Lesson Overview:

Students work in teams to design the Fenwick Island Lighthouse using visual, sound, and light patterns. Student teams present designs to class, and the class will assess the presentations. Students work independently to write letters to inform captains about team designs, describing the location, designs, and patterns on Fenwick Island Lighthouse.

Length of Lesson:

Three 45-minute periods

Notes:

This lesson is particularly suitable for grades 5-6.

Instructional Objectives:

Students will:

• create a unique lighthouse visual pattern, sound signal pattern, and light signal pattern and present their designs to the class while working in collaborative teams.
• individually write to inform the captains about the Fenwick Island location, visual design, sound signal pattern, and light signal pattern of his/her team.
• will evaluate each team's designs while serving the role of the Lighthouse Board.

Supplies:

• White paper for drawing
• Percussion equipment: bells, triangles, clappers, wooden boards, plastic tubes, tin whistles, whistles, trumpets, or horns.
• For light: flashlights with batteries enough for each team of three.
• Map of Delaware
• The following books (authors and publishers listed in the Sources section of this document):
  • A Light in the Storm
  • Loud Emily
  • Beacon of Light Lighthouse
  • America the Beautiful
  • Delaware
  • Mid-Atlantic Lighthouses
  • The Lighthouse Book

Instructional Plan:

Warm Up

Read Loud Emily by Alexis O'Neill to the class.

Discuss Emily's gift and the need for a loud voice at sea. How can a loud sound prove helpful on a lighthouse station?

Introductory Activity

Have students copy the following chart off the board into their notebooks:

Lighthouse Design Characteristics:

Visual
Sound
Light
Purpose
History
Technology
Jobs

Read Beacon of Light Lighthouse by Gail Gibbons to students, and have them complete the chart as they listen.

Guided Practice

Have students look at a map of Delaware and locate Fenwick Island.

Discuss with students the need for a lighthouse at this location.

The building of the lighthouse started in 1857, and it was first lit on August 1, 1859. According to Amelia's journal, they have been on the island about a year. Can we assume that they are the first keepers of the light? Why or why not?

Independent Practice

Divide students into teams of three. They may decide if they will each have a job as visual artist, sound artist, or light artist, or if they will work on each aspect of the task as a team.

The visual artist's task is to draw a lighthouse tower and create a visual pattern. The color palette is limited to black, red, white, and gray. Lighthouse books are available for inspiration, but may not be copied.

The sound artist's task is to create a sound signal using musical instruments in the room or any sound-making materials. The pattern must be loud enough to be heard by all in the class and must have a repeated pattern of 20 counts of sound and then no sound. This is to repeat three times in the performance.

The light artist's task is to create a light signal using a flashlight. The light must be visible to all in the class. The pattern must have a time of light and a time of dark for a measure of 20 counts. This is to repeat three times in the performance.

Have students rehearse the presentation of their designs.

For homework, have students write business letters as Keeper Dunne, using the Keeper Dunne's Letter Prompt handout. The letter informs captains of the arrival of the lighthouse, its location, and what to look for in visual, sound, and light patterns. For more information about letter-writing and further student activities, see the lesson, I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Write Someone a Letter on EDSITEment Web site, a National Endowment for the Humanities resource.

Assessment:

Videotape each team's presentation.

Have students assess and evaluate each team's presentation using the Lighthouse Checklist handout. Use student evaluations as the team grades. Each student on the team shares the same grade.

Use the Assessment Rubric analyzing the output from the Keeper Dunne Letter Prompt to assess the students' works.

Extensions:

Using the Lighthouse Heritage Web site, compare lighthouses of today with the lighthouses of 150 years ago. What characteristics are the same? What characteristics are different?

Sources:

Print:

• Berentain, Michael. The Lighthouse Book. David McKay Company, Inc., 1979.
• Brown, Dottie. Delaware. Lerner Publications Company, 1994.
• Colbert, Judy. Maryland and Delaware, Off the Beat and Path, 4^th Edition. The Globe Pequot Press, 1999.
• Coursey, Denise Hawkins and Coursey, Matthew. Frommer's Maryland and Delaware, 3^rd Edition. MacMillan Travel, 1998.
• Gibbons, Gail. Beacons of Light Lighthouses. Morrow Junior Books, 1990.
• Hesse, Karen. A Light in the Storm; Scholastic Inc., 1999.
• Jones, Ray and Roberts, Bruce. MidAtlantic Lighthouses, Hudson River to Chesapeake Bay. Chelsea House Publishers, 2000.
• Kent, Deborah. America the Beautiful, Delaware. Children's Press, 1991.
• O'Neill, Alexis and Carpenter, Nancy (Illustrator). Loud Emily. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 1998.
• Schuman, Michael. Celebrate the States, Delaware. Benchmark Books, 2000.

Authors:

• Mary Beth Bauernschub, Teacher
  Kingsford Elementary School
  Mitchellville, MD