TM: Titanic (Teachers)

Transcript:

Dr. Ratchford: Did you get to participate this morning?
NCCIU: Vance wrote that he was able to join this morning. You had quite a turnout! That's great!
Dr. Ratchford: We had a full house and must look at increasing the number allowed.
NCCIU: Please do!
Repass: I figure there must have been at least 175 students involved. That is obviously the best way to reach a bunch of people.
Dr. Ratchford: Is that the number from this morning? 175? The entire window was filled and we were working so fast.
Joe Poletti: Grace, Sarah, Dr. Ratchford and all--I too am enthusiastic about the reach of this morning's session.
Dr. Ratchford: Hello, and welcome to the Titanic!
Joe Poletti: Hi, Dr. Ratchford. Congratulations on a stellar session this morning.
Dr. Ratchford: Hi, Joe. What a nice compliment....that was my 82nd performance and one of my toughest audiences.
Repass: Dr. R, we had some great comments back from some of the classes this morning. The kids were EXCITED to say the least!

Dr. Ratchford: Great here are some…….TITANIC CLASSROOM EXERCISES:

To The Teachers

It has been said that the three most widely written about occurrences are Jesus, the Civil War and the Titanic disaster. It has also been stated that the third most recognized noun in the English language, after God and Coca-Cola, is Titanic. That debate could go on and on, but we do recognize that this is certainly a teachable moment! I began my love affair with the Titanic in 1958 when I was 10 years old and read the definitive classic, A Night to Remember, by Walter Lord. When I began teaching (well before the Standard Course of Study and an integrated curriculum), I realized that I needed a hook for my junior high students. I created a three-week unit on the Titanic using math, science, drama, art, music, English and social studies. They read the book and saw the movie (on two 16-mm reels!). To a person, when they evaluated me at the end of the year, the thing they remembered and enjoyed the most was our study of the Titanic! Some great events are just destined to hold our interests.

Carpe Diem! Best wishes as you begin your journey! Godspeed Titanic!

Please feel free to contact me at Gaston County Schools, 366 West Garrison Boulevard, Gastonia, NC 28052; 704-866-6251; Fax: 704-866-6194; e-mail:

mratchfo@gaston.k12.nc.us

Melinda Ratchford, Ed.D.
Director of Instructional Support
Titanic Historian
Dr. Ratchford:

Have students choose a passenger aboard the Titanic and write about where he or she came from, why he or she was on the ship and what was taking him or her to the United States. It must be historically accurate. They need to choose age, gender, class, and country of origin and may be either passenger or crew.

Media coverage was extensive during this time of tragedy. Compare the media coverage then with media coverage of a disaster since then such as the Challenger, Kennedy assassination, Oklahoma bombing, etc.

Compare and contrast the Challenger and Titanic disasters.

Have a luncheon at the school serving a menu from the Titanic. Have students hold a memorial service for the ship and the victims. Create posters and banners with newspaper type headlines as wall displays.

Have science classes discuss:

Hypothermia and Death

What if the Titanic had hit the iceberg head-on?

Develop a plausible plan that would have kept the Titanic afloat longer

Make a listing of the countries represented by the Titanic passengers. Have a large world map and place pins on each country. If possible get a large map of each major country represented and put pins on the home cities of the passengers. Red pins for survivors; black pins for deceased.

Choose music from the Gilded Age and the White Star Lines music that would have typically been played on a passenger ship of the 1910's. Compare the lyrics with world events.

Find several representative songs about the Titanic. Analyze the words and find the point of view of the songwriter and lyricist.

Dr. Ratchford: I've just sent you a few of the lesson ideas I have. I will be sending others during the session. If you have any questions, please ask.
Repass: The media specialist at my school says she can't keep books about the Titanic in the library, they are so popular.
Dr. Ratchford: She might want to consider multiple purchases of paperbacks. I'm sorry to say that the Titanic will ultimately fade (but not as far into the past as it used to thanks to Cameron) and then she can purchase the more durable hardbacks. But what a nice problem!
Repass: Have you found interest in the Titanic to have increased since the movie?
Dr. Ratchford: It has certainly increased to a manic degree. All ages have suddenly found the story. I have told this to kindergartners and 102 year olds...they all find it has great appeal.

Sarah: Hello - this is Sarah Lawrence, technology teacher at Baileywick Elementary school in Raleigh, NC. Our 3rd graders are studying the Titanic disaster this month. Can you recommend any good web sites for children?
Dr. Ratchford: Web sites can be found in the archives of this Town Meeting. It is connected to the Gaston County Schools site. Also, type RMS Titanic in your search engine and just look around.

Sarah: I like activities that make the size of things real to students. Once my students did a mock up of the space shuttle. I wonder if we could take our students outside and explain the great size of the Titanic in terms of our two-story building. I imagine it was much taller but perhaps as long as the building. Is there info available on the size of the Titanic?
Dr. Ratchford: The Titanic was taller than the Woolworth Building, which was the highest building of its day. There are illustrations showing the Titanic compared (on her end) to the Eiffel Tower and the Woolworth Building. She was 886 feet long - I use the illustration of 3 football fields or 4 city blocks. That helps.
Joe Poletti: Regarding that topic, I am also curious to know the size of the Titanic in relationship to the cruise vessels of today.
Dr. Ratchford: Cruise vessels today are bigger.
Joe Poletti: This morning you pointed out that the titanic was 11 stories tall and 3 football fields wide. That puts it about the size of three DPI's double-stacked. YOW!
Dr. Ratchford: That is a rather frightening thought.....would it be pink? (Smile)
Dr. Ratchford: I use the illustration with middle grade and higher of a point 2 1/2 miles from where they are standing and ask them to visually turn that into the ground. That is how far down the Titanic is.
Repass: I didn't fully realize that the Titanic was that far down!
Dr. Ratchford: She is lying 2 1/2 miles down. It is awe inspiring when you are at the sight and watch the divers in the Nautile go down and it takes over 2 hours to reach the bottom in a free fall!
Joe Poletti: While fishing in the Gulf Stream, I believe I've seen cargo vessels that size. But then again, I usually on so much motion sickness medicine that I've probably imagined skyscrapers and mountains out there as well.
Dr. Ratchford: Stay away from the Dramamine....you'll begin seeing icebergs!

Dr. Ratchford: Any questions. Would you like some more lesson plan ideas?
Sarah: Yes, I'd like more lesson plan ideas. Our 5th graders will also read a literature book story about the Titanic.
Repass: That would be great!
Dr. Ratchford: Ok, here are some more……Titanic Lesson Plans

Describe the Gilded Age either through a poster, letter, diary, drawing, etc. showing how they lived, what occupations were prevalent, what types of fashion and foods were popular and what would living conditions be like.

Have a seminar discussion around the topic: Flying in the Face of God: Titanic and Technology.

In the Cameron movie, Titanic, which major characters were imaginary people and which were real people. Make a list of each. Describe the major role of the imaginary people to the accuracy of the movie, i.e. Old Rose was fictional but was the vehicle for tying the present to the past.

Give examples of any good things that came from the sinking of the Titanic, such as extra lifeboats on ships.

Discuss and/or defend the statement: Captain Stanley Lord was the person mainly responsible for the deaths of the 1500 Titanic passengers on April 14-15, 1912.

Calculate the following:

How many persons could have been saved on the Titanic if all available lifeboats had left full?

Calculate the size of the Titanic compared to 1) a football field in length; 2) the Empire State Building; 3) the Eiffel Tower.

What percentages of first, second, third class children survived?

What percentages of first, second, third class men survived?

What percentages of first, second, third class women survived?

Science: Place ice cubes in a metal bowl and fill with water. Check temperature and when it reaches 32 degrees, have students see how long it takes for their hand in the water to become very uncomfortable. Discuss the reasons for this and the symptoms of hypothermia.

Have students read A Night to Remember by Walter Lord (1955). Discuss this book and/or show the 1958 movie of the same name. Compare and contrast the Cameron movie with A Night to Remember. If you do not wish to use the Cameron movie as a comparison, compare newspaper accounts with the 1958 book and/or movie.

Draw any scene depicting the sinking of the Titanic - before the iceberg, hitting the iceberg, third class, women/children in lifeboats, etc. Each picture must have a paragraph explaining the circumstances of the drawing.

Essay: Describe, in your opinion, why the Titanic has gripped the imagination of almost four generations.

Dr. Ratchford: Teachers, use your imagination. This topic can be integrated into any subject and any grade level. Take any of the above ideas and expand and massage them and adapt them for your class. The interest is there. This 86 year old story is fresh and exciting even in 1998. Capitalize on that. Godspeed Titanic!

Dr. Ratchford: If you have any questions about the lesson ideas, please ask. I have tried to make them so that they can be adapted to almost all ages and aptitudes.
Repass: These are great ideas. Thanks a lot!
Joe Poletti: From your perspective, what other avenues could we have pursued this morning? Are there deeper questions, issues, or real people sagas you might have liked to entertain? I know the Q&A was probably age appropriate for the students this morning. What I'm getting at is how can we make the more students more involved for the hour session?
Dr. Ratchford: Good question. I have given my 45-minute presentation of the Titanic over 80+ times. I use 3-4 real life stories and the people (all ages) are caught up in the fact that these are REAL people. This bonding with the people is the most difficult concept to convey across technology.
Dr. Ratchford: I use the Douglas Spedden, Astor, and Straus stories. Q and A is about all you can effectively do during this format, but it does allow for more participation by more people. Being certain that students have some knowledge base before the program might be helpful. Such as sending out a sheet with general knowledge and getting that out of the way.
Joe Poletti: Well answered. I think that as we evolve in this medium, these are definite issues we will have to entertain and evaluate.
Sarah: Thanks for your wonderful ideas! I can't wait to share these with my school.
Joe Poletti: Thanks for your contribution. Godspeed!