Goals:

1. Students will demonstrate an understanding of some of the various types of ships and their parts.
2. Students will develop research and Internet usage skills.
3. Students will develop teamwork and cooperative learning skills.

Resources:

1. Information of different types of ship

   
   For Example:

    Blackman, Raymond V. B. [1965]. Jane's Fighting Ships, 1965-66. New York: McGraw-Hill.

   Garzke, William H. & Dulin, Robert O. [1980]. Battleships. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press.

   Jane, Fred T. (editor) [1969]. Jane's Fighting Ships 1914. New York: Arco Publishing Company, Inc.

   Macaulay, David. [1993]. Ship. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company.

   Martinez-Hidalgo, Jose Maria. [1966]. Columbus' Ships. Barre, MA: Barre Publishers.

   Zeitlin, Richard. [1988]. The U.S.S. Wisconsin: A History of Two Battleships. Madison: State Historical Society of Wisconsin.
    

2. Internet access

   
   Possible Sites:

   http://www.apparent-wind.com/sailing-page.html
   http://www.novagate.com/%7Eschoonerman/tall.htm
   http://www.pictac.com/%7Ekevin/harbors/links.htm
   http://www.islandnet.com/%7Ewestisle/nautical.html
    
3. Poster board
4. Information on report construction (For example: Kirszner & Mandell. [1992]. The Holt Handbook. Fort Worth, TX: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich)

Time required for lesson:

15 hours (Step 1 [1 1/2 hours]; Step 2 [1 hour]; Step 3 [3 hours]; Step 4 [2 hours]; Step 5 [2 hours]; Step 6 [2 hours]; Step 7 [1 hour]; Step 8 [2 hours]; Step 9 [1/2 hour])

Procedure:

1. The teacher introduces the students to library research techniques.  A review of Internet search techniques should be included in this instruction.  Allow each student to pick up a certain kind of ship and do some preliminary research on that type of ship (or general research on boats using the attached sheet as a guide).
2. The students will share with the class, the various types of ships they found and a short description of them.  Write these different types of ships on the board. Depending on the size of the class, the students will vote on a certain number of different types of ships that they would like to research in more depth.
3. Divide the students into teams depending on the number of different types of boats chosen.  A student who did preliminary research on that type of boat should be in the corresponding group if possible.  These students can then help the other members of the group become "experts" on that type of boat.  More extensive research is also conducted by each member of the group on the characteristics, history, and uses of the ship.  Both traditional library resources and the Internet should be used.
4. Each group will construct a detailed drawing of their ship, including a cross-sectional view.  Scale should be as near to correct as possible.  The final product should be on poster board to use as a visual aid.
5. Each group should compile a rough draft of a report on their ship based on the research they have conducted.
6. Each group exchanges reports with another group for peer editing.
7. Each group reworks the report into a final draft based on self and peer editing.  The students should, as a class, discuss and formalize a rubric to assess the performance on the writing skills section of this lesson.  The rubric should be used by the instructor as well as the peer editors.  This will allow the students to appreciate the structure and content of a good report, and give them guidelines for writing the paper.  The teacher might use The Holt Handbook  for a reference source.
8. With the newfound expertise on the various types of ships, each group devises and presents a lesson on their type of ship.  The lesson should include a drawing of the ship, where and how the ship is used, some historical background on the ship, and any other details the students deem important.  The lessons should be 15-20 minutes long (at the teacher's discretion).  If the groups think that an assessment should be made of what the student have learned (i.e. worksheets, quizzes, etc.) the teacher should allow for some flexibility.
9. Each student should complete a written reflection that summarizes what he or she has learned about the different types of ships and about library research.  Students should be encouraged to include their thoughts on the value of cooperative learning and peer editing.

Assessment:

1. Each group will turn in their report and visual aid.  (Criteria for success: The report should follow the student devised rubrics. The visual aid has an X# of parts of the ship correctly labeled and is relatively neat.)
2. Each team member evaluates the contributions of his or her fellow team members using rubric. (Criteria for success: Each team member has made a significant contribution to the team.)
3. Each student shows an understanding of the different types of ships in his or her written reflection. (Criteria for success: The student can identify and X# of characteristics of the various kinds of ships.)

Subjects and Major Concepts Covered:

1. Language Arts

   
   - Research skills
   - Report construction
   - Written reflection of concepts learned
   - Interpersonal communication (small group work, presentations)

2. Social Studies

   
   - Different types of ships - their characteristics, histories, uses

3. Mathematics

   
   - Constructing a drawing to scale

Possible Extensions:

1. Have the students construct a model of their type of ship.
2. Many areas have a maritime museum or a waterfront available.  If possible, tour one or several of the ships.

Back to Curriculum Outline

WaveCrest - developed be Tina Huss, Alenne Grabowski, Mike Pable, & Francis M. Redmon

This page submitted by St. Norbert College Ocean Voyagers Program