Goals:

To experience first hand the building of a ship.

To demonstrate what the students have learned about ship building by documenting these ideas in their journals.

Content Areas:

Science - construction of a ship, properties of ship building such as buoyancy

History - models of ships from our past

Language Arts - journal

Literature - Robinson Crusoe

Materials:

Transportation to and from ship building company

Chaperones

Journals and pens/pencils

Pre-written questions that each student must bring

Defoe, Daniel. (1945). Robinson Crusoe. New York: Heritage Press.

Procedure: (5 hours)

1) Read either chapter 5 or 14 in Robinson Crusoe. Choose the chapter that is about Crusoe and his experience with building a canoe. (The chapter will be either 5 or 14 based on which edition of the book you have available). Read the chapter aloud to allow students to begin thinking about various ship building processes. A small class discussion of the events of the chapter may help to lead students into the following brainstorming activity.

2) Before leaving for the ship building company, students will brainstorm questions for the engineers and will develop five questions to ask the personnel at the company.

3) Travel to the ship building company.

4) During the tour and demonstration, require students to jot down new pieces of information in their journals. By the end of the day they must have recorded at least five specific pieces of information regarding shipping, including topics like buoyancy, hull construction, materials used, vocabulary, etc.

5) Most likely, the ship building company will be located near a port. Take students down by the port to study the different styles and types of boats. If not available, the company may have models or illustrations the teacher may use for discussion. Discuss why boats are made differently, and discuss the purpose of different types of ships. This discussion will lead into tomorrow's activity.

6) Give students time to complete their journal entry upon completion of the trip.

Assessment:

The journal serves as the means of assessment for the trip. Also, students are required to bring at least five questions with them on the field trip. These questions should also be recorded in the journal. Criteria for success: Students will be successful if they have five questions in their journals preceding the trip and if they record at least five things they have learned upon completion of the trip.

Extensions:

Students draw sketches of boats they see at the ship building company.

Students write to other companies to receive even more information.

Back to Week 2 - Day 3

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