Last week my class set sail on the Mayflower! We had a blast. While they were at specials, I assembled our "Mayflower." It was nothing fancy, but I still think it was memorable!
I bought plastic tablecloths for $1 at Walmart, some candle night lights from the Dollar Tree, and used tape to tape up the sides of the "ship." Once again, nothing fancy, but with the lights out, it was pretty convincing.
I did a search on You Tube for creaking ship sounds and found some great ones! With the lights out, candles on, and the ship sounds in the background, it was very realistic I think. I had the class cram into the small space so they could feel how they would have been very close on such a small ship with 102 passengers! I read them some of the conditions and scenarios that occurred on the Mayflower. We stayed "onboard" for about 15 minutes to talk about conditions and such. I have made them hardtack when I have done this in the past, but forgot this year!
When we disembarked from the ship, we conducted a detective mystery case that I got from a teaching book. The case was a clue left on the Mayflower, which was a note about the Mayflower Compact and how not everyone wanted to sign it. We then discussed the Mayflower Compact and did a Reader's Theater together. The kids loved it and I think it was a memorable lesson!
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