Unit Plan

Classroom Activities for Kon-Tiki by Thor Heyerdahl

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This Classroom Activities for Kon-Tiki by Thor Heyerdahl unit plan also includes:

Kon-Tiki, the record of Thor Heyerdahl's 1947 raft journey across the Pacific Ocean, is the focus of three classroom activities. In a lesson on connotation and bias language, class members record instances of Heyerdahl's word choice. Another activity has pupils build a model of the raft. A final seminar looks at the degree to which personal/cultural biases impact any investigation.

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Instructional Ideas
  • Display the model rafts in the school library or common area
  • Have groups research current theories on how people came to the Polynesian islands
Classroom Considerations
  • Requires extra prep time to gather raft-building materials
  • Presumes a culture is established to permit a safe and respectful discussion of sensitive issues
  • Requires copies
Pros
  • Includes rubrics for the raft model and the seminar discussion
  • Provides detailed directions for each activity
Cons
  • None