Geography, Class, and Fate is an interesting map of Titanic passenger data. The map shows where each passenger was from, which class they were traveling in, and whether or not they survived the Titanic's sinking. Click the placemarks on the map to learn the passengers' names, where they were from, and the class of service in which they traveled.
The BBC has a wealth of information about the Titanic. One of the resources they have featured right now is Titanic: Faces of the Crew. Click on the pictures of the crew to reveal their names. You can filter the display according to gender, position in the crew, and whether or not a crew member survived.
Applications for Education
Students could use both of these resources to make comparisons and correlations between the class of service a person traveled in, role in the crew, gender, and his or her likelihood of survival. The map includes the names of all registered passengers on the ship while The Faces of the Crew does not list all crew members names.
Setting the Stage for the Titanic Tragedy is a New York Times feature that examines the tide and weather conditions that contributed to the Titanic striking an iceberg and contributed to delaying the rescue of survivors. Setting the Stage for the Titanic Tragedy includes a map of the Titanic's voyage route and the typical routes of icebergs calving off of Greenland.
Applications for Education Setting the Stage for the Titanic Tragedy is the companion to The Iceberg Was Only Part of It. The article outlines a new look at nature's role in the sinking of the Titanic. Because the article is from The New York Times it may be challenging for younger readers. For older students Setting the Stage for the Titanic Tragedy and The Iceberg Was Only Part of It could challenge them to rethink what they already know about the Titanic.
I was asked if I could share some resources for teaching and learning about the Titanic. I had a few things already in my archives. Then I did some searching and came up with handful of additional resources to add to the list.
On Board the Titanic is a virtual field trip produced by Discovery. To take the field trip students select one of five characters to be as they set sail on the Titanic. When selecting a character the students do not know who they are or if they will survive until the night of the sinking. Students will spend four or five virtual days learning about the ship and their character. Only on the night of April 15, 1912 do they learn who they are and if they will survive.
From Snag Films and National Geographic, Secrets of the Titanic.
National Geographic is featuring the Titanic this month. One of the neat resources that they've put online is Unseen Titanic. Unseen Titanic has two galleries of interactive images of where the Titanic now rests under the Atlantic Ocean. The Crash Scene interactive gallery is a collection of artifacts found on the seafloor. Zoomified is the other gallery that National Geographic is featuring this month. The Zoomified gallery has four views of the submerged wreckage of the Titanic.
WatchKnowLearn has a collection of fifteen short videos about the Titanic. Included in that collection is this interactive timeline from History.com. The timeline starts with the construction of the Titanic and ends in 1913 with stories from survivors.
The Library of Congress offers an excellent lesson plan for middle school and high school students. The lesson plan requires students to analyze primary documents to construct the real story of the sinking of the Titanic. Students need to be able to identify bias and gaps in the stories of the sinking of the Titanic.
The BBC's Survivors of the Titanic Series contains 13 audio recordings of survivors relaying their experiences. The collection also includes six primary source documents. Titanic: Sinking the Myths is another BBC feature about the Titanic. Sinking the Myths analyzes five causes commonly blamed for the sinking of the Titanic.
National Geographic XPeditions has a Titanic lesson plan designed for middle school use. The lesson plan includes the use of 3D animations of the Titanic as well as a study of ocean currents.
On Open Culture I found a video of what may be the only existing film footage of the Titanic. The footage was shot in a shipyard while the Titanic was under construction.
Estate of Hans Jensen v. The White Star Line is a mock trial in which the plaintiffs bring suit against the Titanic's operators for negligence. You can read through each part of the trial or you could use the framework to recreate the trial in your classroom.
Next month will mark 100 years since the sinking of the Titanic. That's why National Geographic is featuring the Titanic this month. One of the neat resources that they've put online is Unseen Titanic. Unseen Titanic has two galleries of interactive images of where the Titanic now rests under the Atlantic Ocean.
The Crash Scene interactive gallery is a collection of artifacts found on the seafloor. Zoomified is the other gallery that National Geographic is featuring this month. The Zoomified gallery has four views of the submerged wreckage of the Titanic.
Applications for Education
The Unseen Titanic galleries offer the possibility for a combined history and science lesson. As the sinking of the Titanic is one of the most notable peace-time news story, you can use the galleries in a history lesson. The aging of the artifacts underwater provides an opportunity for a short lesson on how salt water affects objects that rest in it.
The story of the sinking of the Titanic is one that has intrigued students for nearly a century. Finding images of the Titanic isn't hard, but finding original film footage of it is. Yesterday, the Open Culture blog posted a video of what may be the only existing film footage of the Titanic. The footage was shot in a shipyard while the Titanic was under construction.
Here is a video containing interviews with survivors of the Titanic's sinking. The video mixes in some clips from the Hollywood production Titanic.
Today is the 97th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic. I was reminded of this by an article that the BBC ran today. This article profiles the last Titanic survivor who was rescued from the ship when she was nine weeks old. The BBC has a number of other resources related to the Titanic including a video journey of Titanic exploration.
The Discovery Channel has a great Titanic virtual field trip called On Board the Titanic. Here is the review of the website that I wrote in March.
National Geographic XPeditions has a Titanic lesson plan designed for middle school use. The lesson plan includes the use of 3D animations of the Titanic as well as a study of ocean currents.
Snag Films hosts the National Geographic film Secrets of the Titanic. You can watch the full 53 minute film on Snag Films or snag it and embed into your website.
On Board the Titanic is a virtual field trip produced by Discovery. To take the field trip students select one of five characters to be as they set sail on the Titanic. When selecting a character the students do not know who they are or if they will survive until the night of the sinking. Students will spend four or five virtual days learning about the ship and their character. Only on the night of April 15, 1912 do they learn who they are and if they will survive.
Applications for Education On Board the Titanic is a good resource for elementary and middle school students learning about the Titanic. On Board the Titanic could be used as part of a larger lesson on early 20th century history. After taking the virtual field trip an extension activity could be to have students invent a character and write their own story about the Titanic.
