We Were There on the Nautilus

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At the height of the Cold War, President Eisenhower ordered the Navy to attempt a submarine pass through the North Pole in response to the nuclear ICBM threat from Sputnik (Russia).  On January 17, 1955, the Nautilus departed Groton, CT.  In May, she sailed from New London, CT to Puerto Rico.  This 1,300-mile transit broke many records….it was the longest ever by a submerged submarine and achieved the highest sustained submerged speed.

On August 3, 1958, the U.S. nuclear submarine Nautilus accomplished the first undersea voyage to the geographic North Pole during Operation Sunshine.  She dove at Point Barrow, Alaska, and traveled nearly 1,000 miles under the Arctic ice cap to reach the top of the world.  She then steamed on to Iceland, forging a shorter route from the Pacific to the Atlantic and Europe.

This journey through the Arctic was not without risk, as the instruments could become disoriented beneath the ice, causing the crew to guess their longitude and course.  The commander even considered using torpedoes to blow a hole in the ice if the submarine needed to resurface.

You may not know…

• The Navy numbers its submarines consecutively.  The USS Holland (SS—1) was commissioned in 1900.  Nautilus was officially SS-571, the 571^st Navy submarine, and she was in service from 1954 to 1980.
• Most submarines of the era could remain submerged 12-48 hours, but the Nautilus could remain underwater for two weeks or more.
• USS Nautilus was named for the fictional submarine in Jules Verne’s Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea.
• 

Nuclear Energy unit :

Nuclear energy is a very powerful type of energy that is used to create electricity for many households across the world.  In our previous book, we learned how it was used to make bombs.  

Fission is when a large atom is split into two or more smaller atoms, thus releasing a huge amount of energy.  When this is done in a controlled environment, it can be used to generate electricity, such as at a nuclear power plant.  About 20% of electricity in the US is generated by nuclear power plants.

Nuclear power is also used to propel ships and submarines, such as we saw in the case of the Nautilus.  Nuclear-powered submarines can stay underwater, and travel at high speeds, for a long time. 

You may not know….

• The top three states that generate nuclear energy are Illinois, Pennsylvania, and South Carolina.
• In the history of nuclear energy there have been three major nuclear power plant disasters: Chernobyl (Russia), Three Mile Island (United States), and Fukushima Daiichi (Japan).
• The "smoke" you see coming from a nuclear power plant is not pollution, but steam.

Our spine novel is We Were There on the Nautilus

Access the complete unit in the 'We Were There' Novel Studies Bundle!

Includes THIRTY-SIX unit studies covering World & American History. Each unit addresses a new topic, spanning the the ancient world through post-WW2.  Each unit has introductory text, which will give the student basic background information about the topic at hand.

• There are photographs and illustrations, and we have also included primary documents when available.
• After this text, there are featured videos, which augment the background information and help make the topic more accessible for more visual students.
• You will also find a short list of reading books, including a featured novel that the unit builds upon.
• There are vocabulary words, places, and people to identify.
• Reading comprehension, critical thinking questions, and writing assignments are included.
• We add fun with hands-on activities and extra videos to watch that will bring the era to life.

These studies are directed toward upper grades students, but some have resources for younger students so that the whole family can work together. Our family has used unit studies as curriculum for many years, and we hope that your family will enjoy these, too!

Product Samples:

• We Were There with Richard the Lionhearted in the Crusades
• We Were There with Byrd at the South Pole
• We Were There at the Opening of the Atomic Era