Lesson+Plans-Brian's+Winter

Brian's Winter - Lesson Plans

**__ Lesson for Brian’s Winter __** **__ Lesson Plan 2 Brian’s Winter __** ** 1. ****Important notes to consider: Students were not given all the necessary information to make a successful shelter. I was hopeful that they would discover several things on their own.** ** 2. ****They have not yet refined the shelters to the point of completion to accommodate even a short stay. Several students did comment that the previous day they were wet after they were inside for a short period of time. They were told that they required a buffer between them and the snow and were questioned as to what they could use.** ** 3. ****An important point that was not included in the initial instruction was the addition of either sticks or tree branches to act as a marker. Each branch would be stuck into the compacted snow before digging to act as a marker when digging out the room. When the students were within fifteen to twenty-five centimeters of the outside, digging would stop. The branches are also a safety mechanism in that if for some reason the ceiling collapses, the branches can be used as a type of drill to the outside. By turning the branch, in a circular motion, the person inside can work his/her way out to the surface.** ** 4. ****Reminder to make the ceiling hole with the end of a round mouth shovel and the bottom vent of approximately 15 centimeters by five centimeters for air circulation and to create an upward flow of smoke if there is need for a fire.** ** 5. ****The creation of fire is important to make an ice shield on the ceiling. The heat melts the snow briefly making a liquid covering. As soon as the fire is extinguished the ice starts to form.** ** 6. ****The openings to the quinzee must not be too large. The opening must be small and low to make sure that the heat stays in and does not escape and the cold is pushed out. **
 * //Introduction//: The students were to have read //Brian’s Winter// and completed the AR Test on the book. Initial questioning from the teacher will reveal if after a break of several weeks a review of the book will be necessary. **
 * I will tell the students that we are on phase two of a five phase project (five books in the set along with the activity experiences) and that we will be required to have the literature and the activity experiences completed by the end of March. **
 * I will give them a review of the literature requirements for this phase which will include written assignments, blogs and recordings, and the timelines for each requirement. **
 * I will then explain the activity experiences that I would like to pursue with the group and the timeline we will tentatively follow. **
 * I will then remind the students that they will be responsible for wearing appropriate clothing for the weather and that we will be outdoors unless it is a day designated for written work. It will be explained that the students should attempt to do most of the written work on their own time to allow for maximum participation in the activity experiences. **
 * //Main Body//: The students will meet in the designated classroom for an explanation of the lesson. A brief comparison of the shelter that Brian has fashioned and how he prepared the shelter for winter will be discussed. **
 * ** Points to consider: Brian has found a natural rock shelter and has used this shelter since the crash. **
 * ** Brian has fashioned walls and has insulated the walls with mud, sticks, and leaves. He observed beavers insulating their huts. **
 * ** Brian has managed to discover that a very small fire is necessary to heat the shelter after he has it insulated. **
 * The students will observe, listen to instruction and ask questions they feel may be pertinent to building a quinshee (snow shelter built from the snow base). **
 * The teacher has a shovel and will provide the students with one shovel. Students will share the extra shovel. By providing only one shovel, one student will help the teacher while others observe and ask questions. The students will rotate helping the teacher. **
 * ** Students will gather with the teacher and proceed in shoveling snow into a large pile and pack it down very tightly. **
 * ** As the snow pile gets larger, the circumference will increase as well. This is necessary for stability of the structure. **
 * ** The snow will be loaded on and packed several times until the height is approximately 1.5 meters. One final packing of the snow and the next step is ready. **
 * ** A student will be designated to take photos of the procedures for documentation to help as a resource. **
 * ** The teacher will question the students on where they believe the best area for a crawl space would be. Discuss the situation, i.e. are you in severe weather and survival the goal? Are you setting up for the day or night? Do you think you will need a fire for warmth? **
 * ** Students may ask questions about how to prevent collapse of the structure, strengthening of the structure, number of people it may hold, air flow for oxygen. **
 * ** Guide students to make the entrance downwind of the prevailing wind to shelter from blowing snow. Air hole in the bottom and through the top of the shelter once the complete shelter is built. **
 * ** Discuss with the students that this is a temporary shelter as opposed to Brian’s shelter. Their objective is to build a shelter that will protect them from the elements for a brief time. Although there are ways to strengthen the structure such as spruce boughs placed within the packed snow near the top of the snow pile, we will attempt to make a less permanent structure with no internal support. **
 * ** The first step is to get the students to commence a small hole downwind of the prevailing wind. As the hole gets larger, the student with the shovel will clear the discarded snow as it is taken from the pile. As the opening gets large enough for a body to get through, then the inner part of the structure is ‘gutted’ using circular motions with the shovel as in a ‘half-moon’ motion from corner to corner. As more snow falls, it is removed and discarded. It is very important to begin to clear away towards the top from the inside with the same slow half moon motion. Once there is enough snow remover for a body to fit in, then the ‘carver’ can go deeper inside continuing with the clearing of snow. **
 * ** At the point that the teacher feels the inside is cleared out enough, then the students may begin to go inside and see if their preconceived thoughts were correct. Was it cold? Did you feel cramped? Could you stay the night in there? Do you think that you would require a fire? What would happen to your clothing or a sleeping bag? How would you prevent your clothes from becoming wet? How would you stay dry? **
 * ** The basic answer to the question is to put down spruce boughs which act as an insulator and buffer from lying directly on the snow. **
 * ** The final part of this lesson is to have the students double up. Two students will enter the structure one after the other. They stay in for several seconds and depart. They will be told to think about comfort, safety, and any other ideas or questions they may have. **
 * ** After all students have been given the chance to experience the structure from the inside, then the airway will be made. The airway will be made at the ‘wind side’ of the structure and a hole in the top. The hole in the bottom will be approximately 12 centimeters long and 4-5 centimeters wide. The top hole will be smaller, approximately double the diameter of a shovel handle. **
 * //Conclusion//: Students will meet in class to discuss their experience and to plan for the next session where they will build their own shelters. Students will be encouraged to write about their experience at home, or during free time within the next few days, comparing their initial experience to Brian’s situation. They will be guided to think about how they would feel if they, like Brian, knew absolutely nothing about building shelters or of winter conditions. **
 * Notes: Safety can be an issue if the shelters are too top-heavy and not enough snow is scraped from the inside; it may collapse on the students. **
 * Clothing should be appropriate for the weather. **
 * Pre-planning for equipment is important. Provide shovels and spruce boughs (if necessary) and perhaps scouting an area that has plenty of snow and some shelter from wind. **
 * Resources for different ideas or for support in this endeavor can be found on “River of Fire” Wiki site. **
 * Wikispaces.com and go to “Riveroffire” **
 * //Introduction//: Students will meet in a classroom to discuss the previous lesson and to brainstorm the positives and negatives they experienced. It is important that students focus on the sustainability of life within their creations. As was mentioned in the last lesson, the scenario could be an overnight stay; being caught in bad weather; or attempting to make a semi-permanent shelter. They need to discuss why they think their shelters may or may not solve above mentioned situations. **
 * //Main Body:// The students will be asked to access the wiki site for River of Fire//.// They will be given time to look the site over and make comments as to the look and the feel. They will be given access rights to the site to take ownership of its content. **
 * Today the students will be asked to write about their experiences and upload the work to the wiki site. **
 * ** Compare what you experienced in making a shelter to what you think that Brian might have experienced with his shelter. Make note that he did have a semi-permanent shelter that you do not, and that you have a completely different shelter in terms of materials. **
 * ** Explain what you think Brian might have been thinking when he finally completed his shelter. How do you feel about the work you have completed thus far? What will you do with the information that you now have to improve your shelter? How do you think you would have done without any information and working on your own? Could you have completed the shelter and do you think you would have survived? **
 * ** An important note that most survivalists will make is that although you may not be successful with everything you may attempt, at least you are trying something. The mind will then focus itself on doing something to help your survival and things will not seem so helpless. It is a type of ‘feint hope’ that the mind will feed off of to try and motivate you to survive. **
 * //Conclusion:// Students will have the missing materials for next session and they will complete their shelters. Ultimately, it is projected that the students will create a new shelter to accommodate them for several hours at night. We will complete our stay in the Eleanor Graham School Gym where we will have set up tents to spend the remainder of the evening. Students will conduct interviews with their partners to have an oral documentation of the overall experience and how they feel it might have compared to Brian’s experience. **