Goals:
1. Use critical thinking skills to solve a complex problem. (Reading and finding locations that were mentioned in the text, on the map.) 2. Use clues from the book The Slave Dancer,a standard world atlas, and the student’s critical thinking skills to solve a complex problem (Trace Jessie’s voyage on The Moonlight).
3. Use math skills and mapping skills to solve a problem (measure various distances in the voyage by using the scale on the map).
4. Expand student knowledge of the ocean regions in the Atlantic from the coast of New Orleans to the coast of Africa.
5. Work cooperatively and effectively with other students to solve a problem.
Resources:
1. A classroom set of The Slave Dancer by Paula Fox (1970). New York, NY: Yearling books. (ISBN- 0440-22739-9). 2. Detailed maps of the Gulf of Mexico and coastal regions of Cuba and Africa. An atlas of the world would also be beneficial for information.
3. Worthwhile Internet sites include:
* The National Imagery and Mapping Agency at http://www.nima.mil
* The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Admissions Office of Coastal Survey at http://chartmaker.ncd.noaa.govl for information on the ordering of nautical charts.
Time:
Not including the time to read the novel, this lesson will require 2-3 hours of class time. This time frame depends on where and what points you have the students identify on the route, and also where you choose to end the route (at the port where the slaves were picked up, where the boat was shipwrecked, or all the way back to the United States). The length of the lesson also depends on if you choose to have the students calculate the distance traveled round trip, half way, or simply to the point where The Moonlight was shipwrecked.
Introduction Activity, Prior to reading the book:
Write the word slave ship on the board or on an overhead projector. Allow the students to brainstorm what comes to mind when they see these words. From their list, generate a discussion of life aboard a slave ship.
Possible discussion questions:
What were the conditions like? What were the responsibilities of the crew?
For what were the slaves traded?
What was the survival rate for the crew and the "cargo"?
What were the American laws for importing slaves?
What were the British and the Spanish positions on the importing of slaves?
Procedure:
1. Read The Slave Dancer.
2. Divide the class into groups of four to six students.
3. Each team of students should identify as many clues as possible from the novel which provide them with an indication of the route The Moonlight traveled on its voyage to Africa (and its return voyage, if you choose). For this procedure, each student in the group could be assigned to one or two chapters to read and search out clues that help to indicate the path of the ship.
4. Each necessary team will then use photocopied maps of the U. S. Coast and the Gulf of Mexico, the Cuban coast, and the African coast or a world atlas. A world map or globe would help the students see the route of the ship in its entirety.
5. Have each of the student teams identify specific locations on the map that they found in the novel. Some examples of locations include the following:
Where Jessie began his journey.
Any of the places where the crew stopped, either at a port or in the water due to the wind speed.
Where the crew picked up the slaves.
Where the captain attempted to sell the slaves.
Where the crew became shipwrecked.
Where Ras and Jessie ended up on shore.
6. After each student team has finished tracing the route they believe Jessie and The Moonlight traveled and have identified some of the important landmarks of the journey, have the teams present their findings of route and locations to the class.
7. The lesson can be ended here or the students can now use the key on the map to measure various distances Jessie traveled while on The Moonlight. The entire distance of the voyage can be measured or just specific distances such as the distance to the African port where the slaves were loaded onto the ship. The distances can also be measured in nautical miles and/or kilometers.
8.When the teams are finished with their measurement calculations these findings can also be shared with the class.
Assessment:
Each student team must turn in a record of the clues they identified in the novel that assisted them in tracing the journey of Jessie and The Moonlight. Each team must have 90% of the clues identified for a successful completion of this aspect of the assignment. Each student team must turn in their copy of the map or maps with their hypothesized route of The Moonlight clearly indicated. This map should also have the specific points that were to be identified (Where the voyage began, stops, where the slaves were loaded, where the slaves were supposed to be sold, where the boat was shipwrecked, ect...) For a successful map, 85-90% of the locations need to be identified and the route needs to correspond with the clues identified from the novel.
Each student team must turn in an explanation of how they found the distances The Moonlight traveled and must also identify what these distances were (in miles and kilometers or both). For successful completion of this aspect, the explanation of how the group calculated the distance must be accurate and the numbers used should match their explanation.
Each team member must submit an evaluation of the contribution of every member of the team. For a successful experience, each member must have made a substantial contribution to the team. See, peer evaluation rubric, group evaluation rubric, and self evaluation rubric.
Curricular Strands and Major Concepts:
Language Arts- Use of the clues from the novel as the base of the activities. The students learn to analyze the information from the novel critically as they read and reread the text. Interpersonal communication among fellow group members and the class as a whole. Science- Learning about how the wind and the weather conditions affected the travel plans (speed and distance traveled) of the crew of The Moonlight.
Math- Calculation of distance, estimation, addition, measurement, scales.
Social Studies- Geography of the Atlantic coastal regions. Map reading and calculations. Navigation.
Extensions:
Discussion of how the student teams differed in clues found in the novel, path choice, and calculation of the distances. Gather information about map-making and map design in the 1800’s-1840’s. Have the students create a map in a design similar to the types of maps used in 1840 (when the story was set) showing the route that Jessie and the crew most likely traveled.
On this recreated map, create scales and calculate the number of miles Jessie and the crew traveled while on The Moonlight.
Research nautical devices, procedures, and ships used in the 1840’s.
"Clues" from the text:
"Lake Borgne" (p 14) "To Africa (Whydah in the Bight of Benin)" (p 21)
"Islands of the West Indes" (p 29)
"African Coast, Cuba, New Orleans" (p 30)
"Coast of Florida...Passed through straits that separated it from Cuba" (p 35)
"Cape Palmas-off windward coast" (p 59)
"Sao’ tome’, a Portuguese island south, then west along the equator, then north east as far as Cape Verde Islands, Northeast Tradewinds, Waters of Cuba" (p 60)
"1000 miles to Doldrums" (p 60)
"Cape Verde" (p 74)
"Gulf of Guinea" (p 81)
"Anchor in the Bight of Benin" (p 47)
"North East Trades" (p 88)
"Havana" (p 95)
"Mississippi" (p 114)
"Cuban Shore" (p 96)