There are so many wonderful directions you can go with a study on Robert Fulton!  Our top recommendations are to study his life, his travels and inventions, or the history of shipbuilding.  Here are a few ideas to get you started in those areas!

You can grab your free downloads to go along with the Robert Fulton letter here!

Don't have the letter yet?  You can grab the snail mail letter here or the instant digital download version here.

For All Ages

Music

• Learn the Beach Boys song "Steamboat" from their album Holland
  Here's an Amazon link
  and a YouTube link:
  
  
  

• Learn Jimmy Buffet's song "Boats to Build" from his album License to Chill
  Here's an Amazon link
  and a YouTube link:
  
  

Videos

• Watch the 1940 movie Little Old New York about Robert Fulton

Visit

• Hudson River Maritime Museum in Kingston, New York
  
  
• Robert Fulton Birthplace in Quarryville, Pennsylvania
  
  
• If you're fortunate enough to live near a river or port, go observe the boat traffic.  Discuss the types of boats you see and what they may be transporting.  Or take a boat ride down a river or float a river in a canoe or kayak!
  
  

Preschool

Books

Boats Float by Rebecca Glaser
Zoom! Chug, chug! HONK! Babies and toddlers will delight in repeating the sounds of popular vehicles and animals in our board book series. Well-composed photographs highlight the real things little ones see in their world, providing a beautiful first nonfiction experience.

Alphabet Boats by Samantha R. VamosDiscover twenty-six types of vessels, from the more common--canoe and motorboat--to the unusual--umiak and Q-boat.

Boats Float! by George Ella Lyon
Set sail into the world of boats in this buoyant companion to Trucks Roll! and Planes Fly!
Sails and engines
paddles and oars
make the trip
from shore to shore.
Boats float!

Activities

• Sensory Play Table
  Set up a table with water and plastic boats like the TOOB "In the Water" set or build your own boats with pool noodles using this tutorial.  Invite children to play!
  
  
• Play "Will It Float?"
  Fill a tub or sink with water and invite children to collect various items to put into the water to see if they will float.

Elementary

Books

Robert Fulton, Boy Craftsman by Marquerite Henry
A fascinating look at the foundational and character-forming acquaintances and experiences of the man generally credited with making steamboat transportation a commercial success in the United States.

Jr. Graphic American Inventors: Robert Fulton by Steven Roberts
Fulton's innovations on the steamboat changed America's trade and travel in a progressive way. Readers will enjoy learning more about Fulton and his contributions to American society through easy to follow text and vibrant illustrations.

The Adventures of Munford: Munford Meets Robert Fulton by Jamie Aramini
Join Munford and Fulton as they race to create the world's first commercially successful steamboat. Along the way, you'll meet a colorful cast of characters, from Benjamin Franklin to Napoleon Bonaparte. Don't miss this exciting story as it takes you from a fledgling young nation, to the rivers of France, and back again!

Boats Fast & Slow by Iris Volant & Jarom Vogel
From the haunting Viking longships, to Native American log canoes, and onwards to Chinese Dragon Boats and pirate ships, to modern racing sailboats, Boats helps to tell the story of humankind in this artfully illustrated nonfiction picture book.

Alpha Bravo Charlie: The Complete Book of Nautical Codes by Sarah Gillingham
This stunning visual reference is an introduction to maritime communication through nautical flags, along with Morse code, the phonetic alphabet, and semaphore signaling.

The Boat Alphabet Book by Jerry Pallotta
Boats and the need for them have been around for thousands of years. Reed boats might have been the first boat ever to be built. The Vikings built wooden ships that were strong and ornate. And now boats like an Aircraft Carrier house 6,000 people and can carry over 100 planes.

Paddle to the Sea by Holling C. Holling
A young Indian boy carves a little canoe with a figure inside and names him Paddle-to-the-Sea. Paddle's journey, in text and pictures, through the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean provides an excellent geographic and historical picture of the region.

Activities

• Complete the Robert Fulton Character Map from our Robert Fulton download bundle--what did he hear, see, & do, where did he go, what did he think or say?
  
  
• Complete the North River Steamboat Invention Map from our Robert Fulton download bundle.
  
  
• Create a custom boat burgee.  A burgee is a distinguishing flag, regardless of its shape, of a recreational boating organization. In most cases, they have the shape of a pennant.
  
  
• Learn the Nautical Alphabet and practice spelling words using it.  Alpha Bravo Charlie: The Complete Book of Nautical Codes by Sarah Gillingham is an excellent book for learning all about nautical codes and the Nautical Alphabet set from Chickie and Roo makes a wonderful addition.  You can even use the cards to write coded messages for your family.
  
  
• Use the 3 part cards in our Robert Fulton download bundle to learn more about Fulton's submarine, steamboat, torpedo, and steam warship.  All of the drawings on the cards are Fulton's own!

Middle School

Books

• Great Inventors and their Inventions by Frank P. Bachman p. 25-49 (pdf p. 32-56)

 Activities

• Take learning the nautical alphabet a step further and learn Morse code. 

• Learn how a steamboat works and explore this Interactive Steamboat Model at htttps://steamboats.org
  
  
• Build a model steamboat like this one!

• Build a Paddle-wheel boat using these instructions.

High School

Books

• Robert Fulton by Alice Crary Sutcliffe (Great-Granddaughter of Robert Fulton)

Activities

• All of the suggestions for Middle School would be appropriate for High School.
  

• Learn Morse code and earn ARRL's Code Proficiency Certificate.

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