Island of the Blue Dolphins & Introduction to Sailing

In the Island of the Blue Dolphins, Karana creates a sailboat and uses it to navigate to a new island.  This sparked an interest in our teens on the subject of sailing...so we followed the bunny trail!

Beginning sailors should first learn...

• The Lingo - Sailing has its own set of vocabulary, which we cover further down this unit.
• Knot-tying - There are many knots, but only three or four basics.  Look for them in the Make / Do section.
• Parts of the Boat - Knowing the parts of the boat, plus the vocabulary, will help you understand exactly what is going on and what is needed as you sail.  See the picture to the right.

How a Sailboat Works

Through a combination of aerodynamics and hydrodynamics, various forces are always at play on the boat, combining to propel the boat through water or have it stand neutral.

• The wind blows across the sails, creating aerodynamic lift, like an airplane wing. 
• The lift contains a sideways force and a small forward force.
• Trimming the sails efficiently produces the most forward force and the least resistance.
• A sailboat would slide sideways with the wind if it did not have a centerboard or keel underneath the hull. 
• The flow of water over the underwater surfaces creates lift, too—a sideways force, countering the force of the wind. 
• It is the combination of these forces that pushes the boat forward.

Some VERY Basics

The wind is rarely perfectly steady.  In many ways, it behaves like a liquid, flowing over and around obstructions, and seeking the path of least resistance.  Depending on the surfaces it passes over, the stability or instability of the air, weather systems, and even the effects of other boats, the wind is constantly changing in both strength and direction.  When you're sailing, it's important to be aware of the strength and direction of the wind in order to harness its energy efficiently and sail safely.

There are many ways to tell the direction of the wind. Wind blowing across water causes friction on the surface, forming small ripples perpendicular to the direction of the wind.  Other helpful indicators are flags, smoke, and other sailboats. If you see small whitecaps beginning to form, the wind is too high for an inexperienced sailor, and you should not be on the water alone.

To steer a sailboat, you use the tiller or wheel to turn the rudder to direct the flow of water passing over its surfaces—which turns the boat. Just like steering a car, you turn the wheel in the direction you want the boat to turn. When you steer with a tiller, though, the boat turns in the direction opposite to the way you move the tiller. 

Use the videos below, and the suggested books for further exploration, to learn more sailing tips!

Our spine read for this unit is:

• Island of the Blue Dolphins
• Far off the coast of California looms a harsh rock known as the island of San Nicholas. Dolphins flash in the blue waters around it, sea otter play in the vast kelp beds, and sea elephants loll on the stony beaches.  Here, in the early 1800s, according to history, an Indian girl spent eighteen years alone, and this beautifully written novel is her story. It is a romantic adventure filled with drama and heartache, for not only was mere subsistence on so desolate a spot a near miracle, but Karana had to contend with the ferocious pack of wild dogs that had killed her younger brother, constantly guard against the Aleutian sea otter hunters, and maintain a precarious food supply.

Pick up the ENTIRE UNIT in Twenty-Three Reads Bundle - for someone who wants a little bit of everything! 

It includes twenty-three unit studies covering a wide range of topics. Each unit has introductory text, which will give the student basic background information about the topic at hand. These studies are directed toward upper grades students, but some have resources for younger students so that the whole family can work together.

• 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.

Includes:

• Language Arts
• Finding Langston & the Poetry of Langston Hughes
• Geography
• Anne of Green Gables & Canadian Provinces
• Stowaway & Antarctica
• Julie of the Wolves & Alaska
• Blades of Freedom & the Louisiana Purchase
• The Avion My Uncle Flew & France
• History
• Zlata’s Diary & the Slavic Wars
• Freedom Summer & the Summer of 1964
• Treasure Island & Pirates of the Caribbean Sea
• Farenheit 451 & Types of Government
• Red Stars & Russia in World War 2
• The Great Gatsby & the Roaring Twenties
• The Long List of Impossible Things & Post-War Germany
• A Tale of Two Cities & French Revolution
• Witch of Blackbird Pond & Salem Witch Trials
• The World Made New & Early Explorers
• Stitching a Life & Jewish Immigration
• Life Skills
• Teetoncey & Lifesaving Skills
• Freak of the Week & Disabilities Awareness
• Island of the Blue Dolphins & Sailing
• Science
• The Science of Breakable Things & the Scientific Method
• Frankenstein & Human Anatomy
• Charlie Thorne and the Last Equation & Albert Einstein

Product samples:

• Teetoncey & Lifesaving Skills
• Finding Langston & the Poetry of Langston Hughes
• Farenheit 451 & Types of Government

Stitching a Life + Jewish Immigration

They left Europe because of overpopulation, religious oppression, and poverty.  They came to America seeking a better life, and transformed the face of American Jewry.  These immigrant Jews of the late 19th and early 20th century poured into cities, bringing a new workforce...

Immigrants tended to settle in poor neighborhoods, such as New York's Lower East Side.  They lived in cramped conditions and often worked long, laborious days in factories.  They brought with them Yiddish culture, which flourished in these new ghettos.  At the same time so many Jews were arriving, the garment industry was undergoing rapid expansion in America.  Many jobs were available, and the manufacturers needed immigrant labor.  By 1910, nearly 70% of America's clothing was being produced in the garment district of New York City.

Employers enticed immigrants with promises of the opportunity to continue observing the Sabbath, which was a plus as it allowed a newfound religious freedom.  However, factory workers were often exploited, working extremely long and labor-intensive days in cramped quarters.  These sweatshops offered very little pay, but they did allow workers to continue using their native language (due to the high number of immigrants employed there) and observe the Sabbath and other Jewish festivals.  Over the next forty to fifty years, the garment district would undergo even more changes, phasing out much of its human labor, but it provided a foothold for these Jewish immigrants to start a new life...

Our spine read for this unit is:

• Stitching a Life
• It’s 1900, and sixteen-year-old Helen comes alone in steerage across the Atlantic from a small village in Lithuania, fleeing terrible anti-Semitism and persecution. She arrives at Ellis Island, and finds a place to live in the colorful Lower East Side of New York. She quickly finds a job in the thriving garment industry and, like millions of others who are coming to America during this time, devotes herself to bringing the rest of her family to join her in the New World, refusing to rest until her family is safe in New York. A few at a time, Helen’s family members arrive. Each goes to work with the same fervor she has and contributes everything to bringing over their remaining beloved family members in a chain of migration. Helen meanwhile, makes friends and―once the whole family is safe in New York―falls in love with a man who introduces her to a different New York―a New York of wonder, beauty, and possibility.

Pick up the ENTIRE UNIT in Twenty-Three Reads Bundle - for someone who wants a little bit of everything! 

It includes twenty-three unit studies covering a wide range of topics. Each unit has introductory text, which will give the student basic background information about the topic at hand. These studies are directed toward upper grades students, but some have resources for younger students so that the whole family can work together.

• 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.

Includes:

• Language Arts
• Finding Langston & the Poetry of Langston Hughes
• Geography
• Anne of Green Gables & Canadian Provinces
• Stowaway & Antarctica
• Julie of the Wolves & Alaska
• Blades of Freedom & the Louisiana Purchase
• The Avion My Uncle Flew & France
• History
• Zlata’s Diary & the Slavic Wars
• Freedom Summer & the Summer of 1964
• Treasure Island & Pirates of the Caribbean Sea
• Farenheit 451 & Types of Government
• Red Stars & Russia in World War 2
• The Great Gatsby & the Roaring Twenties
• The Long List of Impossible Things & Post-War Germany
• A Tale of Two Cities & French Revolution
• Witch of Blackbird Pond & Salem Witch Trials
• The World Made New & Early Explorers
• Stitching a Life & Jewish Immigration
• Life Skills
• Teetoncey & Lifesaving Skills
• Freak of the Week & Disabilities Awareness
• Island of the Blue Dolphins & Sailing
• Science
• The Science of Breakable Things & the Scientific Method
• Frankenstein & Human Anatomy
• Charlie Thorne and the Last Equation & Albert Einstein

Product samples:

• Teetoncey & Lifesaving Skills
• Finding Langston & the Poetry of Langston Hughes
• Farenheit 451 & Types of Government

A Tale of Two Cities & the French Revolution

July 14, 1789 - The political prison known as the Bastille is stormed in Paris, France.

In the 18th century, France experienced a population explosion that led to crippling unemployment, social distress, and widespread famine.  A National Assembly convened that took drastic measures to abolish feudalism, extend the right to vote to the majority, and contain the Catholic church.  The three years following that convention were dominated by social unrest.

Maximilien Robespierre emerged as a leader, and he sparked the Reign of Terror.  This is the time we think of with Marie Antoinette, guillotines, and 'Off with her head!'  It was a time of fighting for control -- revolutionaries, royals, and Jacobins all vied for power.

Regarded as one of the most important events in human history, the French Revolution began in May 1789 and ran through November 1799.  During this time, Louis the XVI was executed and Napoleon Bonaparte was appointed as the First Consul.  The revolution established the principles of modern democracy...

Our spine read is:

• A Tale of Two Cities (Charles Dickens)
• The novel depicts the plight of the French peasantry demoralised by the French aristocracy in the years leading up to the revolution, the corresponding brutality demonstrated by the revolutionaries toward the former aristocrats in the early years of the revolution, and many unflattering social parallels with life in London during the same time period. It follows the lives of several characters through these events.

Pick up the ENTIRE UNIT in Twenty-Three Reads Bundle - for someone who wants a little bit of everything! 

It includes twenty-three unit studies covering a wide range of topics. Each unit has introductory text, which will give the student basic background information about the topic at hand. These studies are directed toward upper grades students, but some have resources for younger students so that the whole family can work together.

• 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.

Includes:

• Language Arts
• Finding Langston & the Poetry of Langston Hughes
• Geography
• Anne of Green Gables & Canadian Provinces
• Stowaway & Antarctica
• Julie of the Wolves & Alaska
• Blades of Freedom & the Louisiana Purchase
• The Avion My Uncle Flew & France
• History
• Zlata’s Diary & the Slavic Wars
• Freedom Summer & the Summer of 1964
• Treasure Island & Pirates of the Caribbean Sea
• Farenheit 451 & Types of Government
• Red Stars & Russia in World War 2
• The Great Gatsby & the Roaring Twenties
• The Long List of Impossible Things & Post-War Germany
• A Tale of Two Cities & French Revolution
• Witch of Blackbird Pond & Salem Witch Trials
• The World Made New & Early Explorers
• Stitching a Life & Jewish Immigration
• Life Skills
• Teetoncey & Lifesaving Skills
• Freak of the Week & Disabilities Awareness
• Island of the Blue Dolphins & Sailing
• Science
• The Science of Breakable Things & the Scientific Method
• Frankenstein & Human Anatomy
• Charlie Thorne and the Last Equation & Albert Einstein

Product samples:

• Teetoncey & Lifesaving Skills
• Finding Langston & the Poetry of Langston Hughes
• Farenheit 451 & Types of Government

Blades of Freedom & the Louisiana Purchase

July 14, 1803 - The United States doubles in size overnight with the Louisiana Purchase.

How did a rebellion in Haiti end up doubling the size of the United States?

In the late 1700s, Haiti was a colony of France, known as Saint Domingue, that produced coffee, sugar, and indigo. Many of the people who lived there were slaves used to work these profitable plantations.

In 1791, the slaves unified and rebelled. The British had already seized the colony as part of their war with France, and the enslaved people drove out the British, declaring themselves a free nation. The French wanted their colony back, but were unsuccessful in attempts to reclaim it, largely due to troop loss from yellow fever. In 1804, the leader of the revolt, Dessalines, declared the island an independent nation and named it Haiti, after a local native tribe.

At the same time, President Jefferson was in negotiations to purchase the city of New Orleans. Napoleon Bonaparte made an offer to sell Jefferson all of the land west of the Mississippi instead. The French were concerned that the British, invading from Canada, would eventually seize the land anyway, especially after the loss of Saint Domingue, so they sold the whole lot. This Louisiana Purchase opened up the west for the era of Manifest Destiny.

Why Graphic Novels?

For this study, we use a graphic novel from the Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales series. For reluctant readers, graphic novels make complicated text more accessible through captivating graphics and pictures and shorter spurts of text. However, students are still learning literary skills, as they must follow plot and character development and understand perspective. Conflicts are presented, unwound, and resolved like they are in other texts. The only difference is that graphic novels have more images to support the development.

Our spine read for this unit is:

• Blades of Freedom
• Why would Napoleon Bonaparte sell the Louisiana Territory to the recently formed United States of America? It all comes back to the island nation of Haiti, which Napoleon had planned to use as a base for trade with North America. While Napoleon climbed the ranks of the French army and government, enslaved people were organizing in Haiti under the leadership of François Mackandal, Dutty Boukman, Jean-Jacques Dessalines, and Touissant L’Ouverture, who in 1791 led the largest uprising of enslaved people in history—the Haitian Revolution.

Snag the ENTIRE UNIT in Twenty-Three Reads Bundle - for someone who wants a little bit of everything! 

It includes twenty-three unit studies covering a wide range of topics. Each unit has introductory text, which will give the student basic background information about the topic at hand. These studies are directed toward upper grades students, but some have resources for younger students so that the whole family can work together.

• 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.

Includes:

• Language Arts
• Finding Langston & the Poetry of Langston Hughes
• Geography
• Anne of Green Gables & Canadian Provinces
• Stowaway & Antarctica
• Julie of the Wolves & Alaska
• Blades of Freedom & the Louisiana Purchase
• The Avion My Uncle Flew & France
• History
• Zlata’s Diary & the Slavic Wars
• Freedom Summer & the Summer of 1964
• Treasure Island & Pirates of the Caribbean Sea
• Farenheit 451 & Types of Government
• Red Stars & Russia in World War 2
• The Great Gatsby & the Roaring Twenties
• The Long List of Impossible Things & Post-War Germany
• A Tale of Two Cities & French Revolution
• Witch of Blackbird Pond & Salem Witch Trials
• The World Made New & Early Explorers
• Stitching a Life & Jewish Immigration
• Life Skills
• Teetoncey & Lifesaving Skills
• Freak of the Week & Disabilities Awareness
• Island of the Blue Dolphins & Sailing
• Science
• The Science of Breakable Things & the Scientific Method
• Frankenstein & Human Anatomy
• Charlie Thorne and the Last Equation & Albert Einstein

Product samples:

• Teetoncey & Lifesaving Skills
• Finding Langston & the Poetry of Langston Hughes
• Farenheit 451 & Types of Government