Classroom lessons are adaptable in length.
Field expeditions require an entire school day.
Civic Action – Taking Action in Boston Harbor
Classroom lesson: Students discover the impact that humans have on their environment as they come to understand that although public neglect led to the pollution of Boston Harbor, the harbor cleanup was the result of citizen action.
Field expedition: Students become stewards for Boston Harbor Islands while enjoying their right to visit the park by participating in a service project, either a beach cleanup on Lovells Island, or invasive species removal on Spectacle Island.
» Taking Action in Boston Harbor (PPT - 8.57Mb)
Maritime History - America’s Oldest Light Station
Classroom lesson: Students are introduced to maritime history, coastal technology and the fascinating duties of lighthouse keepers as they learn about Boston Light, the oldest continuously manned light station in the country.
Field expedition: Students embark on a journey to Peddocks, Spectacle, Deer, or Little Brewster to investigate cultural connections as they experience one of these unique islands first-hand.
» America’s Oldest Light Station: Boston Light (PDF - 92kb)
» Boston Light Worksheet (PDF - 20kb)
Native American Experiences – Living in Two Worlds
Students watch Living in Two Worlds, a discussion-oriented documentary combining contemporary narratives and historical accounts from five local Native American tribes, to learn how the first people to live around Boston Harbor formed cultural identities based on their relationship with the islands. Contact an Education Ranger to request the "Living in Two Worlds" DVD.
(PDF - 18kb)
(PDF - 24kb)
Settlement - Building Life by the Sea
Classroom lesson: Students revisit the days when codfish and shipwrecks were common in Boston Harbor by reading quotations that speak to the ways people have survived, formed communities and developed cultural identities on the islands.
Field expedition: Students embark on a journey to Peddocks, Spectacle, Deer, or Little Brewster to investigate cultural connections as they experience one of these unique islands first-hand.
» Building a Life on the Harbor Islands (PPT - 16.2Mb)
» Historical Quotations (PDF - 48kb)
