Objectives

• Navigate on the Internet
• Use Internet resources appropriately
• Investigate the geography of the places visited on the Asia with Pride tour
• Gain knowledge of the schools, countries, cities and cultures of places on tour

MSPP Outcomes:

Geography

• Locate places, cultural features and natural features by interpreting and constructing maps using directions, legends, grid systems, boundary lines, scales and political units.
• Compare regions on a state, national, and global basis.

Skills and Processes

• Obtain, interpret, evaluate, organize and use print and non-print sources of information such as maps, charts, globes, graphics, and tables.

People of the Nation and World

• Investigate and gain appreciation for various cultures throughout the world.
• Provide examples of technologies, institutions, languages, and beliefs which link the different peoples of the world

Teacher Background

Instruction can be accomplished in one lesson. The teacher can modify the lesson according to the needs and abilities of the students. This can be used as a group lesson on learning how to navigate on the World Wide Web or assigned to students as an individual project over a period of time. Some of these decisions will be based on the availability of computers.

If this is the first student Internet project, visit the site "Collaboration in the Classroom and Over the Internet in which Yvonne Mare Andrews explains the three phrases of going on-line and what teachers can do to make the experience more rewarding and less frustrating.

In December 1997, Pride of Baltimore II, a replica of the 1812-era topsail schooner Chasseur, will embark on a year long sailing odyssey of friendship and exploration to Asian ports such as Hong Kong; Kobe, Japan; Tokyo, Japan; and Shanghai, China.

Pride of Baltimore II will leave the port of Baltimore in December, sail south to Puerto Rico, pass through the Panama Canal, then sail west across the Ocean to the Pacific Rim. Your students can follow this voyage through cyberspace. In this activity you and your students will use the map of Pride's voyage, Asia with Pride Itinerary, and some Internet sites to select a school and to investigate what it would be like to go to school there. Think of this activity as a further extension of Pride's mission as a ship of goodwill. Your class can be the ambassadors of friendship and exploration.

Visit Pride II's Home Page if you wish to learn more about Pride of Baltimore II.

MATERIALS

• School Investigation Report
• 1998 Pacific Rim Tour Itinerary
• Map of the voyage from Baltimore Sun supplement
• maps, globes
• world atlases
• List of School Web Sites

You may want to print out the School Investigation Reportand make copies to distribute to your students to use as they investigate a school web site. This report form will help them organize their search.

Students should use the list of school Web sites whether they are working independently, or in a teacher-directed lesson. These Web sites have been checked and are informative and appropriate for students in Grades 4-8.

MOTIVATION

Ask:

1. Can anyone give me a definition of the word "ambassador"? Brainstorm. Work with the students to fine tune this definition to something like: an ambassador is an authorized messenger sent by one nation or state to another to reside or act on a temporary mission.

2. Why might a clipper ship like Pride of Baltimore II visit other ports? How can you call a clipper ship an ambassador?

3. Have you ever thought about traveling on a clipper ship across the Pacific Ocean to Asia?

4. How many miles is it to China via the Panama Canal? Think about how long of a voyage that is.

SAY:

Traveling through cyberspace can be as exciting and challenging as Pride of Baltimore II's year-long voyage to faraway Asian ports. Today you will have a chance to visit those places on the World Wide Web. You will have the opportunity to visit one of the port city school's Web sites. You will work as an investigator to obtain information about the city and learn about people who live there. The final project will be a letter to the crew of Pride of Baltimore II informing them about the place they are about to visit.

DEVELOPMENT

1. Ask students to locate Maryland and Hong Kong on a globe or a world map. Generate questions that students would like to answer comparing the two locations, or about Hong Kong. For example:
   • What time is it in Hong Kong?
   • What are the students probably doing right now?
   • What do you think it would be like to live and go to school in Hong Kong?

2. ASK: How would you go about answering questions like that? Using a globe, map or world atlas, have students try to answer these questions.

3. ASK: What are some other sources of information that we can use to answer these questions? How about the Internet? How many students know how to navigate their way on the Internet? Why do you use the "Net?" What information have you gotten from the Internet? How might this be a resourceful and effective way to communicate and learn about other regions and their culture?

4. TELL students that they are going to use the Internet to find out about some faraway places -- places that the ship Pride of Baltimore II is going to visit on its yearlong journey to Asia. TELL the students that they are going to use school Web sites to investigate the geography of the places Pride II will visit.

   If your students are not familiar with using the computer to investigate and complete a project, use the page "Technology Tips to Using the Internet." You will probably want to work through these tips with the class or group. You can read the instructions and descriptions aloud while students experiment at the terminal.

5. What information could be found on a school's Web site ? Do we have a Web site ? (If not, you may wish to view Robert Frost Middle School's home page.) What would we include on our Web site ? (This is the teacher demonstration part of the lesson. You can stop or limit the lesson by just bookmarking a few sites.)

6. ASK: Using this Web site , what conclusions could someone draw about where and how we live? If you are using another school's site, what conclusions can you draw about how people live in this region? (Use a Think-Pair-Share strategy.) Jot down some ideas and share them with your partner. Keep in mind that you can draw conclusions about what is missing, too.

7. SAY: You might not be surprised to know that schools all around the world also have Web sites, too. Today, you will work with a partner to use your computer skills to gather clues about life in another school. Select your school from one of the places being visited by Pride II.

8. DISTRIBUTE/SHOW the "1998 Pacific Rim Tour Itinerary". Which one of these places would you like to learn more about? Find that place on the Pacific Rim Tour map.

9. SAY: Now choose a school from one of the port cities using the "List of School Web Sites." (At this point, students can work individually or in groups.) As you are gathering your information, remember to consider these questions:
   • Is the Web site attractive and does it have any other interesting links?
   • Is the information from their Web site accurate and easy to understand?*
   • Should additional information be provided by the school?
   • What additional information would you like about the city or country Pride II is visiting?
   • Could a crew member from Pride understand and gain information about the school?
   • How could the school's Web site be improved?

   *this might require checking the information on this Web site with other sources like encyclopedias or almanacs

10. Complete the School Investigation Report.

11. Summarize the School Investigation Report in preparation for your letter to the crew.

    (Teacher can stop the lesson here and have students or pairs of students share their School Investigation Report, or continue with the Thoughtful Application.)

THOUGHTFUL APPLICATION

Today you will be composing a letter to the crew of Pride of Baltimore II. Explain to the crew that you have been researching the places that they will visit on their tour by visiting the Web sites of schools in cities they will visit.

In your letter, inform them that you are maintaining the spirit of the voyage by investigating what life is like in places they will visit. In your letter, include information from your research. Remember that not everything about the school and region could possibly be included on this Web site , so think of some questions that a crew member might ask a person who lives in this city, or goes to this school.

How will you know you've done a good job?
You will be WRITING TO INFORM. When you write to inform, you use specific information to fully explain your topic. When you write to inform, you follow these steps:

• Think about all you have learned from the investigative report and the Web site .
• Think about what your audience needs to know about the topic.
• Put your information in logical order.
• Use examples and descriptions to make the information clear to your audience.

Don't forget to follow all of the steps in the writing process -- DRAFTING, REVISING and PROOFREADING.

DRAFTING
Look back at your Investigative Report as you begin to draft your letter. After you have completed your draft, look back at your WRITING TO INFORM steps. Do you have enough details included in your writing? If not, you may need to add more to this draft. It is probably a good idea to give your draft to a classmate to help you add details and organize your ideas. Sometimes more than one draft needs to be done.

PROOFREADING
After your have composed your letter, ask a friend to proofread for you using your class's proofreading guides. Be sure to take advantage of the spell check and grammar check on your word processing program.

LESSON EVALUATION

To evaluate this lesson, you could:

• evaluate your students' Internet research skills
• evaluate the completed School Investigation Report
• evaluate the Letter to the Pride II crew
• evaluate the geographic information your students gather on a port city

SUMMARY

ASK the students if they have learned more about the places that Pride II will be visiting. Discuss how this year-long voyage will be an interactive trip -- as the Teacher on Board will be sending back information and images every few days. Your students will have the opportunity to send questions to the Teacher on Board as the journey continues.

LESSON EXTENSIONS

1. Choose a school from the list and establish a partnership relationship with that school.

2. Send your school's Web site . Ask your ambassador school to evaluate your site.

3. Send an ambassador school Pride II 's Web site address and ask them to send questions that they have about living in the United States to your school.