Field Trips
- Grade Level:
- Upper Elementary: Third Grade through Fifth Grade
- Subject:
- Social Studies
- State Standards:
- NATIONAL/STATE STANDARDS:
National Standard 2
Pennsylvania Standard 7.3
Pennsylvania Standard 7.3.6
Pennsylvania Standard 3.6
Pennsylvania Standard 3.6.7
In this activity, the students will hike a trail to the bottom of Incline 6 and hike back up by way of the incline itself.
Objective(s)
On the way down, stduents will learn about the natural resources used as raw materials in the building of the Allegheny Portage Railroad. On the way up, students will learn about the cultural resources related to the incline. They will also have the opportunity to determine the angle of the incline and the change in elevation.
Background
Our "Working in America" curriculum is broken down into smaller lesson plans. This is targeted at grades 3-6. Not all lesson plans/activities in the curriculum may be offered nor are they all necessary to successfully complete the curriculum.
Materials
-Calculator
-Pen/Pencil
-Clipboard and paper.
Procedure
Activity 1:
Before starting on the hike up, have the students use an inclinoeter to measure the angle of the incline. To use the inclinometer the student should look through the cylinder at the object they are trying to get an angle on. in this case they might use the engine house (or from the engine house use the skew arch bridge). Their partner should look at the string and determine what angle (or number) the string is crossing. Make sure your inclinometer is oriented so the edge that has the cylinder flush with your card is away from you. Do the set-up for "Change in Elevation" here, also make sure they write the angle down, you will need it to determien the change in elevation.
Activity 2:
This activity actually starts at the bottom. To begin, students need to know how big their stride is. Do this on the same type of grade as the incline: Have students count the number of steps it takes for them to walk ten feet (walking naturally). They can write down how many steps they go between each stop so they don't lose track. At the top they should divide the total number of steps taken by the number it took for them to go ten feet, they now know how many tens of feet they went. Now, plug the numbers into the formula:
Height=Sin[?]*distance where [?] is the angle (this calculation requires a calculator).
Last updated: October 24, 2018