A Colossal Disaster: The Titanic

April 15, 2012 marks the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the RMS Titanic, the fabled ocean liner that held such great promise in the early 20th century. Constructed over the course of three years, and at a cost of $7.5 million (over $170 million in today’s dollars), the ship was heralded as an emblem of the modern age – fast, outsized, and unsinkable.

Titanic was a marvel of modern engineering and craftsmanship, and her famous attributes were lauded years before she actually set sail. When the ship finally launched on April 10, 1912, thousands lined the docks to cheer. Four nights into her maiden voyage, the Titanic collided with an iceberg and sank in less than three hours, leaving the world stunned and bereft. Over 1,500 people perished in the disaster, and only 710 survived.

The period of the Titanic, the 1910s, was a time of great change in America and Europe. The Edwardian age was drawing to a close, and the public reveled in the promise and progress of a new era. Guglielmo Marconi had invented the telegraph machine, making transcontinental communication possible. Humans had conquered flight a few years earlier, and the Wright brothers continued to test and refine their aircraft, achieving greater and longer flights. Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen led a successful arctic expedition to discover the South Pole, and his triumph reflected the optimism and spirit of boundless possibility felt by much of the middle and upper social classes. Titanic, conceived as the largest and most luxurious ship of her day, symbolized the glory of this period.

A century later, the Titanic remains a seminal event in the popular imagination, with the disaster nearly as compelling now as it was in 1912. For the classroom, the Titanic story presents all kinds of lesson opportunities. Social studies classes can explore the disaster as a cautionary tale, where the dangers of hubris are all too evident. Students can research the social inequality of passengers on the Titanic, the maritime laws of the period which dictated too few lifeboats for the ship, the culpability of the ship’s crew, and the lawsuits that followed the disaster. Science classes can explore exactly why the “unsinkable” ship sank (and how a structure that size can float in the first place), as well as the biodeterioration currently occurring as the ship sits on the ocean floor. English and Language Arts classes can read contemporary news accounts of the disaster, and write their own journalistic or fictional narratives. Please see Peggy’s companion column (linked below) for many more ideas on incorporating Titanic-related resources into your classroom.

This week I’ve selected three Titanic resources for a variety of grade levels that focus on very different aspects of the disaster. Throughout the week, we’ll also be featuring many more Titanic resources on our Twitter and Facebook pages for all grade and proficiency levels, including phys ed activities and ELL lessons. Please let us know how you like them.

Titanic: The Artefact Exhibition – Classroom Lesson Plans and Educational Tour Activities
Subjects: English Language Arts, Geography, World History
Grade: 3-8
This unit consists of lessons and activities on the doomed luxury liner Titanic. The unit consists of three parts – one for grades 3-4, one for grades 5-6, and one for grades 7-8. Students learn about ship artifacts, everyday life in 1912, geography activities, and more. I like that this unit presents a comprehensive look at the time period and social climate of the Titanic era, which helps students to imagine more fully what life was like and the scope of the tragedy. This unit was produced by the Museum Victoria, which provides access to Australia’s scientific and cultural collections. The Museum oversees research and education programs.

Voices From the Titanic
Subjects: English Language Arts
Grade: 8
Students will research various aspects of the Titanic (ship, crew, passengers, design, etc.) as well as the events connected with her maiden voyage, collision with an iceberg, and subsequent sinking in order to develop a plot, setting, and characters for a short story. This lesson is designed to introduce students to the guided process of writing as well as develop their skills in using the Internet as a valuable resource tool. Students will learn how to access and explore the various sites and select appropriate details and information for inclusion in their stories. When the research and development steps have been completed, the students will compose a short story with a Titanic theme. This lesson was produced by CREATE for Mississippi, which was a project for on-site, on-going technology professional development, "just-in-time" support for technology use, and technology-infused curriculum modules. Although the project has now ended, there are many excellent lesson plans and activities available on the site.

What’s Eating Titanic?
Subjects: Physical Science, Biological Science, Math
Grade: 9-12
In this activity, students will be able to describe three processes that contribute to the deterioration of the Titanic, and define and describe rusticles, explaining their contribution to biodeterioration. Students will also be able to explain how processes that oxidize iron in Titanic’s hull differ from iron oxidation processes in shallow water. I like that this activity is a nice twist on some of the more standard Titanic fare, and focuses on the ship’s present condition. This activity was produced by NOAA Ocean Explorer, which provides tons of information about the ocean. The site offers information on expeditions, images, lesson plans, and professional development opportunities for educators.