Shape-up at the Sandy Hook Lighthouse A Self-guided Lesson Plan for Grades 3-5

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1 Shape-up at the Sandy Hook Lighthouse A Self-guided Lesson Plan for Grades 3-5 The Sandy Hook Lighthouse is the oldest continually operating lighthouse in the United States and was completed in See the appendage detailing the historical significance of the structure. The Sandy Hook Lighthouse is open on weekends, April through mid December, from 12 noon until 4 p.m. Tours are given by the New Jersey Lighthouse Society and are offered on a first-come, first-served basis. Tours are given every half hour for eight people at a time and children must be 48 inches tall to climb the tower. Reservations are taken in person the day of your visit to Sandy Hook. The weekend tours are designed for families, not organized groups. A video entitled: Sandy Hook Lighthouse: A Journey Through Time, is available daily from sunrise to sunset in the barn adjacent to the tower. The barn and grounds are handicap accessible. Organized groups, like schools and scouts wishing to climb the Sandy Hook Lighthouse must make advance reservations with the New Jersey Lighthouse Society. Contact information: Tom Laverty, New Jersey Lighthouse Society Students will identify the shapes two dimensional shapes comprising the sides of the lighthouse. Estimated time required: minutes Targeted grade Levels: 3-5 NJ State Mathematics Standards Addressed: 4.2 Geometry and Measurement 4.5 Using Mathematical Processes Estimated Time Required: Pre-visit activity: 30 minutes On-site activity: 60 minutes Post-visit activity: 30 minutes Existing Skills Needed: Measurement Finding area Finding perimeter Identifying shapes Identifying angles 1

2 Objectives: The learner will Classify the two dimensional shapes which comprise the sides of the lighthouse (4.2.A.2gr4)(4.2.A.2gr5) Identify and describe congruence of the two dimensional shapes (4.2.A.3gr4) Identify similarity (4.2A3,4 gr5) Understand and apply the concepts involving lines and angles by identifying which lines are perpendicular or parallel as well as which angles are right, obtuse and acute (4.2.A.4gr4) Use a protractor to measure angles at the corners of the lighthouse (4.2.E.1gr5) Demonstrate geometric knowledge through real life problems using the lighthouse (4.5.A.1,2)(4.5.C.3, 4)(4.5.D.2)(4.5.D.2)(4.5.E.3) 2

3 Pre-visit Activities Using a map of Fort Hancock, students will identify the lighthouse and discuss why it was needed as well as its importance during the Revolutionary War. Students learn that the lighthouse originally stood 500 ft from shore but littoral drift has added another mile and a half of sandy beach north of the location of the lighthouse. Supplies and Materials: Map of Fort Hancock (provided) 3

4 On-site Activity Supplies and Materials: Provided: Large compass and protractor Measuring tapes Lighthouse puzzle Lighthouse shapes worksheet Measurement grid Information regarding the Sandy Hook Lighthouse Teacher Supplied: Clipboard with paper and pencil for each group to facilitate calculations Popsicle sticks Procedures: Identifying shapes Students sit in small groups and list of as many shapes as they can by looking at the structure. Groups compare results. Walking around the structure, identify which shapes are similar. How many similar rectangles? Similar trapezoids? How many sides does the lighthouse have? In pairs, each group has 12 sticks, they form a triangle with 3, a square with 4, a pentagon with 5 etc until they recreate the shape of the light house with 8 ( or model the shape with the given number of popsicle sticks) What else has this shape? (stop sign) Now, looking at the lighthouse, which lines are parallel and which are perpendicular? Note that the sides of the body of the lighthouse are not parallel because the structure narrows at the top but the sides of the bases and the top are parallel. Angles and measurement: Teacher demonstrates how to use the large compass and copy the angle and how to measure it with the large protractor What is the perimeter of the lighthouse? How did you find it? Note: some groups will measure with the measuring tapes, some will measure one side and multiply by 8, 8 people will measure each side and add their measures, some will measure at the base and some will measure farther up. Have the groups discuss their results and explain why their answers are different. 4

5 Post-visit Activities 1) Students complete the lighthouse shapes worksheet which has been provided 2) Students may read (or listen to) stories regarding the life at a lighthouse. Suggested References: The Lighthouse Activity Book by Elinor De Wire, 1995, Sentinel Publications, PO Box 654 Gales Ferry, Connecticut Women Who Kept the Lights, An Illustrated History of Female Lighthouse Keepers by Mary Louise Clifford and J. Candice Clifford,Cypress Communications, PO Box 791, Williamsburg, VA , 1993 Guarding New Jersey s Shore: Lighthouses and Life-Saving Stations by David Veasey, Arcadia Publishing, 2A Cumberland St, Charleston, SC 29401, 2002 Sandy Hook by Randall Grabrielan, Arcadia Publishing, 2A Cumberland St, Charleston, SC 29401,