UNITED STATES COAST GUARD
AUXILIARY
OPERATION BOAT SMART
BOAT SMART KIDS
Safe Boating Programs For Your Local Schools
While the concepts presented in
"Waypoints, A Guide To Boating Safety" are the
same for anyone who operates a boat, they have been presented in brief in the
text and will require explanation from you, the facilitator.
The classroom approach to fourth and fifth grade students needs to be somewhat more sophisticated. In many states, these students are old enough to operate a boat and, in some states, a personal watercraft! Where legal, a ten year old may well have regularly operated a boat without adult supervision!
The information related to each picture is presented on the page with the picture. In some cases, more than one picture is a part of the same concept…such as the concept of necessary equipment. Each page has a list of “Waypoints.” These are simple statements of the message explained on that page.
Each page also has a “One-minute Mystery” or some other activity that can serve as a basis for discussion or can be the final question by which you evaluate whether the children have learned the material on that page.
There are 8-10 boating lessons that can be designed from this text for children in
grades 4-6. The course can be presented in any number of alternative formats, or in a combination of several.
Click here for Boat Smart Kids Presentation Formats
In addition, some of the formats
lend themselves to division of the lessons into very small segments of 15-30
minutes
duration. The Boating Safety Puzzle on Page 13 makes a fun test of what the
children
have learned!
We hope that you will give some of the lessons in this book at least once each spring to
as many fourth, fifth and sixth grade classes as you can.
This will substantially help the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary in its mission to enhance safe boating through Public Education. Though you will never be able to count how many, you can feel personally satisfied that you have saved lives by doing so. The knowledge that you impart will make a difference!
Information and sample lesson plans are provided for various age groups as follows:
Boat Smart Kids Instructors Guide
Boat Smart Kids Public Information Page
For more information about the above or any other Operation Boat Smart activity, please contact James DiPelesi at jimcon@ix.netcom.com
