Winona's Counterculture: The "River Rats"

1. Theme/Title of the day’s lesson with a brief description:

A Winona Counterculture: The “River Rats”


Today, the students will be going on a field trip on one of the Houseboats on Latch Island, which is positioned between Winona and the Wisconsin border and serves as a year 'round anchor for an estimated 30 houseboats 


Grade Level: Eighth
Time Allotted: 90 minutes
Lesson 2


2. Materials/resources needed:

• Signed Permission slips (Due two days prior to trip)
• 2 School Buses; call the bus company to set up appointment a month prior (District 861 Transportation Office phone number: 507.494.0810)
• Call and make an appointment a month before the class tours the Houseboat (make sure to tour before field trip, and ask for a list of rules to go over with the class before the trip) *www.greatriver.com could be a great place to make a booking
• Suggest students to bring a camera
•Basic First aid kit
•Chaperones (One adult to 4 students; make sure that two of the adults are trained in CPR)
• Articles and Materials for Houseboat Realia:
o A couple of copies of “Whittaker Marine and Manufacturing Co.” -- clippings. (“Contains articles pertaining to the Whittaker Marine and Manufacturing Company started by Richard D. Whittaker in 1954. Whittaker, a welder, started his house boat manufacturing Company in Winona. The plant site was located at teh end of Laird Street in Winona. The company was sold to North American Rockwell's industrial and marine divisions and was moved out of the city around 1971.”) - Winona County Historical Society Archives and Library
o A couple of copies of “Winona State University Center for Mississippi River Studies” – clippings. (“Contains articles pertaining to the Center for Mississippi River studies program at Winona State University. It is being developed as a part of the "new university plan" for Winona State University. Includes summer course offerings for the general public.”) - Winona County Historical Society Archives and Library
o 2 copies of Good Bye by Ava and Richard Bissell (A non-fictional book based on houseboats and river life.) - Winona County Historical Society Archives and Library
o A couple of photocopies of different useful documents found in the fold of documents titled Houseboats. - Winona County Historical Society Archives and Library
o A couple of photocopies of different useful documents found in the fold of documents titled Boathouses. - Winona County Historical Society Archives and Library
o A couple copies of The Last River Rat: Kenny Salwey’s Life in the Wild by J. Scott Bestul.
o Examples of plant life on the Mississippi River
o Pictures of types of fish and animals that are found near or in the Mississippi River.
o A map of the Mississippi River (Geographical and Topical)
o Pictures of different houseboats.
o A map showing the different lock and dams on the Mississippi River.
o A diagram showing how to move through a lock and dam.


3. Goal(s) for today’s lesson: (This shows people how your lesson “fits” into the MN standards)


A. The students will be able to tour an houseboat on Latch Island, and get a first hand point of view of the lifestyle of Winona’s “River Rats.”
B. The students will analyze the similarities and differences between mainstream society and a counterculture of Winona by using historical documents.
C. The student will identify and locate major physical and cultural features that played an important role in developing this counterculture.

4. Objectives for today’s lesson: (This tells people what kids will know or be able to do at the end of the lesson)

The students will explore a houseboat as well as read through articles about houseboats and the “river rat” society. Then the students will draw an informative conclusion as to how this counterculture differs from mainstream society and write their conclusion in a short paper.

5. Procedures
:
A. Introductory Experiences:

Break up the class into two evenly split groups. (Houseboats are pretty small, so the whole class won’t be able to tour one at the same time, and unfortunately, as the teacher, you’re going to have to stay back from the field trip and conduct the classroom activity.) Explain the schedule to each group, and make sure that the chaperones have a clear understanding of the timings. Go over the field trip rules and remind the students that they our representing their school so they need to be on their best behavior. (Rule Examples: Raise hand if they have a question, respect property and other people, no rough housing, stick together as a group, don’t touch anything that isn’t their own, watch out for the edge of the boat, no standing on the bus, etc.) (5 min.)

B. Developmental Experiences: (Please number the steps and include approximate time each step will take)

1. Both Groups’ Schedule:

Group A
Time Allowed Activity
5 minutes Class Introduction
10 minutes Board Bus & Travel
30 minutes Boathouse Tour
10 minutes Board Bus and Travel
30 minutes Independent Realia Exploration
5 minutes Class Closure

Group B
Time Allowed Activity
5 minutes Class Introduction
30 minutes Independent Realia Exploration
10 minutes Board Bus and Travel
30 minutes Houseboat Tour
10 minutes Board Bus and Travel
5 minutes Class Closure

2. Tour Procedures:
• Arrive to houseboat and introduce ourselves to our tour guide. Students get into a line before entering houseboat. (1 min.)
• Allow students to get adjusted and look around for a bit, and have them close their eyes and feel the motion of the house. Challenge the to imagine themselves leaving here, and how their lives would be. (3 min.)
• Tour guide starts the tour. (Tour as a group.) Have tour of inside of boat house, outside of boathouse, and boathouse dock. Also, encourage the children observe the setting of Latch Island and the appearance of the surrounding boathouses. (20 min.)
• During the tour, have students ask questions appropriate questions to the tour guide. (Possible questions for tour guide: - ”What kind of jobs do people who live on houseboats have?"
- "Do they have to pay taxes?"
- "What state are they from?"
- "What kind of education is common for kids their age to receive?"
- "Do they ever get 'sea sick?"
- "What is it like during bad weather?"
- "How long do they stay in one area?"
• Get organized and head back to school. (1 min.)


3. Realia Procedures:
• Have a variety of different articles and artifacts available for the students in the front of the classroom.
• Explain to the students that this is an independent exploration of artifacts from the houseboat counterculture.
• Have students explore, research, and examine these artifacts and documents so that they can form their own opinion and conclusions of the houseboat counterculture.
• Encourage the students to compare the realia items and the things that they learned on their guided tour of the houseboat in order to form an informed conclusion of the differences and similarities of the houseboat culture and mainstream society.
• Assign the paper that they will write about their experience and the information that they gained through the realia.
• As a teacher, be available for questions, and encourage the students to expand their knowledge and viewpoints of this counterculture that lives so close to them.

C. Culminating Experiences (Closure)

Collectively as a class, discuss the day’s experience and compare notes between both groups. Ask the students what they found most interesting, and whether or not the could see themselves living this lifestyle. Also asked them what they didn’t like, and what they would like to learn more about. Answer any questions that they may have, and make sure that they have a clear understanding of what is expected in their assignment that will be due the following lesson.


6. Assessments used during lesson:
The students will be immersed into the houseboat culture through the houseboat tour and the houseboat realia. From this research, they will form an informative conclusion as to how mainstream Winona’s society is different and similar to the houseboat counterculture. The students will then write a 2-3 page paper (double spaced), about the similarities and differences of this counterculture, using the information that they gained. The teacher will then assess whether or not the students participated in the activities and whether or not they learned anything about the houseboat counterculture.