They Live in Guinea
Middle/High School Lesson Three



Procedure


Synopsis

Viewing time: 10 minutes. Start with the scene of the building and parking lot. End with the scene of the two men looking under the Kellums' boat.

The Clam Sub-
Committee
Meeting

Linda has been elected chair of the Clam Sub Committee of the Virginia Marine Resources Commission. She and the members meet and discuss the problems, and try to find solutions.

To the Teacher: Linda says, "You're talking about going in and rapin' it, Craig." You may want to discuss her meaning with the class.

Buck, Dave, and Chris

Buck does not think the government has helped the situation. Supply and demand is the only way to go. Dave thinks the Bay is fished out and will never come back. Buck says a lot of people blame the Bay's problems on the watermen, and they feel like scapegoats.

Another one of the watermen says, "If the people stuck together and helped each other like the Guineamen--they ain't Guineamen, they're human beings, that's what they are; they live in Guinea, the world would be a lot better place."

Billy Kellum's Boat

The Kellums are ready to move the boat to the marina, only six months after laying the keel. The boat's cabin will only have four inches of clearance to get out of the barn. The men and Gail work together and succeed in raising the boat the necessary eighteen inches. They name the boat the Arlene Gail. (This section resumes after the footage of Ronnie and Linda.)

Ronnie and Linda

Ronnie is out in Tommy's boat and it looks like the boat is going to lose the engine. Luckily, the engine is fine and Tommy gets the boat repaired.

In a conversation from their home, Linda and Ronnie talk about their life. It sometimes takes weeks to get an engine fixed. One year Linda and Ronnie lost three weeks of work and lost $30,000. Ronnie describes himself as "an accident waiting to happen." Linda says they don't have a lot of things that others do, like health insurance. They can never get ahead. Despite the problems, they like their lifestyle.

Billy Kellum's Boat

The boat is ready to be towed out of the barn. The rudder is trailing too close to the ground, and may crash up into the hull.

Working together, they manage to get the rudder clear. Later, as they are driving down Route 17 to the marina, the brake pads on the trailer start smoking. Billy fears his life savings will go up in flames.

Before Viewing

Introduce the vocabulary words. Have students review their post-graphic organizers from the first two lessons. Ask them to predict what will happen with the government ban on oystering and with Billy Kellums' boat. Tell them they will find out something the watermen are doing about the problems with regulation. They will also watch the Kellums prepare to move their boat.

During Viewing

Show the third section of the video. Have students continue note-taking as in previous lessons, using the Video Note-Taking Form for Lesson 3. Remind students to record or draw pictures of key terms, names, events, and dates on the left side of the page. Notes should be taken in sequential order.

After Viewing

After watching the video, have students work in previously established small groups to extend each other's information. Students may want to take turns reading their individual notes aloud or sharing drawings so that other members of the group can add information they may have missed. All new information should be recorded on the right hand side of the Video Note-Taking Form.

Summary

Use the Points for Discussion to review the information with the whole class. Meet with the whole class and continue adding to the post-graphic organizer for Lesson 3 to summarize the key points from the video. Help students identify the major topics. You may want to replay sections of the video for extra discussion, or to verify the accuracy of the students' notes.



Extensions Lesson Three

I. Vocabulary


Ask students to listen for the words in the video and predict their meanings.
keel Six months after they laid the keel, they are ready to move the boat to the marina.
(The principal structural member of a ship, running lengthwise along the center line from bow to stern, to which the frames are attached.) noun
marina Six months after they laid the keel, they are ready to move the boat to the marina.
(A boat basin that has docks, moorings, supplies, and other facilities for small boats.) noun
grappling hoe My brother hit me in the head with a grappling hoe.
(An iron shaft with claws at one end, usually thrown by a rope and used for grasping and holding.) noun
scapegoats A lot of people around here blame the watermen for over fishing. The watermen feel like scapegoats for the Bay's complex problems.
(People who are blamed for the mistakes of others.) noun

II. Notetaking-Form 3

III. Post Graphic Organizer 3

IV. Projects


  1. Research one of the current problems in the Chesapeake Bay. Write a report describing the problem and what is being done to solve it.

  2. One of the watermen said people blame them for the trouble in the Bay. Form an opinion on the subject. Debate your position with someone who has the opposite opinion.

  3. Create a talk show. Have one student be the host. Invite other students to take the parts of people from the video. Discuss the topics from the video.

  4. Write a letter from the point of view of one of the watermen to a member of the Commission. Have a partner read the letter and reply from the point of view of the commissioner.


Assessment Lesson Three

Note: Discuss questions with students, or choose a few and have them write short answers.

  1. How effective do you think the meeting of the Clam Sub committee was?

  2. How did Linda feel about the way the meeting was going?

  3. If you were Craig, how would you respond to Linda's statements?

  4. Craig told a story about chickens. He compared people to the chickens. What did he mean? Do you agree or disagree?

  5. How does Buck think the problem in the Bay should be solved? Did he think the government was helping?

  6. What does Dave think about the future of the seafood in the Bay?

  7. Do you think the watermen are scapegoats? Why or why not?

  8. Retell the sequence of events for moving the boat from the garage to the marina.

  9. Why do you think Billy Kellum had so much trouble with his boat? Could you make any suggestions to help make the move easier?

  10. How did the one waterman feel about people's perceptions of the watermen?

  11. What was the problem the Kellums had with the boat? How did they solve it?

  12. How do Ronnie and Linda feel about what they do? What are some of the problems they have?

  13. What happened when Linda and Ronnie were out of work for three weeks?How effective do you think the meeting of the Clam Sub committee was?

  14. Which statements in this section of the video were fact? Which were opinion?

Top of Lesson 3