The Search Beneath the Sea is intended to allow students to discover geometric concepts in a realistic setting. While scuba diving, two teenagers find colorful old tiles which they systematically relate to the unsolved shipwreck of the British ship Cornwall in 1774. The first problem for the teens is organizing the tiles into a tessellating pattern to figure out their purpose. They can speculate about the origins of the tiles and calculate where the Cornwall went down. They theorize that a second ship, an American privateer, the Hornet, raided the Cornwall before it sank and later dumped the tiles on the spot in Mattapan Bay where they lay submerged for over 200 years. Information for solving the mystery is woven into every aspect of the program: the video, the diver's log, a pamphlet about the Mattapan Lighthouse, maps, a newspaper and sets of polygon tiles. The program contains seven complete sets of materials to facilitate a cooperative learning situation. Using all parts of the program requires about five class periods. Supplementary activities suggested in the guide will extend this time allotment. The video and written materials are racially diverse. The subjects of navigation, lighthouses, and privateers are successfully incorporated into a realistic, attention-grabbing study of geometry. This package yields a treasure in creative math programming for middle school classes.

Ella B. Fossum, Gilmore Middle School, Racine, WI

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