Navigation & GIS set. Print the whole packet, or just the page you need. Each handout starts on its own page.
Build it: cut out the quarter-circle. Tape a drinking straw along the top straight edge. Push a pin through the pivot dot and hang a string with a small weight from it.
Use it: sight the star (or sun's shadow) along the straw. The weighted string crosses the scale at an angle. That angle is the object’s height above the horizon.
My measured latitude: __________ Google Maps latitude: __________ Difference: __________
| Date (week start) | Sun’s declination (δ) |
|---|---|
| Mon Jul 6 | +22.7° |
| Mon Jul 13 | +21.6° |
| Mon Jul 20 | +20.4° |
| Mon Jul 27 | +19.0° |
| Mon Aug 3 | +17.4° |
| Thu Aug 6 | +16.8° |
The formula: Latitude = 90° − H + δ where H = the sun’s height above the horizon at local noon, and δ = the declination above.
Check it: at Salem (42°N) on Jul 6, the noon sun should be about 90 − 42 + 22.7 = 70.7° high. Measure it and see how close you get.
How: start at the dot you mark. For each leg, draw a line in the heading direction (use the compass rose), as long as speed × hours (use the scale). The end of the last leg is your dead-reckoned position.
Plot this voyage (Jamaica → the Carolinas):
| Leg | Heading | Speed | Time | Distance (= speed × time) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 045° (NE) | 5 kn | 6 h | ________ nm |
| 2 | 030° (NNE) | 4 kn | 8 h | ________ nm |
| 3 | 010° (N by E) | 6 kn | 5 h | ________ nm |
Now add error: a current pushed you 10 nm due west and you never knew. Mark where you thought you were (×) and where you really were (●). How far apart? __________ nm
Plot and label these on the grid (remember: latitude first, then longitude):
GIS note: a computer writes these with N/E positive, S/W negative, longitude usually first in code: the wreck is (-69.96, 41.9) as (x, y). Same point, just numbers.
Quick-write: “If you had to leave everything behind and start over at sea, what would your world have to look like?”
Map your ordinary day: draw the places you go and the routes between them (home, school, anywhere). Label 3 of them.
You’re done when: you’ve written a half-page and drawn a labeled day-map with at least 3 places.
Tape or sketch a piece of each map, then annotate.
You’re done when: you’ve named at least 2 things each map shows/hides and whose view it takes.
You’re done when: all four boxes are filled and your ‘argument’ box names a specific claim.
Routes of My Life (plan it here first): list 3–5 routes you’ll put on your map, and one sentence on why each matters.
Adopt-a-ship log #1: ship name, type, where it is today, where it’s heading.
You’re done when: you’ve planned 3–5 annotated routes and started a ship log with name + position.
Draw the triangle. Label each leg with what (or who) was carried: Europe→Africa, Africa→Americas (the Middle Passage), Americas→Europe.
You’re done when: all three legs are labeled with their cargo and you’ve compared 1717 to today.
367 people were loaded aboard the Whydah’s slaving voyage. 312 survived to Jamaica.
Silent writing. No need to share. Respond to the reading and the numbers in your own words.
You’re done when: you’ve used the full silent-writing time and written honestly. There is no ‘right’ answer.
| Slave ship | Royal Navy | Merchant | Fishing | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Food | ||||
| Pay | ||||
| Discipline | ||||
| Death rate | ||||
| Freedom |
You’re done when: every cell has a note and you’ve picked a ship with a reason.
You’re done when: you logged an artifact per question, sketched the Friendship, and named a possible perspective.
Crew member: ____________________
| PUSH — away from other choices | PULL — toward piracy |
|---|---|
You’re done when: you have at least 3 push and 3 pull factors, each backed by something from the evidence.
Roberts’ 1721 articles are our model. Write 5–7 ‘articles’ your class would actually vote to sign.
You’re done when: you’ve written 5–7 articles and answered the ‘would you sign’ question.
Plan a Jamaica→Carolinas voyage with 1717 tools — legs with heading, speed, time (plot on the Dead-Reckoning sheet).
You’re done when: your voyage is plotted and you’ve named the 3 hotspot factors with a modern example.
| PRIMARY SOURCE says… | POP CULTURE says… |
|---|---|
You’re done when: you’ve compared a real account to a clip and written a sourced modern-piracy paragraph.
Draw the storm first — before any evidence is shown: 12:15 AM, April 26, 1717, a nor'easter, 146 people aboard.
Then mark the wreck at 41.891°N, 69.957°W on the grid; add the coast and the four ships of the fleet.
You’re done when: the storm is drawn, the wreck is mapped at the right coordinates, and you’ve written a thoughtful land acknowledgment.
Give each square a coordinate (letter across, number down). Record what you ‘find’ in each, like a real dig.
| A | B | C | D | E | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | |||||
| 2 | |||||
| 3 | |||||
| 4 | |||||
| 5 |
You’re done when: every find is logged by its grid coordinate and you’ve explained why location matters.
You’re done when: all four parts are answered, including what the object can’t tell us.
Source plan — the 3–4 Journal entries I’ll build from:
You’re done when: you’ve named a perspective, a format, and at least 3 Journal entries to build from.
Revisit as your person: list 4 artifacts or moments from the unit that matter to your perspective, and why each one matters. Then answer KSQ4 in a short paragraph: across five weeks, whose stories did we hear — and whose stayed buried? If time allows, draft your project opening in your chosen voice.
You’re done when: you’ve named 4 artifacts/moments with a why for each, written the KSQ4 paragraph, and logged your ship’s final position.
| What we’re looking for | What strong work looks like | Self / teacher check |
|---|---|---|
| Perspective & voice | Story is clearly told from one chosen historical perspective; the voice stays consistent and feels grounded, not cartoonish. | □ Got it □ Almost □ Not yet |
| Evidence from the Journal | Cites at least 3–4 Voyage Journal entries; specific facts, maps, or sources back up the story. | □ Got it □ Almost □ Not yet |
| Historical accuracy | Dates, people, and places are right; myth is labeled as myth (not presented as fact). | □ Got it □ Almost □ Not yet |
| Holding the hard parts | Doesn’t glorify piracy or flatten it; holds complexity (e.g. escaping brutality AND stealing for a living). | □ Got it □ Almost □ Not yet |
| Craft & format | Uses the chosen format well; clear, organized, and finished; map/coordinates correct where used. | □ Got it □ Almost □ Not yet |
| Showcase delivery | Presented clearly; can answer ‘why this perspective?’ and ‘where’s your evidence?’ | □ Got it □ Almost □ Not yet |
Before the Showcase, I can: name my perspective, point to my 3–4 Journal sources, and say one thing I chose to leave out and why.
The source: pirate Peter Cornelius Hoof, sworn testimony at the Boston trial, 1717–18 (The Trials of Eight Persons, p.319):
“The money taken in the Whido, which was reported to Amount to 20000 or 30000 Pounds, was counted over in the Cabin, and put up in bags, Fifty pounds to every Man’s share, there being 180 Men on Board… Their Money was kept in Chests between Decks without any guard, but none was to take any without the Quarter Master’s leave.”
Read it twice, then work the four moves real historians use:
You’re done when: all four moves are answered, including at least one thing the source can’t tell you.
The situation. Your crew of 8 takes a prize worth £1,000. Your articles say:
Work it out:
You’re done when: your four payouts add back up to exactly £1,000.
Dead-Reckoning Plotting Sheet. Leg 1: 5×6 = 30 nm. Leg 2: 4×8 = 32 nm. Leg 3: 6×5 = 30 nm. The 10-nm westward current puts the “real” position 10 nm west of the dead-reckoned one — that gap is the error.
Latitude & Longitude Grid. A (wreck) plots off outer Cape Cod, lower-right; B (Boston) up and left of A; C (Provincetown) just north of A. All three cluster in the Gulf of Maine / off Cape Cod — a tight triangle of wreck, trial city, and Cape.
Find Your Latitude. Polaris’s height ≈ your latitude (Salem ≈ 42°). Noon-sun check (Jul 6, Salem): 90 − 42 + 22.7 = 70.7° expected sun height.
Read a Deposition. (1) Sourcing: Hoof is a defendant — he may stress the orderly “rules” to look less like a violent criminal. (2) Reading: £50 per share, 180 men, total reported £20,000–30,000. (3) Corroboration: era pirate articles (Roberts 1721, our taught analogue) set out equal shares and injury pay, and trial testimony confirms the Whydah crew had Articles — though the Articles themselves don’t survive, and the wreck’s wax seals are not evidence of the signing. (4) Silence: it doesn’t break shares down by rank or race, and the math (£50×180 = £9,000) doesn’t match the £20–30k total — a great “sources can be loose” moment.
Divide the Prize. Comp £100 off the top → £900 left. Shares = 1.5 + 1.5 + 6 = 9. One share = 900 / 9 = £100. Captain £150, Quartermaster £150, each ordinary sailor £100, injured sailor £100 + £100 = £200. Check: 150 + 150 + (100×5) + 200 = £1,000. The 1.5× vs. 50× ratio is the “flatter hierarchy” made numerical.