Designed as a skills driven unit, From Wood to Steel takes the students on a "tour" of United States Naval history.  The Toolkit contains lessons, activities and assessments that can be broken off into 1 day, a few days or a week long unit. 

Standards Tapestry Files

Assessment Rationale

Standards

USH 9.1

USH 9.2

USH 1.2

USH 3.9

USH 3.10

USH 1.3

USH 1.5

USH 3.1

USH 5.9

USH 6.8

USH 7.3

USH 8.2

Quiz

x

PowerPoint Presentation

X

X

x

x

x

Journal

X

X

Vocabulary "Word Wall"

x

x

Venn Diagram

Video Guide Paper

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

Web Assignment

X

X

Historical Résumé

X

X

Position Paper

x

x

Primary Documents

x

x

Simualtion

x

Timeline

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

"Jigsawing" a document

x

x

x

Short Story

x

x

x

Text Rendering Experience

x

x

Essay Response

x

Discussion or Deliberation

x

Fieldtrip

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

Learning Stations

x

Webquest

x

x

Standards	English 10.4.4	English 10.4.5	English 10.4.6	English 10.4.9	English 10.4.11	English 10.4.12	English 10.5.4	English 10.7.4	Math A2.10.1	Math A2.10.2	Math A2.10.6
Quiz
PowerPoint Presentation
Journal			X
Vocabulary "Word Wall"
Venn Diagram	X	X	X	X	X	X	X	X
Video Guide Paper
Web Assignment
Historical Résumé
Position Paper											X
Primary Documents
Simualtion			X						X	X
Timeline
"Jigsawing" a document
Short Story
Text Rendering Experience
Essay Response
Discussion or Deliberation											X
Fieldtrip
Learning Stations
Webquest

Humanities-rich Resources

Name	URL (if any)	Annotation
Launching the New U.S. Navy	http://www.archives.gov/education/lessons/new-us-navy/	This resource tells how and why our Navy was created. After the Revolutionary War, Barbary pirates preyed on American vessels and held seamen for ransom. In 1794, Congress reestablished the Navy with authorization for six vessels.
Naval Historical Center	http://www.history.navy.mil/	Official U.S. Navy web site
Pearl Harbor Raid	http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/events/wwii-pac/pearlhbr/pearlhbr.htm	Includes information about battleships at Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941.

 

Instructional Plan

From Wood to Steel is designed to be a work in progress.  Think of this as a survey unit.  Bits and pieces will stand alone and work well in K-8 or High School classrooms.  The motive for this unit comes out of a curiosity about the sea and ships as well as a desire for a deeper understanding as the impact navies have had (and will have) on the history of international relations. The school year “thread”, Importance of Naval Development in History, is the tie-that-binds for the 2005-2006 school year.  Throughout the year United States and World History units will be connected to this introductory unit.  The entire unit including the fieldtrip, simualtion and all activities, may take four school weeks to complete.  The focus of this unit is to introduce skills (especially research and presentation) and the production of tangible items.  Many learning styles are addressed throughout the various activities.  As with any lesson, some will enjoy certain tasks more than others.  Please feel free to experiment!  I ask one thing; please share your new ideas!

Instructional Day	Description
Day 1	Bell ringer activity: Journal entry  -Describe or draw a ship. Activity #1: Brainstorming session  -Why does the U.S. Navy exist? Activity #2: Deliberate  -Does America need warships?                        -“All Hands on Deck” thematic unit activity.  page 22                        -Text rendering experience: www.ourdocuments.gov Activity #3: Intro Ship class presentation: PowerPoint                               -Show how a particular class or name of ship changes over time.                               -Include uses, weapons, materials, cost, number of people, historical highlights                               -Include a U.S. History timeline or “Meanwhiles” for comparison.                                 -Students will create a list of the number of slides and content. Activity #4: Intro Historical Résumé                             -select an individual from US Naval or marine history  Historical Résumé evaluation: graded individually for the following:   Content = 0-25pts; Grammar = 0-15pts.; Format = 0-10pts.
Days 2 & 3	Bell ringer activity: Journal entry  -Describe your possible PowerPoint & Résumé ideas. Activity #1: The United States Navy: history  -Video presentation Activity #2: Create a timeline showing the history of the US Navy.
Day 4	Bell ringer activity: Journal entry -If you could only buy a ship, what would you buy? Activity #1: Early US Navy: focus on technology, famous ships & leaders  -Jigsawing a document                         -Revolution Activity #2: Barbary Pirates & War of 1812 (USS Constitution)                         -Show “All Hands on Deck”: 19 minute video.                        -Write a first person short story about an adventure that may have occurred on a sailing ship.
Day 5	Bell ringer activity: Journal entry -PowerPoint & Résumé ideas revisited. Activity #1: U.S. Civil War Navies: focus on technology, famous ships & leaders                        -Ironclads: PowerPoint  Activity #2: “Critical Friends”: Chalktalk
Day 6	Bell ringer activity: Journal entry -There's a bully in your neighbourhood.  What do you do? Activity #1: Great White Fleet & Spanish American War: focus on technology, famous ships & leaders                                     -show “America Becomes a World Power” (15 minutes)                                                 -Evaluation: Video sheet Activity #2: “Critical Friends” -Text rendering experience                         -Excerpts from Indy News referring to the USS Indiana (from the Indiana State Library)
Day 7	Bell ringer activity: Journal entry -PowerPoint & Résumé research status. Activity #1: World War I: focus on technology, famous ships & leaders                                     -Show “History of the Battleship” (up to Dreadnought only)                         Evaluation: Video sheet & Essay question                                     -What “new technologies” made Dreadnought possible? Activity #2: Discuss technology, famous ships & leaders
Day 8	Bell ringer activity: Journal entry -The house next door is on fire.  What actions do you take? Activity #1: World War II: focus on technology, famous ships & leaders                         -Show excerpts from “Tech Effect: Pearl Harbor”                         -USS Indianapolis  Activity #2: Hands-on Learning Stations                         -Models, artifacts, photos
Day 9	Bell ringer activity: Journal entry -PowerPoint & Résumé creation explanation. Activity #1: Modern U.S. Navy: focus on technology, famous ships & leaders                        - Popular Mechanics Video clips  Activity #2: Webquest                         -http://www.bluejacket.com/humor_navylife.html#mod1
Day 10	Field trip: War Memorial, USS Indianapolis & Medal of Honor                         -Field trip sheet
Day 11	PowerPoint completion
Day 12