This is a “Paddle Wheel” Boat that runs one-hour tours on the Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania. While it appears that the wheel is moving the boat, in actuality the movement of the boat is turning the wheel.
So, how did Paddle Wheel Boats really work in the past? What were other ways that people traveled by water in the past? How do we travel by water in the present? How do you think we will travel by water in the future?
Create an authentic time line of water travel in the past. Create an authentic booklet. Build an authentic model of a boat that really floats. Design an authentic boat/ship of the future. (Can a future design be authentic? Authentic means “make it real, make it count.”)
And if this project turns into a study of shipping companies of the past – that is authentic learning.
*On this trip we learned about a method of moving logs down the Susquehanna River in the 18th Century. Another possible authentic area of study…
The Educational Journey 