Lesson Overview:
Students identify structures needed for a lighthouse station. Groups of students create structures at a lighthouse station with their bodies. Pairs of students create structures found at the Fenwick Island Lighthouse Station circa 1861. Students write to inform about the importance of the structures on the light station, identify shapes used to create structures, and draw a map of the light station his/her group created.
Length of Lesson:
Three 45-minute periods
Notes:
This lesson is particularly suitable for grades 3-5.
Instructional Objectives:
Students will:
- create structures of a lighthouse station with their bodies.
- identify structures needed for a lighthouse station.
- identify the shapes used to create the structures. Students
will create a map of their group's version of the Fenwick Island light station.
- work in pairs to create the Fenwick Island light station circa 1861 using recycled materials to create the structures.
- write to inform about the importance of the structures on
the Fenwick Island light station.
Supplies:
- Still Camera
- Video Camera
- Videocassettes
- Pencils
- Notebooks/journals
- Scissors
- Glue
- Crayons
- Colored pencils
- Markers
- Graph paper for map making.
- A Light in the Storm by Karen Hesse
- Beacons of Light Lighthouses by Gail Gibbons
- The Lighthouse Book by Michael Berentain
- Mid-Atlantic Lighthouses, Hudson River to the Chesapeake Bay by Ray Jones and Bruce Roberts
- Legendary Lighthouses by John Grant
Instructional Plan:
Warm Up
Lead a class discussion on the structures mentioned in A Light in the Storm. Record these on the board or overhead. (Some structures mentioned include a two-story house, a light tower, a cistern, and Oda Lee's hovel.)
What other buildings might a light station need? (Possible suggestions include, outhouse, chicken coop, boat house, fog signal house, barn, oil storage building.)
Think about shapes needed to create these structures (long rectangle, tall rectangles, cylinders, pyramids, etc.).
Introductory Activity
Divide the class into four groups to identify structures on a lighthouse station and define their uses. They should take notes on the information, as they will create these structures with their bodies, using recycled materials to build the structures, and will write about the structures and create a map. They will stay in these groups for the body and building activities. The information will also be needed for the writing and map activities. (This should take one class period.)
Group 1 researches lighthouse stations using the following Internet sites:
Group 2 researches lighthouse stations using Beacons of Light Lighthouses and The Lighthouse Book, which can be found in the children's section of your local public library.
Group 3 researches lighthouse stations using Mid-Atlantic Lighthouses, Hudson River to the Chesapeake Bay and Legendary Lighthouses, which can be found in the adult section of your local public library.
Group 4 researches lighthouse stations using A Light in the Storm as a reference. The students identify those structures Amelia records in her journal.
Guided Practice
Use your body to model a structure on a light station (i.e., light tower or fog signal building).
Have the groups share information about what structures are found on lighthouse stations. They use their bodies to create the structures. (This should take one class period.)
Each group should create at least four different structures. This
may be done by an individual, pair, or whole group. All members of the group must participate in the final presentation.
Students should also incorporate the use of different levels, movement, and voice in their presentations.
Each structure is identified and its importance to the lighthouse station is reported aloud.
Have the groups identify structures they want to present, and rehearse for thirty minutes.
Have students present structures to the class. The class should take notes on unknown information.
The class should grade the presentations on a scale of 1-4 for the following attributes:
- whole group participated
- group worked cooperatively
- group presented four structures using levels, movement, or voice
- group identifies the structure and importance of its use.
Independent Practice
Discuss with students what they have learned about lighthouse stations from the past activities.
Present a model of a structure created with recycled materials. (This does not have to be a lighthouse but should be recognized as a structure.)
Have students identify the contents of the recycled material, its shape, and where the structure would be located.
Each group should create its own version of the lighthouse station at Fenwick Island, circa 1861, using at least four structures per station.
Have students work in pairs within the group to create the structures. They should use recycled materials provided by the teacher, such as empty cereal and shoe boxes, paper towel tubes, toilet paper tubes, construction paper, cardboard, and yarn. They should also use their own materials such as scissors, glue, pencils, crayons, and markers.
Space should be evenly divided into four areas to display each team's version of the Fenwick Island Lighthouse Station.
Allow students to work for 45 minutes.
Have groups put their structures in the space provided. Use photos or video to record who did the piece and which piece belonged to which group.
Have each pair describe what the structure is, where it goes in relationship to the environment and other structures (by the water, near woods, etc.), and why it goes there.
Have students record their groups' light stations in map form. Instruct the students to complete the Space Shape and Materials Checklist handout.
For homework, instruct students to work on a geometry work sheet identifying space shapes used to create the structure he/she built.
Have the students write-to-inform about the structures on the Fenwick Island Lighthouse Station. Suggest questions such as, "What buildings were found there, and what is the importance and function of each structure to the telling of A Light in the Storm?"
Assessment:
Videotape the body structures. The class grades each team on a scale of 1-4 on the following:
- whole group participation
- group cooperation
- whether the group presented four structures and used levels, movement, and voices
- whether the group identifies the structure and importance of its use
Photograph or videotape each group's final presentation on the recycled materials structures. Graded on a scale of 1-4 on the following:
- pair cooperation
- pair presentation
- pair knowledge of subject
Use photographs or videotape to check the accuracy of the map of a group's site.
Read the write-to-inform essay about the Fenwick Island Lighthouse Station structures. Evaluate for the correct identification of structures on the light station. The accuracy of each one's importance and function in the operation of the lighthouse station at Fenwick Island circa 1861 should also be evaluated. Use local rubrics for writing to inform to complete the assessment.
Use the student-completed Space Shape and Materials Checklist and photograph or video to assess understanding of space shapes used in the recycled student structure.
Extensions:
Students may create other buildings using recycled materials. Students may dance or use their bodies to express other environments in literature or history.
Sources:
Print:
- Barron, Randy. "Scientific Thought in Motion". Professional Development for Teachers. The Kennedy Center, 1997.
- Berentain, Michael. The Lighthouse Book. David McKay Company, Inc., 1979.
- Gibbons, Gail. Beacons of Light Lighthouses. Morrow Junior Books, 1990.
- Glover, David and Haslam, Andrew. Make It Work Building. Action Publishing,
1994.
- Grant, John and Jones, Ray Legendary Lighthouses. The Globe Pequot Press,
1998.
- Graves, Ginny and Riley, John. "Plan and Design a City". Professional Development for Teachers. The Kennedy Center, 2000.
- Grimshaw, Caroline and Hussain, Iqbal. Connections Buildings. World Book;
1997.
- Hesse, Karen. A Light in the Storm. Scholastic, Inc.,1999.
- Jones, Ray and Roberts, Bruce. Mid-Atlantic Lighthouses, Hudson River to Chesapeake Bay. Chelsea House Publishers, 2000.
- Kelner, Lenore Blank. Drama in the Classroom. Heinemann; 1993.
Web:
Authors:
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Mary Beth Bauernschub, Teacher
Kingsford Elementary School
Mitchellville, MD
