Learning their AB-seas

Suzie Harrison

Making sure their compasses were aligned properly, the small

sailors mapped their navigation, checking the latitude and longitude,

in preparation for their journey. They were to follow the same route

that Richard Henry Dana took from Boston to California in the early

1830s on the tall ship Pilgrim.

The sailors in this case were fifth-graders at Top of the World

Elementary School working on a three-week course in which they

studied Dana’s travels to learn about science, math, history, social

studies and language.

As part of the project, the students had an overnight adventure on

the Pilgrim in Dana Point and learned hands-on the things they had

been discussing in class.

“I learned that it was very hard and a good learning experience,”

Justin Blake, 11, said. “It was fun experiencing what being like a

sailor really was.”

The mates learned the difference between true north and magnetic

north and how the stars played a role in navigation.

“This is like a sailor’s chart,” teacher Toni Flores said. “It

needs to be lined up with your compass.”

They were asked to discern how navigation might be different now

than it was 250 years ago, in Dana’s day.

“I learned about the Pilgrim, how different it is from what we do

today,” Alexandra Navas, 10, said. “I think it’s amazing how they

lived.”

The students called out that technology, computers, satellites and

radar had made it easier today.

“Tying knots has been fun,” Ryan Taite, 10, said. “I learned how

to tie a bow line and a figure-eight knot and learned some other

knots, too.”

During the class, they spoke in nautical terms, using the

vocabulary they had learned on the outing. They called one another

“mate” and broke into a chantey, or sea song, led by a student.

“It’s a total living history unit,” Flores said. “We talk in all

nautical terms. They learn math, science and develop empathy for

times past.”