Grade 8 History Students Learn About Nautical Techniques of European Explorers

Students in Allen Lyle’s grade 8 history class have been studying the arrival of Europeans to the Americas, along with the navigation methods they used during the Age of Exploration in the 15th and 16th centuries. One of these navigation methods, known as “the log and line,” helped navigators determine the speed of their vessels by counting the number of knots on a rope that passed through their hands in a set amount of time as measured by a sandglass. Eventually, the term “knot” came to mean 1 nautical mile per hour, a measurement still used today. Like the navigators, students were able to calculate their own speeds in knots for a variety of movements – from walking and running to bear crawling and cart-wheeling! Go Harker history Eagles!

September 16, 2016Tags: Featured Story Photo, tophumanities