The following pre field trip and post field trip activities are simply suggestions for
teachers. They cover a wide variety of subjects, topics, concepts and age levels.
The field trip itself will provide the students with a real life opportunity rich in sensory
experiences. Our pre field trip activities may help you get the most out of the trip and our post
field trip activities are good ways to follow up on the trip in the classroom.
PRE FIELD TRIP ACTIVITIES
1.)
Introduce your students to the new vocabulary provided by the museum. Encourage them
to use these new terms in sentences and practice the spelling
2.)
Students could design a booklet to bring on their field trip. Each student’s booklet could
contain room for sketching, new terms/vocabulary, questions/answers, photographs, etc.
3.)
Prior to the field trip, as a class you could brainstorm for previous knowledge about ships
and marine artifacts. Students could then provide you with their questions about the
museum and its displays. This information could be recorded on poster paper and
answered after the trip. KWL would be a good technique to use.
POST FIELD TRIP ACTIVITIES
LANGUAGE ARTS ACTIVITIES:
1.)
Students could write a newspaper article about the museum, one about the boats or of
something of interest to them.
2.)
Students could write a letter to the Marine Museum. The letter could focus upon what
they learned or enjoyed, a thank-you letter or a letter with suggestions for the museum.
3.)
Students could design a crossword puzzle or a word search using their new vocabulary
words.
4.)
Students could write a letter pretending they were a passenger on board the S.S. Keenora
during the early 1900’s. In the letter, the student’s could describe their accommodations,
the journey, or any interesting events.
MATH ACTIVITIES:
1.)
Younger students could graph the boats at the museum according to size. Using pictoral
graphs at first and the moving to concrete, numerical graphs.
2.)
Students could make up word problems involving new nautical terms (e.g. Knots per
hour) and any concept being learned. Their peers could attempt the problems.
SOCIAL STUDIES ACTIVITIES:
1.)
Students could design maps or label maps:
a) label the lakes and rivers in Manitoba
b) chart a course for a ship on a navigational map
2.)
With the help of an adult, students could bake bannock and fry fish to have an authentic
fisherman’s meal.
3.)
Students could write and perform a play about a boat journey to Norway House.
SCIENCE ACTIVITIES:
1.)
Students could test the floatation abilities of various objects. After the experiment the
students could chart their results and then design a model ship using the best materials for
floatation.
2.)
As a class project, fish could be bought and placed in the classroom. Students could
study the fish habitat, its life cycle, eating habits, reproduction, etc. as a year round
science study.
3.)
Students could test the effects pollution has upon the water cycle, bodies of water and
aquatic life.
ART ACTIVITIES:
1.)
Students could design a diorama of one of the boats of the local fish species. They could
use natural and/or man-made materials.
2.)
Students could design a poster advertising a summer trip on the S.S. Keenora in the early
1900’s. On the poster, they could detail the journey, price, accommodations, etc.
3.)
Using their own sketches, students could design a ship out of art materials. They could
experiment with materials that would allow for floatation.
MUSIC ACTIVITIES:
1.)
Students could develop their musical appreciation through listening to fishermen and
nautical music such as the “Privateer”, “Fiddle Magic from the Interlake” by Cliff
Maytwayshing, and “The Lake Winnipeg Fishermen”.
2.)
Using various musical instruments, students could experiment making nautical sounds
such as a foghorn, paddling, creak of wooden ship, ship bells and whistles, sail slaps, etc.