Goals:

The students will gain an understanding of the events which surrounded the Titanic's fatal voyage.

The students will also improve their cooperative skills.

Materials:

loose-leaf paper

pen

one Titanic mystery (on a sheet of paper) for each group

Time:

This lesson will take one hour.

Procedure:

1.  The students will divide into groups of 4.

2.  One person from each group will be designated as the scribe.

3.  Pass out a mystery to each group. (Example: What would have happened if the Titanic had hit the iceberg head on?)

4.  The students will read the mystery.

5.  The students will be given one 20 minute period to discuss and solve their mystery by using logic and imagination.

6.  A student from each group will be selected to be the speaker.

7.  The speaker will explain their group's mystery and their group's solution.

8.  The rest of the class will offer solutions to their peers’ mysteries in a class discussion.

Assessment:

The students must successfully work in a group. Criteria for success: The students will fill out peer evaluation forms.

The students must have a real-life solution to their mystery. Criteria for success: If the students come up with a solution, they have achieved their goal.

Curricular Strands & Major Concepts:

Language Arts - exercise group and communication skills

History - use the facts learned about the Titanic to solve the mystery

Mathematics- use problem solving techniques

Possible Extensions:

Have the students read a mystery novel.

Have the students write their own mystery story.

The Titanic - developed by Kelly Coleman, Nikki Cosgrove, Megan Mills, & Dorothy Weber

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This page submitted by St. Norbert College Ocean Voyagers Program.