Grades 6-8 - The Arabia Steamboat Museum

Arabia Curriculum |2
WELCOME!
Thank you for choosing to bring your class to the Arabia Steamboat Museum. It is our mission to provide
students with a memorable experience that will ignite their imaginations, increase their appetites for knowledge,
enhance their school work, and impact their future careers.
The following lesson plans were designed to support state standards and Common Core in social studies and
science, while preparing students for the visit. There are various lessons designed to accommodate your time
allotments. Together, we can bring history and science to life for our students.
PRE-VISIT LESSON PLAN FOR GRADES 6-8
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Time: 15-20 minutes
Objectives: Learn vocabulary words that will be used in the tour; become familiar with the story of the
Arabia’s sinking and excavation
Missouri State/Common Core Standards Supported: CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RH.6-8.4: Determine the
meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including vocabulary specific to domains related to
history/social studies.
Activity: Have students read the story below (or read it to them). Use the Glossary at the bottom to discover
key vocabulary words.
Vocabulary









Frontier
Snag
Hull
Erosion
Cargo
Magnetometer
Excavate
Artifacts
Preservation
Arabia Curriculum |3
The Fall and Rise of the Steamboat Arabia
The Steamboat Arabia navigated the Missouri River over 150 years ago, carrying passengers and
supplies to settlements on the Western frontier. On its last trip, the Arabia left from St. Louis and
reached Kansas City on September 5, 1856. The steamboat had just left its dock in Kansas City--headed for Council Bluffs, Iowa---when disaster suddenly struck.
The boat hit a tree snag just outside the town of Parkville, Missouri. The snag tore a big hole in the
Arabia’s hull, causing it to fill with water. Within a few minutes, the boat sank onto the river bed and
started to settle into the soft mud below the river.
Fortunately, all of the human passengers made it off the boat to safety. The crew rowed the passengers
to the shore, except for a mule who was left behind. No one could save the cargo because the boat sank
into the Missouri River mud too fast!
All was lost until 1988 when, with the help of an old river map and a magnetometer, the Arabia and all
of her treasures were discovered. The Hawley family and their friends began to excavate the boat from
under a cornfield in Kansas. Since the river’s channel had changed over the years due to erosion, the
Arabia was found a half mile from the current river’s edge.
The Arabia had become quite a legend. Over the years, several groups attempted to uncover the boat’s
freight, but no one was successful until the Hawley family and their friends found the incredible
artifacts and began the challenging process of preservation in the museum. Today, visitors from all
over the world come to see the archaeological treasures of the Steamboat Arabia.
Glossary










Frontier: Western settlements in the 19th century, where adventurers were traveling to find new
opportunities
Snag: a tree that was growing beside the river, but fell into the water because of erosion and
became stuck in the river bottom
Hull: the bottom part of the boat that sits underwater, where most of the cargo is held
Erosion: the movement of dirt over time, due to natural forces like wind and water
Cargo: goods carried by steamboat (or any other form of transportation) from one place to
another
Magnetometer: a strong metal detector that can find iron buried deep underground
Excavate: to uncover treasures by digging or removing dirt
Artifacts: treasures from the past
Preservation: cleaning artifacts and ensuring they last for a very long time
Archaeology: the science of discovering and studying artifacts to learn more about history
Arabia Curriculum |4
SIXTH GRADE WRITING/DISCUSSION PROMPTS
Time: 1-2 hours (can use some or all, depending on time available)
Materials: Writing materials
Objectives: Relate the Arabia’s story to the students’ discovery of Ancient Egyptian archaeology.
Missouri State/Common Core Standards Supported: SS.3.1.9: Examine river civilizations including Ancient
Egypt; SS.5.1.6: Describe trade patterns, explaining how supply and demand influence movement of goods and
services, human, natural and capital resources; SCI.5.1B: Water as natural resource; CCSS.ELALiteracy.W.6.10: short, discipline-specific writing.
1. What comparisons can be made between the excavation of the Arabia and King Tut’s Tomb? What were
some different challenges posed by each?
2. What comparisons can be made between the Nile River and the Missouri River?
Arabia Curriculum |5
3. Boats on the Nile and Missouri Rivers had some features in common despite the advance of technology.
What are some ways in which the design and use of boats on these rivers may have been similar?
4. In what ways was trade important to both cultures?
5. What do artifacts tell us about life in Egypt? What do artifacts tell us about life on the American frontier in
1856? In what ways were the lives of people in these times different from our own lives? What will artifacts of
the present say to archaeologists of the future?
Photos from the Arabia Steamboat Museum and WikiMedia Commons
Arabia Curriculum |6
Suggested Answers (Sixth Grade Prompts):
1. In both cases, artifacts were preserved because of the conditions in which they were found. Both were
underground with a constant temperature and protected from the light.
Tut’s tomb was dry and dusty, while the Arabia’s artifacts were wet and muddy (requiring different
cleaning and preservation techniques).
2.
These are some of the longest rivers in the world. The Nile is 4,145 miles long, while the Missouri
measures 2,656 miles.
Both provide for rich farmland which grows some of the same foods: barley, wheat, flax, beans, lettuce.
Both allowed for transportation of goods, encouraging nearby settlements from ancient times to the present.
3. Boats on both rivers were used to move goods and people.
Additionally, rafts on the Nile were built by roping planks together. In the case of the Arabia, large timbers
were held together by iron spikes, bolts, and wooden pegs to form the hull. A substance called oakum (pine
tar mixed with unraveled rope fibers) was used to seal in between the boards.
Finally, the design of the hull on these boats was similar. The basic shape of a raft on the Nile and the
structure of a steamboat’s hull was similar to a canoe. A flat-bottomed hull allowed these vessels to carry a
large amount of weight but still float in very shallow water. Even when carrying 200 tons of cargo, the
Arabia only needed 4 ½ feet of water to float.
Arabia Curriculum |7
SEVENTH GRADE WRITING/DISCUSSION PROMPTS
Time: 1-2 hours (can use some or all, depending on time available)
Materials: Writing materials
Objectives: Connect an understanding of Missouri River steamboat travel with larger trade and migration
patterns.
Missouri State/Common Core Standards Supported: SS.5.2.1, SS.5.3.2, SS.5.1.4, SS.5.1.5: Use geographic
research resources to process and report information to solve problems; SS.5.1.6, SS.5.3.2: Use geography to
interpret the past, explain the present and plan for the future. SS.5.1.6, SS.5.3.6: Explain causes and effects of
migration streams; SCI.5.2E (water as natural resource), CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.7.10: short, discipline-specific
writing.
Activity:
1. Explore the Corps of Engineers’ Interactive Maps to track the historic changes of the Missouri River:
http://moriverrecovery.usace.army.mil/mrrpgis/
Explain how the Missouri River has changed over the last 200 years and why.
Read more here: http://moriverrecovery.usace.army.mil/mrrp/f?p=136:5:0::NO
2. Why were steamboats such an important part of trade on the frontier?
3. How did early towns get started? Why were they situated along rivers?
4. Discuss passenger travel on a steamboat. Was everyone treated equally? Who had the most privileges?
Who had the least? Read more at:
http://www.uni.edu/iowahist/Frontier_Life/Steamboat_Hints/Steamboat_Hints2.htm
5. The Arabia was buried in ground saturated with fresh water. This helped to preserve the artifacts, but
they still require treatment. Preservation of freshwater artifacts is not as common as saltwater
preservation. Therefore, the excavators sought outside help and ultimately got advice from the Canadian
Conservation Institute. Why would saltwater preservation be more common than freshwater? Can you
find any other sites that do freshwater excavation or preservation?
Arabia Curriculum |8
The following is a list of towns that were to receive supplies from the Arabia. How many of these towns (in
Missouri, Iowa, and Nebraska) can students find on a map? Mark them on the blank map below.
St. Joseph
Iowa Point
Nebraska City
Hemmes Landing
Omaha
Bellvue
St. Stephens
Savannah
Glenwood
Linden
Florence
Council Bluffs
Logan (This small Nebraska town was expecting a large shipment of goods and winter supplies
from the Arabia. When the shipment was lost, many people deserted the town and moved to
Sioux City, IA. Eventually, the town disappeared totally, so you will have to find a map from
before 1856 to locate Logan.)
Map source: https://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/
Arabia Curriculum |9
Suggested Answers (Seventh Grade Prompts):
1. The Missouri River had a meandering channel in the 19th century. Throughout the 20th century, the Corps
of Engineers has regulated it with a series of trenches and levees to make it narrower, deeper, and more
predictable. Also, dams have created reservoirs of fresh water. This human intervention has made it
possible to find steamboats like the Arabia, now buried under fields, but also impacted local wildlife. The
Missouri River Recovery Program (MRRP) is working to restore habitats and protects species.
2. Steamboats were important in facilitating the transfer of goods between established cities, like St. Louis,
and new settlements on the frontier. While traveling upriver on the Missouri River, steamboats carried
supplies (food, tools, clothing, etc.) to new towns. Coming downriver, steamboats carried wheat, corn,
and pelts from fur trappers to market.
3. Many towns started near a river because it was a source of water, food, and transportation. St. Louis grew
near the confluence of the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers and became a major transfer point for goods
being moved to the West. Kansas City also grew because of its proximity to the Missouri and Kansas
(Kaw) Rivers.
4. Passengers on the Arabia were divided according to class. Cheaper fares were for deck passage. These
passengers were responsible for bringing their own food and slept on the deck of the boat. For a higher
fee, passengers could stay in a cabin and were served meals by the boat’s crew.
5. People have often focused on ships lost in the ocean because of tales of lost treasure: gold on pirate ships,
etc.
A r a b i a C u r r i c u l u m | 10
EIGHTH GRADE WRITING/DISCUSSION PROMPTS
Time: 1-2 hours (can use some or all, depending on time available)
Materials: Writing materials
Objectives: Reflect on the importance of Westward Expansion. Examine life in the 1850s through the evidence
of artifacts and literature.
Missouri State/Common Core Standards Supported: SS.3.1.6: Assess the significance of Westward
Expansion; SS.5.1.10, SS.5.1.6: Explain how changes in transportation, communication, and other technologies
affect the movement of people, products, and ideas; CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.8.10 (short, discipline-specific
writing).
Activity:
1.
Discuss the importance of steamboats in Westward Expansion.
2. Why is the Arabia’s story important to the study of history? What can we learn from the artifacts?
Suggested Answers (Eighth Grade Prompts):
1.
Before railroads, steamboats were the main means of transporting goods and people to the West. Goods
could be transported directly to towns along the river, or to places like the Westport Landing (in presentday downtown Kansas City) where supplies would then be transferred to wagon trains. When the
Arabia sank, it was carrying 200 tons of supplies that had been ordered by 50 general stores located in
16 frontier settlements. One hundred thirty passengers were also onboard; most were probably moving
west either to live in these towns or to settle farmland.
2. The items found on the Arabia are essentially a giant time capsule of life in 1856. Many of the artifacts
are not the kinds of items that typically get saved: socks, long underwear, food, seeds, matches, nails,
etc. Typically, these items would have been consumed or thrown away once they were used.
Additionally, researchers are able to date items to a specific day, September 5, 1856. For example,
clothing researchers are able to see the exact pattern and construction of a garment and know when it
was created.
3.
Use the Frozen Charlotte poem (excerpt below) as a discussion starter.
a. What is the purpose of the story?
b. What style of language does Seba Smith use? What does this tell us about the time period?
c. What themes are still relevant today?
d. Write your own poem with a moral. Use a true or fictional story for inspiration. Use a structure
similar to “A Corpse Going to a Ball,” to relate a lesson relevant for your peers.
Frozen Charlotte dolls, one of which was found in a carpenter’s toolbox on the Steamboat Arabia, were popular
in the 19th century as children’s toys and also as moralizing tools. The tale of “Fair Charlotte” was first
recorded by humorist Seba Smith in an 1844 periodical.
A r a b i a C u r r i c u l u m | 11
Excerpt from “A Corpse Going to a Ball” by Seba Smith
From The Rover: Weekly Magazine of Tales, Poetry, and Engravings; Volume Two. Edited by Seba Smith.
New York: 1844. Published by S.B. Dean & Co., 162 Nassau Street.
…At the village inn, fifteen
miles off,
Is a merry ball to-night—
The piercing air is cold as
death,
But her heart is warm and light;
And brightly beams her
laughing eye,
As a well-known voice she
“You know ’tis lined
throughout;
“And then I have a silken shawl
“To tie my neck about.”
…
Five cold, long miles they’ve
pass’d,
And Charles, with these few
frozen words,
And on they went through the
frosty air
And the glittering, cold starlight;
And now at last the village inn
And the ball-room are in sight.
They reach the door, and
Charles jumps out,
And holds his hand to her—
hears;
And dashing up to the cottage
door
Her Charley’s sleigh appears.
“Now daughter dear,” her
mother cried,
“This blanket round you fold,
“For ’tis a dreadful night
The silence broke at last—
“Such night as this I never
saw—
“The reins I scarce can hold;”
And Charlotte, shivering,
faintly said,
“I am exceeding cold.”
He crack’d his whip, and urged
Why sits she like a monument,
That hath no power to stir?
He call’d her once—he call’d
her twice—
She answer’d not a word;
He ask’d her for her hand again,
But still she never stirr’d—
He took her hand in his—O
abroad,
“You’ll catch your death acold.”
“O nay, O nay,” fair Charlotte
said,
And she laugh’d like a gipsy
queen,
“To ride with blankets muffled
up
his steed
More swifily than before,
And now five other dreary
miles;
In silence are pass’d o’er—
“How fast,” said Charles the
freezing ice
“Is gathering on my brow;”
But Charlotte said, with feebler
God!
‘Twas cold and hard as stone;
He tore the mantle from her
face;
The cold stars on her shone—
Then quickly to the lighted hall
Her voiceless form he bore—
His Charlotte was a stiflen’d
corpse,
“I never could be seen—
“My silken cloak is quite
enough;
tone.
“I’m growing warmer now.”
And word spake never more!
A r a b i a C u r r i c u l u m | 12
Sixth, Seventh, and Eighth Grades--For a more in-depth activity, consider creating:
AN INTERACTIVE GENERAL STORE
Time: 1-3 hours (1 class period for research, 1 for creating presentations, and 1 for creating the General Store)
Materials: Access to research materials through school library and the Internet; poster board, markers, scissors,
glue, etc. for presenting research; props and costumes for creating a living general store (optional)
Objectives: Use research skills to learn more about commerce, manufacturing, and transportation in the 1850s
Missouri State/Common Core Standards Supported: SS.5.1.10, SS.5.3.2, SS.5.1.4, SS.5.1.5: Use geographic
research sources to acquire and process information to answer questions and solve problems; SS.5.1.8:
Construct maps; SS.5.1.6: Describe trade patterns; SS.7.1.2, SS.7.1.4, SS.7.2.1: Select, investigate, and present
a topic using primary and secondary resources; CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.6.7: short research projects,
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.W.6.6: technology.
A r a b i a C u r r i c u l u m | 13
AN INTERACTIVE GENERAL STORE
Activity: The cargo found on the Arabia came from a variety of places in America and overseas.
1.
Choose a favorite artifact from the museum, and research its history to learn more about its amazing
journey. Here are some ideas:
 Silk from China
 Nails from Pittsburgh, PA
 Door Knobs from Bennington, VT
 Trade Rifles from Belgium
 Fine China from Staffordshire, England
 Trade Beads from Venice, Italy
 Perfume from France
 Coffee Beans from South America
 Knives (Green River Brand) from Greenfield, Massachusetts
 Pickles from New York, NY
2.
Research your object following the Research Checklist below.
3. Turn the research information into a poster with a map depicting the object’s journey.
4. Draw a picture of the object or find a photograph to incorporate into your presentation.
5. Display the posters in a hallway or common area. Turn the space into a “General Store” with props,
pictures, and labels describing the objects and their origins. Optional: students could dress in 1850sinspired clothing and pretend to work in the store and explain the objects to visitors.
Alternately: Have the students build a website to make an interactive General Store where users can
click on pictures of individual objects to learn more. They can use a free template from Weebly or
Wordpress and combine their research into a collaborative effort.
6. Invite other classes, parents, principal, etc. to visit the General Store.
7. You could also create an 1850s-style advertisement describing the General Store.
Research Checklist (You may not find ALL of the following, but try to find 4-5):
 Where was your object most likely manufactured in the 1850s? Which object traveled furthest?
 What were the names of some common manufacturers or brand names of this item in the 1850s?
 How was this object transported from its manufacturing town to St. Louis (where the steamboat
warehouses were located)?
 How far was this journey? How long did it take?
 What made this a desirable commodity on the frontier?
 Who might have utilized this object?
 Was this item better or worse than the alternatives available in the 1850s?
 What was the average price of this object in the 1850s?
BONUS: Use your creativity to make a three-dimensional representation of your object.
A r a b i a C u r r i c u l u m | 14
RESOURCES
Online:
www.1856.com (The official Arabia Steamboat Museum Website)
www.cci-icc.gc.ca (Canadian Conservation Institute)
Book List:
Westward Ho! An Activity Guide to the Wild West by Laurie Carlson
Pioneer Days: Discover the Past with Fun Projects, Games, Activities, and Recipes by David C. King
The Big Book of the Weird Wild West (Factoid Books) by John Whalen
Books Available at the Museum:
Treasures of the Steamboat Arabia by David Hawley
Treasure in a Cornfield by Greg Hawley
Questions or comments?
Please drop us a line at: [email protected]
Feel free to share pictures, videos, and updates of your students and their work on our social media sites:
Facebook: Arabia Steamboat Museum
Twitter: @ArabiaSteamboat
Instagram: ArabiaSteamboatMuseum
Google+: Arabia Steamboat Museum
Pinterest: Arabia Steamboat Museum
KANSAS STATE SOCIAL STUDIES STANDARDS SUPPORTED
Ancient World History (Egypt), Geography (mapping, Earth’s surface forces, water), Kansas History (for a
lesson plan related to Bleeding Kansas: feel free to see our curriculum for grades 9-12), Regionalism and
Expansion (Manifest Destiny, western expansion, Second Industrial Revolution)