Houlton Elementary, Houlton, ME and F/V Tenacious, Sebasco Harbor, ME

Project page: link Grade: 3rd Fishery: ground fish/lobster Length of partnership: 2 years and going! (Jan — June each school year) Contact between partners: 100 emails; 16 phone conversations

Adopt-a-Boat Happenings:

• Captain Proctor Wells visits the classroom once a year in the spring
• Students have taken a 3-day field trip each May to visit Proctor in Sebasco Harbor to learn about his hometown, boat, family, etc.

Curriculum connections:

My fishing experience with Proctor has been developed across the curriculum. I have covered as many of the Maine Learning Results as possible while creatively teaching parts of the fishing industry.

• Math: measuring the width and length of the Tenacious on the playground.
• Weighing, measuring, and comparing lobsters.
• Fishing word problems using addition, subtraction, multiplication, number sense, rounding, and estimation.
• Reading, spelling, and writing process
  I have collected and am still collecting a wide variety of books, magazines, and monthly newspaper about marine animals and fishing.

• The class collaborately comes up with a weekly question to email to Proctor about fishing. Fishing terms are bonus words in spelling.

• The students write stories, poems, research papers, web quests, and make presentations relating to the fishing industry/marine animals/ocean.
• Science: Units we are required to cover yearly are water, rocks and minerals, animals, matter, and food pyramid.
  Very easy to connect to science units, except matter.
• Social Studies: geography of Maine, fishing history.

Teacher's comments:

Children and parents have sung the praises of the partnership of Proctor and my classes. Once students leave grade three, they also go to a different school. It is so rewarding to have former students and parents of the last two years make a special point to visit me at school or stop me while at the grocery store to discuss their grade three fishing experience with Proctor, ask questions about fishing, and retell stories about the trip down to visit Proctor. Remember, we are in northern Maine, many of my kids had never seen the ocean until our trips down. Our partnership has provided students with experiences and learning that some would have never experienced in their entire lives.

Proctor has gone above and beyond to enhance my children. I can't thank him enough.

Fishermanís comments:

This has been one of the most pleasant experiences that I have had as a boat owner. The children are wonderful and LeeAnn has done such a fine job picquing their interest in the ocean and the fishermen who fish it. This is a wonderful learning experience for both the class and myself. I can only hope that it will continue.