Suggested Activities Grades 3-5

Ideas to try….

Science and Technology
Learn more about the kinds of storms that can occur and the differences between them.
Learn more about recent storms that have affected the U.S. and other countries.
Try out some basic navigation using a compass. What is the difference between a compass and a compass rose on a map or chart? What is the difference between a map and a chart?

English Language Arts
Create a story about two women meeting each other and describing their respective experiences at sea. What advice do you think they would they give to young women: to go to sea or to stay at home?
Write an imaginary letter from one woman to her family back in Maine.
If you were a parent aboard ship, what jobs would you assign to your children? What rules would the children have to follow? Create a list.

Social Studies
Find the locations mentioned in this chapter on a world map or globe. What makes a coastal location a good place for a harbor and merchant port?
The captains and their wives described in this chapter were sailing on merchant ships, not military vessels. Their voyages were for trade. Sometimes their cargoes caused problems for the ship. Which cargoes were dangerous and why?
Learn more about the cargoes carried by Maine ships (see other web chapters on Life at Sea, Shipbuilding, Working the Bay, and Maine and the Orient.)

Visual Arts
Pick one woman from the chapter and illustrate her story.
Design a cabin that you would want to live on aboard ship. What kinds of furniture and decoration would you want?
Draw a pet that you would take with you, and where that pet would stay while on board.