Extra! Extra! Titanic Sinks

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Students will gain a new perspective when they step back in time to create their very own newspaper page filled with facts about the sinking of the Titanic in 1912. Prior to the lessons in this unit, students will have spent 1-2 weeks reading, listening to, and discussing expository material on the Titanic. In this unit, they assume the roles of reporters, editors, and even survivors in order to put together a comprehensive front-page newspaper report that alerts the world to the disaster. Although these lessons focus on the Titanic tragedy, they can easily be adapted for use with other disasters or world events you may be teaching about in your classroom.

OBJECTIVE
Students will:

1. Retell the story of the Titanic by writing a concise summary article about the disaster
2. Write critical thinking questions about the disaster in order to conduct an interview
3. Listen and take notes during a live interview
4. Be able to answer five interview questions regarding the sinking with factual accounts
5. Compare and contrast different accounts of an event
6. Understand the cause-and-effect relationship that led to the sinking of the Titanic
7. Follow step-by step directions to put their article and interview into a front-page news format

LESSONS FOR THIS UNIT
Lesson 1: Summing Up the Disaster
Lesson 2: The Interview of a Lifetime
Lesson 3: Front Page News

REPRODUCIBLES
River Flow Chart (PDF)
Student Publishing Checklist (PDF)
Five Point Scoring Rubric (PDF)
Note to Students (PDF)
My Titanic Interview (PDF)
Passenger Ticket (PDF)
Sample of Newspaper Layout (PDF)

CULMINATING ACTIVITY

The culmination of this unit is the final display of all the newspapers in the school hallway. My students beam with pride as their hard work is showcased and each year former students stop by to admire the annual display of newspapers and comment on their memories of "Titanic." I realized a few years ago the positive impact these newspapers made when two students I had taught several years earlier told me they still had their papers hanging up in their rooms. There are few 3rd-grade projects that would still elicit pride from a middle-school student!

SUPPORTING BOOKS

Books for Teaching About the Titanic Disaster

Women in History: Research for Expository Writing
Describes an innovative unit plan for studying Amelia Earhart and practicing the step-by-step expository writing process. Students prepare by...

Literacy for Life
Student success must extend beyond the classroom. Using newspapers and magazines in the classroom entices students to build a lifelong reading habit.

New Creations from Six Simple Machines
Students explore simple machines and their importance in the development of modern technology.

ARTICLE	Activity Plan 4-5: Making News! Children will make their own news stories and build communication, writing and vocabulary skills in this ready-to-use teaching idea for four- and five-year olds. Activity: Language.
LESSON PLAN	The Interview of a Lifetime Students interview each other, taking turns posing as journalists and as survivors of the sinking of the Titanic.
ONLINE ACTIVITY	News Writing with Writers In this learning activity students plan, develop, and publish a news article. The five step process includes writing models, tips for organizing...
BOOK INFORMATION	Columbus & the Renaissance Explorers The four voyages of Christopher Columbus to the "New World" began the European exploration of the Americas. After setting out to find a new route to the riches of the East, even after his third and final voyage he remained convinced that he had reached Asia. Using a wide variety of old and new pictures, this book reveals the medieval view of the world and why a new route to Asia was needed; Columbus's preparations for his journey; and his various voyages across the Atlantic.