Nuclear-Powered-
Submarine Learning
Experience
for South
Fayette Sixth
Graders
F
rom the depths of the seas to the classrooms of South
Fayette Middle School, the U.S.S. Pittsburgh, a nuclear-
powered submarine, will be making its appearance
in a year-long, multi-disciplinary learning project for
two mini-teams of sixth grade students. Since the
U.S.S. Pittsburgh is under command by Captain Jason Deichler,
its first ever native-Pittsburgh captain since its commissioning
in 1985, the local Navy League organization brought the idea
of a potential learning project to the Middle School’s STEAM
Coordinator, Frank Kruth. From the initial meeting last spring to
the start of this school year, Kruth, along with sixth grade teachers
Bridget Amato, Nicole Bianco, Amy Shimkoski, and Darcy
Kotts, have created multiple learning experiences to engage the
students in learning about the history and design of
submarines, how a submarine operates, what life is like
underwater for months, and to keep track of where in the
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SOUTH FAYETTE
world the U.S.S. Pittsburgh submarine has been. These learning
experiences will incorporate skills from all content areas and
will provide the students with a unique opportunity to connect
with a vessel that has our city’s namesake. To kick off the project,
Kruth presented to about 140 sixth graders some information
about the U.S.S. Pittsburgh, including photographs and visuals
of the submarine. After this introduction, the students worked
on constructing letters that will be shared with the crew. The
students are asking the crew of the Pittsburgh to provide them
with some challenges of their lives underwater in which the
students will try to create or invent solutions. For example, the
size of the storage space which some crew members are issued
to store their personal belongings is rather small. Therefore, in
future months, students may work on ingenious storage designs
to share with the crew members for feedback. In addition to
these letters, the students each decorated a styrofoam cup.