Book Detail
Longitude Prize, The |
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Publication Information |
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| Author: Dash, Joan | Illustrator: Petricic, Dusan |
| Title: Longitude Prize, The | Date: 2000 |
| Publisher: Farrar, Strauss and Giroux | City: New York |
| ISBN, paperback: 0-374-34636-4 | ISBN, hardback: |
Recommended audience: |
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| ABE/ABLE: Yes | ESOL: |
| Family: | Young Adult: Yes |
| Picture: | |
General Information: |
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| Book Type(s): nonfiction, biography and autobiography | |
HSE Descriptor(s): math| science |
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Summary: |
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| This history documents the competition between "ocean clocks" and "lunars" to win the 20,000 pound prize (about $12 million today) from the British Parliament for a replicable and simple way to determine longitude at sea. The story follows John Harrison, a rural carpenter, through the decades of dogged experimentation and political maneuvering with the elite Board of Longitude. An extensive glossary, a timeline, and a bibliography help a reader unacquainted with the terms. The concepts and sentence structure may discourage all but GED level students. | |
Teaching Ideas: |
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| This is a wonderful book for science--for paying attention to the tools of science, the methods of science, and the history of science. Understanding the descriptions and use of the astrolabe, quadrant, ocean clock would be aided by using the Sketch to Stretch strategy. There are many opportunities to develop math problems. Students will want to discuss and write about the character of John Harrison--how the author researched it, how his personality affected the awarding of the prize, how his single-mindedness was a double-edged sword. Learners may also want to explore issues related to professional jealousy or stereotypes/prejudices based on class. | |
Teaching Strategies: |
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 Sketch to Stretchhttp://literacy.kent.edu/eureka/strategies/sketch_stretch.pdf |
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