Teaching
Exceptional Children
"Let's
Build a Sailboat" was first presented to a group of 21 junior
high school students of above-average ability, duringa 9-week quarter
consisting of five 45-minute periods each week. The class was arranged
into three crews of six "sailors" and a "captain."
Three sailboats would be built. Each crew discussed the manufacturer's
directions and focused on ideas they thought were most important.
Charts were created to document progress. MacProject, project management
software from Apple Computer was introduced to help organize efforts,
and assist the planning -
It was a grand
success. As you can see from the photo my class of 12 eight grade
students built and "sailed" three of you boats in our
high school pool. We built the boats during our regular class period
of 45-minutes a day in our school shop from September first through
December 3rd, 1987.
Everyone who
has seen the boats love them and think that they are sufficiently
impressed to build one themselves. Thank you very much for the time
that you spent designing these wonderful little boats and I'm sure
the students will never forget this project.
Bruce Forster
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