Research the development of boats and ships, changes in their power sources, changing length of voyages, the history of regattas and the life of seafarers. Paint, make sketches, write journal entries, use code and write ship telegrams. Carry out floating and sinking experiments, construct boats and finally put on a regatta with sandwiches and prizes!

Session 1 Boats in the past

Objectives

History

  • Understand historical concepts such as continuity and change.
  • Identify similarities and differences between ways of life in different periods.

Maths

  • Recognise and use language relating to dates, including weeks, months and years.
  • Compare intervals of time.
  • Read numbers to 100 in numerals.
  • Use place value and number facts to solve problems.

Art

  • Develop drawing techniques in using line, shape and form.

Lesson Planning

Compare ships of different eras; Think about the length of voyages; Make sketches and create a timeline of ships.

Teaching Outcomes
To order boats chronologically and identify features of old and modern boats.
To compare journey lengths in terms of hours, days, weeks, months and order dates by considering the numerals that represent the century, the decade, and the year.
To draw a sketch of a boat or ship.

Children will:

  • Identify and compare features of boats and ships of different ages.
  • Create a timeline of ships.
  • Use language relating to the measurement of time: hours, days, weeks, months.
  • Order dates chronologically using century, decade, year.
  • Use a pencil to sketch a boat.

Provided Resources

  • Time and date cards
  • Boat and ship images
  • Cruise ships old and new images for ordering

You Will Need

  • Sketching paper
  • Drawing pencils

Session 2 How are boats and ships used?

Objectives

Art

  • Use painting to develop and share their ideas, experiences and imagination,
  • Learn about the work of a range of artists and designers, describing the differences and similarities between different practices and disciplines, and making links to their own work.

English

  • Say sentences out loud before writing them.
  • Re-read what they have written to check that it makes sense.
  • Write for different purposes.
  • Use simple connectives to join clauses.

Lesson Planning

Look at the different design features of boats and ships; Use watercolours to paint a picture of a ship with a specific purpose.

Teaching Outcomes
To explore design features of boats with specific functions; To paint a boat using watercolours.
To write a clue card to accompany their paintings.

Children will:

  • Match the design features of boats to their functions.
  • Paint a ship or boat with a specific purpose, using watercolours.
  • Write a clue card about their painting.

Provided Resources

  • Artwork of ships and boats
  • Ink & watercolour paintings

You Will Need

  • Boat and ship images (from session 1)
  • Art paper
  • Ink pens
  • Watercolour paints and brushes
  • Sticky labels

Weblinks

There are no weblinks needed for this session.

Session 3 Life at sea

Objectives

History

  • Identify similarities and differences between ways of life in different periods.

English

  • Say sentences out loud before writing them.
  • Re-read what they have written to check that it makes sense.
  • Write for different purposes.
  • Use the past tense correctly and consistently.
  • Use simple connectives to join clauses.

Lesson Planning

Learn about the differences between life at sea in the past and the present; Read fictional journal entries of sailors and voyagers; Write journal entries in role as a seafarer.

Teaching Outcomes
To identify and discuss life at sea in the past and present; To match journal entries to a ship type and era.
To write a journal entry for someone at sea in the past.

Children will:

  • Match ship images to fictional journal entries.
  • Identify the differences between life at sea in the past and present.
  • Write a journal entry in role as a seafarer in the past.

Provided Resources

  • Journal entries
  • Working ships past and present
  • Background information cards

You Will Need

You do not need any particular resources for this session.

Weblinks

There are no weblinks needed for this session.

Session 4 Ship-to-ship communication in the past

Objectives

History

  • Learn about events beyond living memory that are significant nationally or globally.
  • Understand historical concepts such as continuity and change.
  • Identify similarities and differences between ways of life in different periods.

English

  • Leave spaces between words.
  • Punctuate sentences using a capital letter and a full stop, question mark or exclamation mark.
  • Write for different purposes.

Lesson Planning

Learn about the history of ship-to-ship communication and then write, code and decode ship telegrams.

Teaching Outcomes
To explore ship-to-ship communication past and present and learn the story of Titanic and her maiden voyage.
To compose and decipher telegraph messages using Morse code and to create an exhibition poster about ship communication ‘then and now’.

Children will:

  • Look at ship-to-ship communication past and present.
  • Explore the Marconi telegraph system, writing, coding and decoding ship telegrams.
  • Learn the story of Titanic and its voyage.
  • Create a poster comparing sea communications in 1915 and 2015.

Provided Resources

  • Titanic collision map
  • Marconi wireless sets
  • Morse code key
  • Example Marconigram form
  • Blank Marconigram form
  • Morse code messages
  • Morse code message solutions
  • Sea communication statements

You Will Need

  • Atlases
  • Poster paper

Session 5 How do boats stay afloat?

Objectives

Science

  • Observe closely, using simple equipment.
  • Perform simple tests.
  • Use observations and ideas to suggest answers to questions.

Computing

  • Use technology purposefully to create, store and retrieve digital content.

Maths

  • Measure and begin to record mass/weight.
  • Choose and use appropriate standard units to measure mass (kg/g) to the nearest appropriate unit, using scales.

Lesson Planning

Carry out simple floating and sinking experiments and begin to understand why heavy metal boats float.

Teaching Outcomes
To experiment with objects to find out what floats and what sinks.
To make suggestions as to why objects float or sink.
To record experiments using digital photography equipment.
To measure the weight of various materials and objects.

Children will:

  • Conduct and record simple experiments to explore floating and sinking.
  • Offer explanations as to why heavy metal boats float.
  • Explore whether salt water and fresh water affect an object’s ability to float.
  • Make predictions based on own knowledge, previous experience and observations.
  • Use photography to record the results of experiments.
  • Use scales to weigh objects.

You Will Need

  • Tubs of water
  • Floating bath toy
  • Metal object, same size as bath toy
  • Modelling clay
  • Scales
  • Table salt
  • Whole, uncooked eggs
  • Digital cameras
  • Range of small objects of varying buoyancy

Session 6 How are boats powered?

Objectives

Design and Technology

  • Explore and use mechanisms in their products.
  • Design purposeful, functional, appealing products based on design criteria.
  • Select from and use a wide range of materials and components according to their characteristics.
  • Evaluate their ideas and products against design criteria.

Maths

  • Construct simple pictograms.
  • Answer simple questions by counting the number of objects in each category and sorting the categories by quantity.
  • Ask and answer questions about totalling and comparing categorical data.

Lesson Planning

Explore how boats move through water; Construct simple boats with a range of power sources.

Teaching Outcomes
To construct simple paddle-, propeller- and sail-boats.
To create a pictogram of boat power sources and analyse the data.

Children will:

  • Explore the different ways boats move through water.
  • Construct simple paddle-, propeller- and sail-boats.
  • Create a pictogram showing boat power sources.

Provided Resources

  • How do they move?
  • Pictogram images
  • Pictogram grid

You Will Need

  • A3 paper
  • Tubs of water
  • For balloon boats: balloons, pens, bendy straws, thin rubber bands, tape, styrofoam containers
  • For rubber-band boats: rubber bands, markers, rulers, styrofoam or thick card and electrical tape
  • For cork sailboats: corks, coloured paper, toothpicks, beads, small screwdriver, cutting mat.

Session 7 What boat shape is best?

Objectives

Maths

  • Recognise, identify and describe the properties of 2-D shapes, including the number of sides and line symmetry in a vertical line.

Science

  • Observe closely, using simple equipment.
  • Perform simple tests.
  • Use observations and ideas to suggest answers to questions.

Lesson Planning

Investigate different boat hull shapes and find out which is the most efficient for moving through water.

Teaching Outcomes
To identify and create regular and irregular 2D shapes to make the basis of a boat’s shape.
To explore how different shapes affect how a boat moves through water.

Children will:

  • Identify and label irregular and regular shapes, relating to a boat’s hull.
  • Experiment to find which boat shape is the most efficient.

Provided Resources

  • Boat ahapes
  • Tin-foil boats
  • Shape sheet 1
  • Shape sheet 2
  • A kayak

You Will Need

  • Tin foil
  • Trays of water
  • Small electric fans
  • Stopwatch

Session 8 Boat building

Objectives

Design and Technology

  • Design purposeful, functional, appealing products for themselves based on design criteria.
  • Generate, develop, model and communicate their ideas through talking and drawing.
  • Select from and use a wide range of materials and components, according to their characteristics.
  • Evaluate their ideas and products against design criteria

English

  • Write for different purposes.
  • Use simple punctuation accurately.
  • Re-read what they have written to check that it makes sense.

Lesson Planning

Design and build a boat, with a power source, to carry a small load.

Teaching Outcomes
To design and make a boat that will travel quickly, in a straight line and carrying a load.
To write a brief description of their boat design.

Children will:

  • Design a boat with a power source that can float, move in a straight path and carry a small load.
  • Make the boat they have designed using a range of materials and tools.
  • Evaluate and modify their boat design when completed.
  • Write a description of their boat.

Provided Resources

This session does not need any provided resources.

You Will Need

  • Shape sheet 1 (from session 7)
  • Shape sheet 2 (from session 7)
  • Trays of water
  • Small cargo e.g. a rubber
  • Boat-building tools and supplies: Balloons, pens, bendy straws, thin rubber bands, tape, styrofoam containers, rulers, styrofoam, thick card, electrical tape, scissors, glue, corks, coloured paper, toothpicks, beads, small screwdriver, cutting mat, juice or milk cartons, plastic tubing

Session 9 Class regatta

Objectives

History

  • Understand historical concepts such as continuity and change.
  • Learn about changes in living memory.
  • Identify similarities and differences between ways of life in different periods.

Design and Technology

  • Name and locate the world’s seven continents.
  • Use world maps, atlases and globes to identify continents.

Lesson Planning

Compare regattas from the modern day and the past; Design and make sandwiches for a class regatta; Test boats and award prizes.

Teaching Outcomes
To write a clue card to accompany their paintings.
To design and make sandwiches; To test out boats against a design brief

Children will:

  • Explore the history of regattas through images and film.
  • Design and make sandwiches from a range of ingredients.
  • Test their boats against a design brief.

You Will Need

  • Model boats made in session 8
  • Small cargo e.g. a rubber
  • Trays of water
  • 3 small prizes
  • Range of sandwich ingredients
  • Plates and plastic knives