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Maritime Magic, "Developing a Sense of Wonder" is an integrative Connecticut standards-based, interdistrict educational program. Building on the success of past years, this program expects to engage incoming 4th graders from ten communities in a year-round intergenerational learning community.  Major academic/diversity goals and activities during the project years include: improvement of participants' academic (reading, writing, listening, speaking, inquiry, science, math and social studies skills) and cross-cultural communication skills, using technology as a vehicle to deliver instruction.

Students (sailors) will participate in interdisciplinary curricular themes:

  • Ecology/On the Beach (Natural Sciences)
  • Sea Sounds, Sea Creatures
  • Maritime Murals (Senses, Feelings and the Arts)
  • Long Island Sound - Then and Now (Peoples, Cultures and History)
  • Riding the Tide/Boats, Sails, Tales, Songs and Poetry of the Sea (Literature, Math, Music and Crafts).
These themes will be presented through activities such as boat building; water pollution studies; exploration of beaches and marshes; classification of flora, fauna and other organisms; recording observations through journals, digital photos, computer presentations and other manual/graphic arts forms; sailing on the Sound; and exploring oyster beds, bird sanctuaries and other locations. This program will raise understanding in natural and man-made maritime environments and raise awareness about maritime economies and careers.

Complementing this academic curriculum, the program will also address issues of diversity. Students will work in groups of 15-18 that will include a mix of students from different towns, backgrounds and cultures. Teachers and instructors themselves from diverse backgrounds, will encourage students to celebrate diversity through sharing and directed activities. Parents/guardians are invited to be co-participants: attending special maritime programs, accompanying students on field trips, and assisting teachers (captains) in classroom (ships) activities.