Aim: to Explore Status Using the James Cameron Film Titanic As a Stimulus

Titanic stimulus

Aim: to explore status using the James Cameron film Titanic as a stimulus

Introduce the topic and explore students’ knowledge about what happened to the Titanic. Give a quick explanation of the doomed voyage.
Then split the class into groups of three: first class, second class and third class passengers!
Using two class members to play Captain and First Officer, devise a whole class embarkation showing how each class was treated as they boarded the ship.
Watch the embarkation scene from the film and compare with students’ drama. Look specifically at the lodgings they have as well as the way they are treated and the cost of tickets.
Ask each student todevise a character from a different social class (you might like to prepare these in advance). Ask them to prepare a role-on-the-wall for their character.
Then move on to introduce a scene, where only one place is left on the lifeboat, and the students work in role to present a case for why their character should have it.
Finally hot seat each character to find out about their motives, actions and behaviour on board.

Aim:Use and develop freeze frame in exploring an issue in performance work

Re-cap on last lesson and remind students of the need to be sensitive in their work.
Now split the class into first and third class, and ask them to prepare a group still image showing the moment of impact as the Titanic hits the iceberg. Bring each to life and thought-track the still image.
Either working as teacher-in-role, or using a primed class member, present Dr Washington Dodge’s monologue (sheet attached). Students can then hot-seat this character with questions about his experiences.
Either invite students to research the actual events and find out how people reacted as the ship sank, or present this information to them. You could show the scene from the film in which the ship sinks.
Now move on to producing a series of three freeze frames showing the sinking:

hitting the iceberg

boarding the lifeboat

as the ship sinks.

You could play ‘Nearer My God To Thee’ from the film soundtrack as students perform their scenes.

Finish by evaluating the performances and discuss how many people were saved from the water by lifeboats. Why was it such a small number?

Aim: Develop character through in-role writing and performance

Recap on last two lessons and explain that today’s task will involve empathy and individual work within a whole group. Explain nature of in-role writing and your expectations. Look at the use of thought-tracking for later.
Watch the final few scenes from the film to show the final moments of the sinking and ‘rescue’ attempt.
Put students into groups with the following characters:
A first class survivor sitting in a lifeboat, unsure if they should help.
A crew member trying to wrestle with his conscience.
A man who sneaked onto a boat feeling guilty about his actions.

Allow five minutes for them to write in-role (you might like to play ‘Nearer My God To Thee’ from the film soundtrack as they do this)

Ask students to choose the line in their writing they feel best reflects the feelings of their character. Ask each group to create a group freeze frame to thought-track using these key lines.
Evaluate whether students feel they understand how it must have felt for these characters. You could use a ‘thumb-o-meter’ here – thumbs up for ‘agree’, across for ‘not sure’ and down for ‘disagree’.

Aim: Maintain a role in a whole class improvisation to reach a decision

Warm up with a game of ‘Questions Only’ to link to the main part of the lesson. In this warm-up students improvise short scenes in which they only speak using questions.
Explain that today’s lesson will focus on whole class work and will aim to answer the question ‘Who was responsible for the loss of over 1500 lives on the Titanic?’
Look at four possible suspects: the Captain, Ismay, Andrews, third class passengers. As a class, briefly explore why they might each be responsible.
Then set up a Board of Inquiry with a judge, each suspect, prosecutor and family members of the loved ones who have died. Distribute the character cards (sheet attached).
Ask students to introduce themselves in-role and allow time for prosecutors to note down questions to ask their chosen character. You may need to double up roles, or run two simultaneous court cases, depending on student numbers.
Discuss the format of a court case and establish ground rules for the role-play. Allow the judge to take control and to invite the prosecutors to question the suspects.
After hearing all the evidence ask the class to vote for who they think was responsible. Spotlight some students to explain their decision. Tell them actual board findings as to who was responsible in the end (Ismay!)

Dr Washington Dodge’s account

On board the Titanic

‘At 10pm, my wife and I went out for a stroll along the promenade deck and it was ice cold. We went to bed at around 11 and were awakened in the night by a bang which seemed as though the ship had been hit on the side.

‘I went onto the deck to see what had happened and saw men in evening clothes chatting. I asked an officer what had happened and he told me that something was wrong with the propeller, but that it was nothing serious. I went back to my room and was just telling my wife not to bother getting dressed to go outside, when a member of the crew knocked on my door. He whispered for us to get our life jackets and head outside, as the captain had asked for first class passengers to board the lifeboats.

‘No one wanted to get in the lifeboats because they felt they were safer on the “unsinkable” ship, and for that reason the boats went out half full to start with. As I helped my wife to board her boat I saw third class passengers armed with knives and clubs, fighting to get on the lifeboats. Unfortunately the officers had to shoot some of them to stop the lifeboats being swamped and drowned with people.

‘I will never forget their screams as I sat with my wife in the lifeboat, and how we wanted to go back for them as our boat had spaces, but could not risk them dragging us under with their weight. It is a decision that will haunt me forever.’

The accused:

You are CAPTAIN EDWARD SMITH.
You will face questions about your actions on board the ship.
Prepare some answers as to why you let lifeboats go out-half full. Why were you slow to react? Why did you send women and children first onto the lifeboats? Why did you lock the third class passengers in the bottom of the ship and why did you ignore the iceberg warnings you had received whilst sailing?
You are THOMAS ANDREWS, the ship designer.
You will face questions about your actions on board the ship.
Prepare some answers as to why you designed a ship with only enough lifeboats for half the people on board. Could you have designed it differently and thus saved more lives? Why did you go down with the ship instead of helping people?
You are J.BRUCE ISMAY, chairman of the White Star Line.
You will face questions about your actions on board the ship.
Prepare answers, as to why you ordered the captain to go faster even though he was worried about icebergs. Were you more concerned with ‘headlines’ than lives? Why did you sneak onto a lifeboat? Why did you deserve to live above other passengers?
You represent the THIRD CLASS PASSENGERS in this case.
You will face questions about your actions on board the ship.
Prepare some answers about whether you were too riotous in the way you scrambled for lifeboats. Did your behaviour damage lifeboats that could have been used to save people? Did your actions lead to unnecessary deaths?

The prosecution:

You are the PROSECUTOR for CAPTAIN EDWARD SMITH.
You will question him about his actions on board the ship.
Prepare some questions as to why he let lifeboats go out half full. Was he slow to react? Why were women and children first onto the lifeboats? Why did he lock third class passengers in the bottom of the ship? Why did he ignore the iceberg warnings he had received whilst sailing?
You are the PROSECUTOR for THOMAS ANDREWS.
You will question him about his actions on board the ship.
Prepare some questions as to why he designed a ship with only enough lifeboats for half the people on board. Could he have designed it any better so as to have saved more lives? Why did he wallow in self-pity and go down with the ship instead of helping people?
You are the PROSECUTOR forJ.BRUCE ISMAY.
You will question him about his actions on board the ship.
Prepare questions as to why he ordered the captain to go faster even though he was worried about icebergs. Was he more concerned with ‘headlines’ than lives? Why did he sneak onto a lifeboat? Why did he deserve to live above other passengers?
You represent the PROSECUTOR for THIRD CLASS PASSENGERS.
You will question them about their actions on board the ship.
Prepare some questions as to whether they were too riotous in the way they scrambled for lifeboats. Did their behaviour damage lifeboats that could have been used to save people? Did their actions lead to unnecessary deaths?
You are the JUDGE in this case.
You are presiding over an inquest into whether or not anyone was at fault for the loss of so many lives when the Titanic sank.
You will have to listen to all the arguments made against the four accused and take note of the public vote at the end.
But you must make your own decision as to who was responsible for the 1500 deaths on board the Titanic.
As the judge, you must keep order in the court room. Do not let anyone interrupt the prosecutor and make sure they do not stray from their questioning. You can allow some objections from other prosecutors if you like!