Day 2

Goals:

1. Students will build on activities of the previous week by planning a boat trip from one island to another.

2. Students will learn to apply geometric concepts to ocean travel.

3. Students will learn basic measuring skills by planning trips throughout the Caribbean region.

Time:

90 minutes to 120 minutes

Resources:

rulers, pens, protractors, compasses, calculators, gymnasium, tape measures, yarn (several colors), scissors.

Procedure:

1. Go to gymnasium and use the grid system as used from previous weeks' exercises.

2. Students will plan several hypothetical trips to several different islands originating from their own home island (refer to lesson plan: Choosing island and mapping skills week 1).

3. After planning these trips, each group will use a different color yarn to connect their travel points in the Caribbean.

4. After the groups have laid down a minimum of two travel points in their color of yarn, students will have to identify all the shapes outlined by the colored yarn.

5. After the students have identified the geometric shapes outlined by the colored yarn, they will be asked to identify the several angles which make up their travel points.

6. Now students will calculate the distance between their travel points and determine how far they have traveled. They will do these calculations of distance in the standard and metric systems and additionally in nautical miles.

7. The students will then fill out an activity sheet based on the three concepts above: geometric shapes, angles, and computation of angles.

Assessment:

Students will be assessed by how well they were able to complete the activity sheet they were given. The students must hand in the sheet after the activity so it can be corrected by the teacher and handed back so the students can see how well they performed the activity. The activity sheet will incorporate all the concepts discussed in this lesson and the students will demonstrate their knowledge by completing the activity sheet.

Curricular Strands:

Math - geometry, measurement, angles

Background Knowledge - schema

Art - yarn activity

Possible Extensions:

Perform real calculations by taking the class outside and actually having students walk somewhere and then measure that distance in meters and in feet. Also measure the angles and determine the shapes they have walked. Play a game that requires students to kick a ball. Have them measure the distance traveled and also convert the distance traveled into feet and meters. Take out a map and allow the students the opportunity to find out how far they live from school in kilometers and in miles. Students can put pins in a map that shows where they live and from this, small pieces of string can be attached to several points that form geometric shapes. Allow the students the opportunity to identify these shapes.

Navigation Activity Sheet:

Student must fill out all parts of this activity sheet to receive any credit. Once completed, hand it in so it can be checked over for correctness. If any part is incorrect, the sheet will be given back to student to make correction. The goal of this activity is to make sure all students know how to calculate angles and identify geometric shapes.

Step 1. Identify three geometric shapes outline by the color of strings and identify the color. for example: The red strings are in the shape of a triangle.

1.

2.

3.

Step 2. Identify all of the angles that make up the geometric designs you just chose. For example: The red strings have the angles of 90 degrees, 45 degrees, and 45 degrees.

1.

2.

3.

Step 3. Students must calculate the distance of one string that outlines part of a trip (for convenience, the teacher may wish to select one route so it is easier to check all of the students answers.) For example, from the start of the red string to the first angle, the distance is 123 miles. The students will be expected to be able to convert this into kilometers.

1. Miles:

2. Kilometers:

3. Nautical Miles:

This page submitted by St. Norbert College Ocean Voyagers Program