Picture courtesy of www.flr.follett.com
How
I Became a Pirate
The Journey Continues
For Pirate’s Treasure
A GPS Web byte designed for 5th graders to incorporate with second
grade buddies
Picture
courtesy of www.flr.follett.com
Part
One: Task Definition
As fifth graders,
your second grade buddy class is currently reading How I Became a Pirate by
Melinda Long. This delightful story
is about a boy named Jeremy Jacobs who joins notorious pirate Braid Beard and
his group of pirates and ends up burying treasure in Jeremy’s backyard.
Another pirate is on the loose and is after the treasure!
As fifth graders you will be working in teams of three to reclaim the
treasure, rebury the treasure, and design a treasure hunt geocache for your
second grade buddies.
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Part Two: Information Seeking Strategies
There is so much to do and you must act quickly. Think
about a plan for the following tasks:
1.
Have your teacher read How I Became a Pirate by Melinda Long to give you the same
background knowledge.
2.
Reclaim the treasure. (Your
teacher will help you here).
3.
Divide the treasure into ten equal parts as a class.
4.
Bury the treasure in ten different places somewhere on the campus of
Mukilteo Elementary.
5.
Using your GPS system design four waypoints and written clues to lead a
team of three second grade students to the treasure cache using basic geography
mapping.
6.
Claim and split the cache with you and your three second grade students.
What strategies will you use to get all five tasks completed
successfully?
Part
Three: Locating and Accessing Information
1.
You will be working in selective teams of three.
2.
You may use your GPS location device, as well as a computer to type up
your clues. (We will write a clue together as a class and each team member will
come up with one additional clue).
3.
You must think of four unique and safe sites on the Mukilteo Elementary
campus that will give you a “wave point” on your GPS and walk your buddy
into a basic direction (North, South, East, or West).
Use this list
to get you started.
4.
You must design four written clues that will successfully lead your
student to Jeremy Jacob’s treasure and that second graders will understand
using basic navigation and the GPS unit. (Hint:
You will need to hide your cache on different parts of the campus that your
buddies will find it at the end).
Part
Four: Using the Information
Now that you have
found your team, have decided on four waypoints using basic compass directional
points of North, South, East or West, it is time to write your clues. Your clues need to be written so that a second grade student
would understand. Your clues can be
written in rhyme or, a secret code in which a second grader would be able to
figure it out based on the clues. You might want to give some sort of landmark
that would help your buddy be successful.
Here’s a sample clue that we will all use as a starting point when we
work with our second grade buddies:
Ahoy
Second Grade Mates!
The time is near, and we are full of a bit of fear.
For Braid Beard has gone on another route, but another pirate has come
and taken your loot. Out of Jeremy’s backyard and out of sight, and you
didn’t have time to say good-bye.
Your
fifth grade friends are here to save the day, with a compass and some GPS clues
which won’t leave you a stray.
Be fast and hopefully you’ll find the pirate’s treasure that will be
yours and mine.
Head
sixty paces to the West out the door, your fifth grade buddy will be there to
guide you to more. Act swift and smart and do your best, with your knowledge of
geography and using your GPS.
Your
clues do not need to be this long, but have enough information so that your
student is in control of the decision making and learning.
When you finish, you will want to go outside and test your clues with
your GPS. Good luck!
Part
Five: Synthesizing
You have found
your waypoints, created clues to get to your treasure cache, and have tested out
your product; it is time to take your second grade buddies on your treasure
geocache hunt. Your classroom buddy just had How
I Became a Pirate by Melinda Long read to them. Please remember to be
safe, responsible, and have fun. Please
take mental notes of how your buddies work with you.
Part
Six: Evaluating/Rubric
Congratulations! If you have completed the project,
assess yourself on the rubric and complete the self-reflection.
Teacher
Page
This web byte has been designed for students who
already have a basic sense of how to use a GPS unit.
Students must understand what a waypoint is, how to mark it, and how to
travel in a direction according to the recommendation of the GPS unit. It is important to be present for supervision purposes and to
make sure students are safely finding caches as well as troubleshooting GPS
units that may go on the brink.
The
goal of this project is to have 5th grade students mentor 2nd
grade students using basic geographic navigational skills in locating several
mini clues and eventually a cache at the end of this adventure.
Timeline
for This Project
This project could be completed in one day, or in a series of three days.
Refer to the table below for guidance.
|
Day
One |
Day
Two |
Day
Three |
||
|
Teams
of three and expectations: |
Determining
GPS waypoints and marking them into your GPS unit: |
Writing
clues, editing clues, and checking clues against your GPS unit with your
team: |
Walking
your second graders through this treasure hunt: |
Evaluating,
reflecting, and debriefing: |
Pirate’s
Treasure
You will need to decide what you want for the
pirate’s treasure. In addition,
you might want to have a box or two of Ziploc bags so that students can hide
their clues and eventually the pirate’s treasure.
Your
treasure can be many things. You
can have a healthy snack, candy, pencils, or small toys.
Please make sure you check with the teacher you are partnering with so
that you have enough “booty” to go around so you won’t be short.
Rubric
There is a rubric and self reflection that students can complete on-line.
You can also correct it through your visual casel account if you are a
teacher in the Mukilteo School District.
EALR’s
for this project based off of 5th Grade Geography Benchmarks
v
1.1
Use
and construct maps, charts, and other resources to gather and interpret
geographic information
v
1.1.1a
Examine a variety of maps to describe basic mapping elements. (Location)
v
1.1.b
Use basic mapping elements to construct a map that displays information about
school grounds, a neighborhood, or a local community (Location, Place)
v
1.2 Recognize spatial patterns on Earth’s surface and understand the processes
that create these patterns
v
1.2.1a
Locate places, major physical features, and human spatial patterns using maps,
globes, and other sources (Location, Place, Region)
Credits
Created 2005 ©
By: Stephanie Wilson
Mukilteo Elementary/Library Media Specialist
Special Thanks to James Everett and his ESD 189/ GPS class for insight to this
project.
How
I Became a Pirate
by Melinda Long and Illustrated by David Shannon is available through Follett
Resources. http://www.flr.follett.com
Rubric created and
adapted by Rubristar. http://rubistar.4teachers.org/
For more information on
the fine art of geocaching visit:
