Lesson Plan - Go Inside the Titanic!

Watch a Slideshow
Watch the slideshow “Tour the Titanic.” Discuss as a class: Why do you think the Titanic was considered luxurious? What, if anything, surprises you about the ship? Explain.

Preview Words to Know
Project the online vocabulary slideshow and introduce the Words to Know.

• advanced
• rivets

Set a Purpose for Reading
As students read, have them list the names of at least three different parts of the Titanic.

1. How was the Titanic powered, according to the article? 
According to the article, the Titanic was powered by coal fires. More than 100 men worked in a boiler room, where they “shoveled about a million pounds of coal a day to fuel the fires that powered the ship.”
^{(RI.3.1 Text Evidence)}

2. What was the ship’s wireless room used for? 
The ship’s wireless room contained a device called a radio. The room was where crew members radioed, or called, for help when the Titanic started sinking.
^{(RI.3.2 Key Details)}

3. Based on the article, how do you think first-class passengers were different from other passengers?
First-class passengers were wealthier than the other passengers. They paid thousands of dollars for fancy cabins, or rooms.
^{(RI.3.8 Comparison)}

FEATURED SKILL: Reading a Chart
Explain that the Titanic crew used a device called a telegraph or a wireless radio to call for help. Share the skill builder “Crack the Code” to help students understand how the device worked and to explore the Morse code it employed. Students may also enjoy using Morse code to spell out their names.
^{(RI.3.7 Text Features)}