Rebecca Locklear, a crew review

I may earn money or products from the companies mentioned in this post. :) Click here to go to my disclosure policy.

Men on the high seas, risk life and limb in service to others. I give you
Exploring the U.S. Life-Saving Service 1878-1915: 17 Student Workshops with 120 Activities. Rebecca Locklear has put together a lovely unit study, geared for upper elementary to highschool, filled with a ton of activities so you can immerse your students into the lives and work of these brave men. You can find more of her amazing unit studies at Rebecca Locklear.

How Did We Use It?

My son was interested in this review, but found himself really busy. In talking with him I asked if it would be helpful if I read to him select portions and included him in any art projects, cooking lessons etc. A huge breath of relief flooded his face.

Ergo I’ve made decisions about what he learns, focusing on aspects that will enhance his studies of WW2. He’s in the middle of understanding naval battles and how people survived harsh treatment (Japanese POW camps). Understanding the fortitude of these early service men and how they survived by sticking together has been an important aspect of his learning.

Story from Locklear review — The lad and dad laughed out loud at this one.

In a way, it was kinda funny. I was excited to see recipes as part of this unit study which comes as a PDF book. I like cooking and trying new foods. Reading one of the recipes out loud to my hubby I received the response “oh, that doesn’t sound good at all!”. I made it anyways and seeing the look of surprise on his face (and on the face of the lad) was priceless. “This is good, you’re going to make it again right?” It gave us a great opportunity to talk about how the men would take turns cooking, and how they used what they had at hand. In fact, this meal has been added into our repertoire! 🙂 So easy AND tasty!

I caught a couple of dastardly squirrels in my backyard this spring, and when we read about the strong use of wildlife as part of their diet, the lad quipped “Squirrel stew I suppose eh mom? They would have enjoyed it with some potatoes!” Not quite my thing, but perhaps….

About the Author

Rebecca Locklear is the author of Exploring the U.S. Life-Saving Service 1878-1915: 17 Student Workshops with 120 Activities. She has taught multiple levels as a teacher, and uses that experience to create history unit studies for teachers of any sort to use.

Why did Rebecca Locklear put this study together? She tells us the following in the opening pages:

What do you get?

120 pages of information, crafts, recipes, activities and more so you can immerse yourself into the lives of the men of the U.S. Life Saving Service.

The book contains:

Introduction for Teachers
Introductory Workshop
Workshops (4 Units)
- life at the station house
- working together at the station
- the culture of character
- relevance today
Expanding the Life-Saving Vision through the Arts
Research Areas Relating to the U.S. Life-Saving Service
Appendix 1 & 2
Glossary
Sources
Acknowledgements

Questions pepper the pages. You’ll find them mixed into the text, or following a section. I love how they are mixed in, making them an easy part of reading through the materials.

Pictures fill the pages. Sometimes full pages, other times wrapped in amongst the text. All are placed appropriately and add to the text. Most were in black and white, some few in full colour.

Variety in Activities

Most of the activities were geared toward classroom work with groups of children, as opposed to individual work by single students. Some would be able to be adapted easily, and others are simply group activities. You’ll find pictures, discussion questions, games, recipes, skits, music, stories, art and critical thinking activities.

Some could be adapted quite easily. I think my son would have enjoyed this one if I could have convinced him to give it a whirl. 🙂 14 year olds who are sick of Covid-19 shut-in and wanting to spend time with friends…. they aren’t always so easy to convince. 🙂 “Just read mom, I like when you read to me and just ask questions. I can do that and still do this too!”

I really appreciated that a few of the activities were meant for individual work.

The sheer volume of information present in such a good variety of ways makes me want to take this into my co-op group! It meets the needs of every learner that I can think of. Hands-on, interactive, research, tactile, and discussion. AND if you are into following rabbit trails… learn to make knots, explore cooking with wild game, play tricks on each other, tell stories to pass the time, ship profiles, flags, survival skills, etc.

One of the biggest things I appreciated about this unit study was that the human element was emphasized. Character qualities, work ethic, strength of will and bravery. All these aspects were pointed out numerous times in various ways to help us understand what it really took to be part of this service.

Should You Get it?

While we struggled with the group aspect of many of the activities (kinda difficult to do a group with just one student) my son enjoyed listening to the history of the U.S. Life Saving Service. Such fascinating information.

The materials are presented in a user-friendly manner and are easy to listen to and remember details of. He could be playing Minecraft or his other game with his friends, listen and even answer questions. He mentioned he would like to read some of the lessons himself and asked I send the file to his laptop. That’s got to tell you something eh?

I freely admit, he didn’t have a lot of interest in doing any of the activities, but he did enjoy listening and learning and isn’t that what really matters? Should you get it? YES… it’s such an interesting part of history and gives a good basis for the rescue services we have today.

Ms Locklear does an excellent job of meeting her purpose. You will find
Exploring the U.S. Life-Saving Service 1878-1915: 17 Student Workshops with 120 Activities to be a fun and useful addition to your historical studies.