Activity Six Teachers: What Would You Take to Sea?

Instructions for Teachers

Materials:

• Notebook paper and pens or pencils
• A world map or globe

Learner Objectives:

• Demonstrate problem solving.
• Identify the basic human needs for survival.
• Summarize the hazards facing sailors hundreds of years ago.

Procedure:
Arrange students into cooperative working groups (about four or five per group).

After a discussion of the Age of Exploration, explain to the students that they are about to embark on a journey at sea. What items would they need to survive the adventure?

• Have students choose the most important people needed to run a ship (would they want a captain? a cook? a doctor? a navigator? a crewman? all of these people?)
• Have students choose what type of ship they will take their journey in.
• Where are they sailing from and where do they expect to go?
• What food and drink will they take to last the journey
• If they must stop along the way to resupply, where do they plan to get their supplies?
• Will they take extra clothing or bedding?
• How will they maintain hygiene?
• Does the group want ot include medical supplies? What kind of medical supplies do they think they will need?

What scientific/math knowledge would they need to steer the ship?

• Knowledge of navigational instruments and how they are used
• Knowledge of the positions of the sun, moon, and stars
• What sails are best for what type of winds?

What supplies will be needed to keep the ship sailing?

• Rope
• Nails or wooden trunnels
• Kits to repair sails
• Extra wood to make repairs

Give students one class period to accomplish this so that groups can report their findings the next class day.

• Have the captain from each group report their results.
• Have a class discussion on which groups would survive or not survive and why.

Back to Activities