Goals:

The students will become better familiarized with their school or public library and its resources.

The students will have an opportunity to begin seeking information on the Titanic.

Materials:

A public or school library (any library that you have access to)

Time:

This lesson will take an hour, but this depends if the teacher plans on having a tour or presentation of some type by the librarian.

Procedure:

1.  Before going to the library, explain to the students that this trip to the library will be different from others in that they will be allowed to explore, BUT they must remember that they should only be searching for information regarding the Titanic. The purpose of this trip is to familiarize the students with the library, so they can use it for future projects.

2.  The students will work in groups of 3-4 people.

3.  The librarian will give a tour of the facilities and explain the available resources.

4.  The students will research for information regarding the Titanic on their own.

5.  After reconvening, the class will go back to the room. Allow each group to discuss what they found or learned.

Assessment:

Students will be assessed by their participation in the activity and their cooperation among their team members.

Each group will be responsible for filling out a form in which they must state three different resources they found about the Titanic and what they contained. They must also explain at least two of the resources they learned about through the tour. Criteria for success:
 

3 = student states 3 resources they used and what they contained, and explains at least two resources     they learned about.

2 = student states 2 resources they used and what they contained, and explains at least 1-2 resources     they learned about.

1 = student states 1 resource they used, and explains at least 1 resource they learned about.

0 = student states 0 resources they used, and explains 0 resources they learned about.

Curricular Strands and Major Concepts:

Language Arts - researching the Titanic in literature; discussing the information they found from books or other library resources.

Science - the information the students find will include a lot of scientific information which they may pursue further.

Social Studies - learning about the history of the Titanic

Library Science - using technology to research the Titanic.

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

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