebody might have used it during special religious ceremonies long ago to mix healing herbs. Seeing this ancient object made me feel amazed by the great skill of craftspeople from the past. I wanted to stay and look at it for a long time.

Why This Works: Useful Phrases

Read these notes to understand how to use the bold phrases in your own post.

must have been Use this when you feel almost certain about a past purpose because of strong clues.
can't have been Use this when clear details make an idea seem impossible.
because it was Use this to link your guess directly to physical evidence you noticed.
might have used Use this to share a creative possibility when you are not completely sure.
made me feel Use this near the end to explain your feelings or thoughts after seeing the item.

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