AllanWolf.com
Voices from the Titanic:
Discovering History Through a Poet’s Eyes
Like playing the banjo,
the Titanic disaster
is easy to learn
but tricky to master.
Allan Wolf
This handout is intended for classroom use only.
Allanwolf.com
All page numbers refer to The Watch That Ends the Night: Voices from the Titanic by Allan Wolf (Candlewick Press); All track numbers refer to the audio version of the book (Brilliance Audio).
Web Resources
The Watch That Ends the Night: Voices from the Titanic (Candlewick Press) will be our main text in this session. The book’s back matter contains extensive bibliographical, biographical, and historical information, as well as a complete Titanic Miscellany.
The websites included below are particularly useful for the classroom teacher.
TITANIC: THE UNSINKABLE SHIP
HISTORY ON THE NET
TITANIC SCIENCE
DOCS TEACH
Special section of Titanic primary documents
A Note About the Common Core State Standards
While compiling this sample of activities I used the broader College and Career Readiness Anchor Standards (CCR) for Reading, Writing, and Speaking/Listening.
I have attempted to offer both “literary” and “informational” text, while acknowledging that many authentic reading samples may not fit neatly into one category or the other.
The Watch That Ends the Night: Voices from the Titanic provides a sampling of mentor texts for Poetry while simultaneously providing the content and specialized vocabulary that is the hallmark of “Informational Text.”
Historical Fiction, as its name implies, is a hybrid of Literary and Informational text.
Because of the limitations of time and equipment I was not able to address CCR Anchor Standards for Speaking/Listening [CCR.SL.5] and Writing [CCR.W.9] that call for strategic use of digital media and visual displays. To address this I have included links to examples of student projects generated with a variety of media tools. For those who wish to explore these popular digital tools I have included the proper links.
Student Projects Using Media Tools
Drew Fisher (password: hanesms) Padlet
Emma Glen Padlet
Raven Miller Glogster
Myers Harbinson Glogster
Kate Lassiter MixBook
Hannah Moore Wix (website)
Finn Lester-Niles Padlet
Ethan Evans Bitstrips.com
(you must scroll through the comic backwards, but it’s a good project!)
Ryan Miller Capzles
Natalie KraftWeebly (website)
Sarah Rice Capzles
Daniel Winkelman Yola (website)
Henry Chen Glogster
Meghan Doty Padlet
Web Tools to Explore
Here are a few cool web tools that will get you thinking about your project! Remember: Learn something NEW! There’s so much more to presenting than just Prezi’s and PowerPoints! (Thanks to Jennifer Flanagan, at Haynes Magnet School in Winston-Salem, NC.)
– easy to use website templates!
– create your own cartoon! You can create your first one for free – after that, it costs a little. Doesn’t work well as an individual project; it’s best to embed xtranormal videos into a bigger project (wallwisher, wix, etc.).
- Similar to Prezi! Allows you to add high-definition videos, photos, and other effects.
- An art pad that might be helpful to you as you design your project.
- A comic generator that can help your engage your audience as you present the content of your project.
- A multimedia timeline! Add photos, videos, etc. as you take us through the Titanic’s journey.
- A “bulletin board” that allows you to add videos, links, photos, text - you name it!
- a cool site FULL of website templates. Similar to
Flipbook ( ) - Generate a multimedia flipbook!
- Cool site that allows you to use your voice to enhance presentations.
- Wikis are kind of like an interactive Word document - worth a look!
- Create a “museum box” of videos, photos, articles, etc.!
- Very cool interactive multimedia tool!
- Website templates that allow you to plug in your own information (videos, pictures, links, etc.).
Exploring Titanic Through a Poet’s Eyes
How it works:
[CCR Anchor Standards are included though they will vary slightly depending on the Team’s specific topic.]
You will be a member of a “Team.” Teams are formed around some unifying topic: The Shipbuilder; The Socialite; The Iceberg; The Undertaker. Each team will be given a variety of sources that might include: Informational Text; Literary text; A/V (audio, video, photo); primary documents; and hands-on activities. It is the job of each team to: compare the variety of texts, synthesize the facts; make connections and observations; draw conclusions; generate questions; and finally summarize its findings to other teams.
Informational Text: (From some other source.) [CCR.RI.1, 2,7, and 9].
Literary Text: (From The Watch That Ends the Night: Voices from the Titanic.) [CCR.RL.1-3; CCR.RL.4-6; CCR.RL.7 and 9]
Audio/Visual: From YouTube, audio books, photos, documents, physical props, etc [CCR.SL.2 and 3]
Activity: A hands-on relevant activity. [CCR.SL.1-3; Reading and Writing will vary depending on the activity.]
Compare, Connect, Synthesize, Comment, Question: This is where the team makes sense of the experience as a whole. What are the similar themes? What are the differences? What new ideas, if any, have been born? What questions still linger? [CCR.SL. 1-3; CCR.RL.7-9; CCR.RI.7-9]
Gather Words for the Titanic Word Wall
All teams should create a list of specialized vocabulary, relevant terminology and useful phrases (specific to their Topic). [CCR.SL.5-6; CCR.W.4-5]
Share Your Discoveries with the Class [CCR.SL.4-6; CCR.W.7-9]
The Shipbuilder
Informational Text: (Encyclopedia Britannica)
Literary Text from WATCH: Thomas Andrews, The Shipbuilder, page 57; The Iceberg, page 14.
Documents: Titanic Blue Prints.
Audio/Visual: Photos; Spoken Word--Disc 1, track 14, 1:22
Activity: Explore buoyancy and displacement by designing a ship’s Hull.
Activity Terms
Displacement: When an object pushes water aside (like when you get in the bathtub).
Archimedes’ Principle: An object will float if it displaces a volume of water whose weight is the same (or more than) its own. An object will sink if it weighs more than the volume of water it displaces. (Titanic’s displacement was 66,000 tons of water.)
Buoyancy: The upward force exerted by a liquid on an immersed or floating object. The larger the surface area of the object, the greater the area for the water to push back on.
Activity Description
You will be given six rectangular sheets of aluminum foil. Your task is to design a boat (from a single sheet of foil) that will stay afloat while holding as many marbles as possible. Experiment with different hull shapes and styles.
Compare, Connect, Synthesize, Comment, Question:
The Shipbuilder
Informational Text
Titanic: Origins and Construction
from Britannica.com/titanic
In the early 1900s the transatlantic passenger trade was highly profitable and competitive, with ship lines vying to transport wealthy travelers and immigrants. Two of the chief lines were White Star and Cunard. By the summer of 1907, Cunard seemed poised to increase its share of the market with the debut of two new ships, the Lusitania and the Mauretania, which were scheduled to enter service later that year. The two passenger liners were garnering much attention for their expected speed; both would later set speed records crossing the Atlantic Ocean. Looking to answer his rival, White Star chairman J. Bruce Ismay reportedly met with William Pirrie, who controlled the Belfast shipbuilding firm Harland and Wolff, which constructed most of White Star's vessels. The two men devised a plan to build a class of large liners that would be known for their comfort instead of their speed. It was eventually decided that three vessels would be constructed: the Olympic, the Titanic, and the Britannic.
On March 31, 1909, some three months after work began on the Olympic, the keel was laid for the Titanic. The two ships were built side by side in a specially constructed gantry that could accommodate their unprecedented size. The sister ships were largely designed by Thomas Andrews of Harland and Wolff. In addition to ornate decorations, the Titanic featured an immense first-class dining saloon, four elevators, and a swimming pool. Its second-class accommodations were comparable to first-class features on other ships, and its third-class offerings, although modest, were still noted for their relative comfort.
As to safety elements, the Titanic had 16 compartments that included doors, which could be closed from the bridge, so that water could be contained in the event the hull was breached. Although they were presumed to be watertight, the bulkheads were not capped at the top. The ship's builders claimed that four of the compartments could be flooded without endangering the liner's buoyancy. The system led many to claim that the Titanic was unsinkable.
Following completion of the hull and main superstructure, the Titanic was launched on May 31, 1911. It then began the fitting-out phase, as machinery was loaded into the ship and interior work began. After the Olympic's maiden voyage in June 1911, slight changes were made to the Titanic's design. In early April 1912 the Titanic underwent its sea trials, after which the ship was declared seaworthy.
As it prepared to embark on its maiden voyage, the Titanic was one of the largest and most opulent ships in the world. It had a gross registered tonnage (i.e., carrying capacity) of 46,328 tons, and when fully laden the ship displaced (weighed) more than 52,000 tons. The Titanic was approximately 882.5 feet (269 meters) long and about 92.5 feet (28.2 meters) wide at its widest point.
The Socialite
Informational Text (Encyclopedia Britannica)
Literary Text from WATCH: Margaret Brown, The Socialite, p. 112-113.
Audio/Visual:YOU TUBE:
Photo. And Spoken Word--Disc 2, track 11, 4:00.
Activity: Noblesse Oblige. Each member of the Molly Brown team must greet at least 3 people of lower class (i.e. outside of the Molly Brown team) and conduct an act of kindness.
Activity: Divide either of the 1st class promenade poems (p.145 or p175) into speaking parts and present it as readers’ theatre or a fully “staged” production.
Compare, Connect, Synthesize, Comment, Question:
The Socialite
Informational Text from Encyclopedia Britannica
Margaret Brown, néeTobin,was born July 18, 1867, Hannibal, Missouri, U.S. died October 26, 1932, New York, New York She was an American human-rights activist, philanthropist, and actress who survived the sinking of the Titanic. The real-life Margaret Tobin Brown, never known in life by the nickname Molly, bears little resemblance to the legendary Molly Brown, who was created in the 1930s and achieved prominence in the 1960 musical The Unsinkable Molly Brown and the 1964 film adaptation starring Debbie Reynolds.
The daughter of Irish immigrants, Tobin (then known as Maggie) attended a grammar school run by her aunt in her hometown of Hannibal, Missouri, and as a teenager worked at Garth's Tobacco Factory. In 1886 she joined her brother Daniel in the mining town of Leadville, Colorado, where she worked at a mercantile store. She married James Joseph Brown, and they moved to Stumptown, a small community close to the mines. She helped establish soup kitchens for miners' families and became involved with the budding western branch of the woman suffrage movement.
Her husband advanced from day miner to superintendent, and, during the crisis following the 1893 repeal of the Sherman Silver Purchase Act, he devised a method of reaching gold at the bottom of the Little Jonny Mine. The Browns enjoyed new wealth and in 1894 moved to Denver, where they were welcomed into society. Margaret became a founding member of the Denver Woman's Club, part of a national network of women's clubs dedicated to improving conditions for women and children, and worked with Judge Ben B. Lindsey to establish one of the first juvenile courts in the country.
In 1901 Brown studied language and literature at the Carnegie Institute. Sometime later she became involved with Alva Vanderbilt Belmont and the Political Equality League. Between 1909 and 1914—before women had the right to vote—she made several unsuccessful bids for a seat in Congress. A lifetime interest in drama and the stage led Brown to study acting in the Sarah Bernhardt tradition in Paris and New York.
In Egypt in 1912, Brown received word of her grandson's illness and traveled to Cherbourg, France, where she boarded the Titanic to return home. During the ship's sinking, she helped command a lifeboat and used her fluency in several languages to assist survivors. She later headed the Survivors' Committee. In 1932 she received the French Legion of Honour for her efforts during and after the sinking of the Titanic, her work with children, her work on behalf of miners' rights, and her volunteer work during World War I.
The Iceberg
“Chaos was the law of nature; Order was the dream of man.” Henry Adams, The Education of Henry Adams. Adams, an American journalist, historian, academic and novelist(February 16, 1838 – March 27, 1918), was the grandson of John Quincy Adams. Tradition holds that Adams suffered a stroke brought on by the news of Titanic’s sinking for which he had purchased return tickets to Europe.
Informational Text (Titanic Science Article)
Literary Text from WATCH:
The Iceberg p. 7. The Iceberg, p.415. The Iceberg, p. 417. The Iceberg, p.424.
Video, Audio, Photo:
Photos. Spoken Word: Disc 1, track 2, 4:35.
Prop: An anatomically correct heart.
Document: Map that includes North Atlantic, Canadian and US coast.
Activity: Trace the icebergs path from the west coast of Greenland to the outer banks where it strikes the iceberg.
Activity: Plot Ice Warnings on Chart using Long and Lat.
Compare, Connect, Synthesize, Comment, Question:
The Iceberg
Informational Text
From TitanicScience.com (Activity Guide, p. 10)
What Sank the Titanic?
The story of the iceberg that sank Titanic began about 3,000 years ago. Snow fell on the ice cap of Greenland. The snow never melted. Over the course of the next forty to fifty years, it was compressed into ice and became part of a glacier--a river of ice. Due to its enormous weight, the glacier flowed toward the sea at a rate of up to sixty-five feet per day. Like the snow that formed it, the glacier ice was fresh water ice.
When the glacier reached the sea, huge chunks or slabs were weakened and broken off by the action of rising and falling tides. One of these became Titanic’s iceberg. The iceberg slowly made its way down the coast of Greenland through Baffin Bay and the Davis Strait into the Atlantic Ocean. Most icebergs melt long before reaching the ocean. One estimate is that of the 15,000 to 30,000 icebergs produced yearly by the glaciers of Greenland, only one percent (150 to 300) makes it to the Atlantic Ocean. Once an iceberg reaches the “warm” water (32-40° F) of the Atlantic, it usually lasts only a few months. Very few icebergs are found south of the line of 48° North latitude. Titanic’s iceberg collision took place at approximately 41° 56’ degrees North latitude and 50° 14’ degrees West longitude.
About 7/8ths (87%) of an iceberg is below the water line. No one is exactly sure how large Titanic’s iceberg was, but according to eyewitness reports it was approximately 50 to 100 feet high and 200 to 400 feet ling. It was tall enough to leave ice chunks on one of Titanic’s upper decks.
ICEBERG STATISTICS
Icebergs come in a range of sizes and shapes.
Growlers: Less than 3 feet high and 16 feet long
Bergy Bits: 3-13 feet high and 15-46 feet long
Small: 14-50 feet high and 47-200 feet long
Medium: 51-150 feet high and 201-400 feet long
Large: 151-240 feet high and 401-670 feet long
Very Large: Over 2240 feet high and 670 feet long
The Words
Informational Text (Why A Verse Novel by Allan Wolf)
Literary Text from WATCH: The Iceberg p. 7; Lolo, The Tailor’s Son, p. 180; Thomas Andrews, The Shipbuilder, pp. 358-359; The Ship Rat, p. 23 and p. 181. And, pp. 368-9.
Audio/Visual: Photos, Spoken Word: Ship Rat--Disc 3, track 2,
Activity: Write your own personae poem (in voice of the ship, or another character of your choice.
Activity: Script the Ship Rat piece (p. 23 or your choice) into speaking parts and present it as readers’ theatre. Act it out for bonus points.
Compare, Connect, Synthesize, Comment, Question:
What are the similar themes? How do they differ?
How does each poem’s form reflect the poem’s content?