Cruise Into Learning
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1 Cruise into Learning Branson Belle Table Rock Lake Curriculum with Unit Plan Spring 2016 Robert Patton 2 Index Title Page Page 1 Index Page 2 Curriculum Description Page 3 Goals of the Unit Page 4 Cruise into Learning for Educators Page 7 Lesson 1 (History of the Branson Belle) Page 9 Lesson 2 (Characteristics of the Branson Belle) Page 15 Lesson 3 (History of Table Rock Lake) Page 23 Lesson 4 (The Effects of Pollution on Waterways) Page 28 Lesson 5 (Hydropower) Page 34 3 Curriculum Description Cruise into learning is designed for students currently in the grades of 5th through 8th. This curriculum is intended to engage students in the learning of Riverboats and Table Rock Lake. Optional bonuses are implemented to allow education in the studies of Nature, Usage of Lakes, Ozarks History, Geographical Formations, Engineering, Environmental Protection, and Hydro- Power. Six major goals guided the development of this curriculum. The curriculum is designed to Actively engage the students and allow them to understand the use of Riverboats and the history of Table Rock Lake. Permit them to use new and exciting critical thinking skills, needed in future secondary levels of education, to research, learn, and ascertain aspects of importance of subject matter outside the classroom. Provide substantive work in important areas of history, geography, reading, vocabulary, measurement, and problem solving skills. This includes a connection among the above- mentioned areas. Emphasize reasoning about history, geography, and travel. Communicate new active content and pedagogy to teachers. Engage the range of learners in understanding of a variety of classroom subjects outside the normal classroom. Underlying these goals are three guiding principles that are touchstones for this curriculum team as we approach both students and teachers as agents of their own learning: 1. Students have historical and imaginative ideas. Students come to school with ideas about history, geography, numbers, shapes, measurements, patterns, and data. If given the opportunity to learn in an environment that stresses making sense of history and allowing them a “hands on” experience, students build on the ideas they already have and learn about new information they may have never encountered inside the classroom. They learn historical and geographical content and develop a fluency and skill that is well grounded in meaning. Students learn that they are capable of having new and important ideas, applying what they know to new situations, and thinking and reasoning about unfamiliar philosophies. 2. Teachers are engaged in ongoing learning about history, geography, content, pedagogy, and student learning. The curriculum provides material and strategies for professional development, to be used by teachers individually or in groups that supports teachers' continued learning as they use the curriculum. 3. Teachers collaborate with the students and curriculum materials to create the optional lesson plans and curriculum as enacted in the classroom. The only way for a good 4 curriculum to be used well is for teachers to be active participants in implementing it. Teachers use the curriculum to maintain a clear, focused, and coherent agenda for history instruction. At the same time, they observe and listen carefully to students, try to understand how they are thinking, and make teaching decisions based on those observations. Goals of the Unit Unit Goals: 1. All students will discover and compare different information on what they know about paddleboats. 2. Each student will use a provided reading to discover and articulate the history of paddleboats and the Branson Belle. 3. Students will participate in a cruise of Table Rock Lake aboard the Branson Belle and continually document what they have learned. 4. All students will discover and explore various characteristics of the Branson Belle. 5. All students will examine and determine when, why, where, and how Table Rock Lake was formed. 6. Each student will compare and contrast, the purpose that Table Rock Lake serves. 7. Each student will hypothesize and explain their observations of the lake and nature by completing a Nature Report Card. 8. Each student will use available resources to illustrate and express their thoughts on the effects of pollution on waterways. 9. All students will discover and explore how others help maintain Table Rock Lake. 10. All Students will complete a short multiple choice assessment of material learned. 11. Students will analyze and identify how hydroelectric facilities use water pressure. 12. All students will work in small groups to discover and discuss how water pressure, the flow of the water, and distance using gravitational force creates electricity. Scope and Sequence: This unit covers an Introduction into Cruise into Learning and ranges from the construction of the riverboat Branson Belle to the History of Table Rock Lake. This History is examined and discussed in this unit with the greatest emphasis placed on exploration of riverboats, topographical formations and engineering. Particular focus is on the various aspects of an era of steam, travel, culture and the socialization of people from the period of the late 19th century. Upon completion Students should be able to understand how people from this era in the United States lived and how the invention of the paddle and riverboat had a direct impact on American culture and reflects similarities as well as differences. This unit is designed to give each educator the option of choosing between two lessons in each area, that are relevant and closely related to current or future material to be covered in the classroom. By allowing the teacher a choice, this also gives them the ability to engage the students’ needs and desires of learning. Material the students find interesting allows for greater use of imaginative learning. 5 The first lessons goal is to explore the Branson Belle. This can be done by a simple excursion or cruise on the Belle. This portion of the visit will explain and examine how the riverboat was constructed. This lesson also invites the student to learn about culture during the late 19th century and the history behind the use of paddleboats on our nation’s rivers. The students actively interact with the vessel and are taken out for a cruise and explore life on a paddleboat. It contains two options or learning venues for the educator to pursue. Lesson two examines Table Rock Lake, its formation, use, and purpose. Examining the Table Rock Dam located on a nature trail within walking distance of the Branson Belle allows for the completion of this entire unit in a one day visit. As the students walk the trail, they remain in constant view of the lake, the shoreline and the vegetation surrounding the area. The history and location of the lake and the beauty of its setting will captivate the students allowing them an active visual understanding of the importance of nature, water, and geography. This lesson also contains two options or learning venues for the educator to instruct. Lesson three explores the Dewey Short Visitor Center near Table Rock Dam. It is referred to the “crown jewel” of Table Rock Lake. Exhibits at the visitor center include a state- of-the-art interactive map of Table Rock Lake, beautiful artistic wall murals, and a replica of an Ozarks bluff complete with local flora and fauna. A Native American artifact exhibit and Ozarks dioramas are fascinating features of the interpretive center. An interactive water safety exhibit demonstrates the importance of wearing a life jacket, and an expansive cut-away model reveals the inner workings of a hydroelectric dam. This lesson also contains two options or learning venues for the educator to instruct. The sequence of this unit is certainly flexible and can preferably be completed in an order which begins at either the Branson Belle or the Visitor Center. Time of day, number of participants and weather will dictate the order of instruction. Portions of this material should be covered by the educator in the home classroom, prior to your visit. This will help to facilitate the large amount of data covered. The lesson closes with a form of assessment for the educator. This assessment will be in the form of an informal or formal assessment on the material covered and will also contain options for each educator to determine what best suits the learning of their students. As with any properly designed curriculum, each student is expected to demonstrate and expand upon the knowledge they have gained throughout the day by expounding in an assessment which can be designed and administered by the home educator at the students school of origin. Subjects/Disciplines in Curriculum: Branson Belle: Ozarks History History of Paddleboat: History/Science Table Rock Lake: Geography/Science Hydro-Power: Geography/Science/Engineering Environmental Protection: Geography/Science Class Makeup: This unit plan is directed for students within a relatively varied socioeconomic status. These lessons are designed for students with a variety of religious and ethnic backgrounds. Each individual lesson is written and designed for a classroom size of 30 however they are also 6 flexible enough to accommodate more or less students. All facilities, to include the Branson Belle and the Dewey Short Visitors Center, are designed for students of all physical abilities, are safe, and open to the public. The Dewey Short Visitors Center 7 Cruise into Learning For Educators Introduction: There are few things more intriguing and mystifying to a child than a ride on a paddleboat, especially the historic paddleboat Branson Belle. There's something about the sound of the whistle, the turn of the paddlewheel, and the running of engines designed to propel a large vessel that truly captivates the imagination. Children of all ages feel a connection almost as soon as they get on board. The Showboat Branson Belle was constructed at its port at White River Landing on the outskirts of Branson, Missouri and was launched on August 12, 1994.