Navigation: Then and NowNavigation: Then and Now

Enduring Understanding

Explorers use navigation to get from one place to another.

Essential Questions:

How do people get from one place to another?

What tools were used in the past for navigation?

What tools are used currently for navigation?

Brainstorm

Brainstorm ways that people travel from one place to another today as compared to the past.

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Tools of Ancient Navigation

MapsCompassHourglassBinnacle boxQuadrant“Knots” cylinderLead LineAstrolabe

Navigation has examples of these tools.

Maps

Maps have been used for centuries to help travelers reach their destination.

Ancient maps used:

Latitude

Degrees

Cardinal directions

Try the Anchors Aweigh:Longitude Mapping Game.

Consider theFollowing Questions:

How can maps be used today?

How have maps evolved?

What do different maps show?

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Suggested Activities

Compare a map from Columbus’s voyage to a map from today.

Plot the locations of various points using the maps.

Plot Columbus’s voyage to the new world.

Suggested Activities

Create a map of your neighborhood.

Compare your map to a key map of that same area to see the difference between the map designs.

Compass

The compass was used to guide travelers on their journey.

Ancient compasses pointed to magnetic north not true north.

Read more on Understanding and Using a Compass.

Compass Activities

Compare compasses of the past with compasses of today.

Write a paragraph about the differences between the two and how the compass has been improved.

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Hourglass

Used to keep time aboard ship.

Explorers were able to track their location by knowing the time and the distance they traveled.

Find out more about The History of the Hourglass.

Hourglass Exploration

Use plastic soda bottles and sand to create your own hourglass.

Brainstorm ways that watches have replaced the use of hourglasses.

How was the Binnacle Box Used with the Hourglass?

Inside the Binnacle box there is a compass. The compass helps in steering the boat in the right direction. The Binnacle box has half hour time periods marked on the top.

Quadrant

This tool was used by Christopher Columbus.

It used the sun’s position to determine latitude.

Ptolemy’s Ptools discusses how Columbus used a Quadrant.

“Knots” Cylinder

Calculates distance in a set amount of time.

Knots per Hour

THINK ABOUT IT

How were the knots calculated?

Calculate knots per hour.

Check up :How to Calculate Knots

Use a thirty second time period to calculate knots.

There is a knot every 51 feet.

There are 120 thirty second time intervals per hour.

So….

120 x 51 = 6,120 feet per hour or

1 nautical mile per hour

Lead line

The lead line was used to make maps.

Used to measure depth.

Collected samples from ocean bottom to help explorers determine location.

Astrolabe

Used by Portuguese to determine latitude of navigation.

It measures the angle between the horizon and Polaris (North Star).

New Developmentsin Navigation

Technology is a dominant part of today’s navigation.

Today’s navigation is still based on mathematics.

Global Positioning System

Uses satellites 11,000 miles from Earth.

To get a latitude and longitude reading you need information from three satellites.

Information gathering is much much more reliable and faster.

Visit GPS Explained for more information.

Brainstorm

Think of the advances in navigation that you saw in this video.

With advancing technology, what could be some possible tools of navigation for the future?

Moving Map

Shows where you are and where you are going on an actual map.

See Moving Map with Touch Screen Control to see an example.

What are some innovative ways of assessing student understanding of the differences and similarities between ancient and modern navigation?

AssessmentAssessment