Goals:

The students will be able to use the passenger list of the Titanic to solve mathematical problems.

The students will be able to find the ratio of men/women, dead/surviving, and compare ages of the passengers.

The students will be introduced to the diversity of people that were aboard the Titanic.

Resources:

Access to the passenger list of the Titanic

Time:

This activity could last up to three to four hours depending on how you decide to do it. If you divide the class into groups, which are accountable for only one of the problems, it will take a much shorter time, but if each group is accountable for all of the problems it could take them up to four hours.

Procedures:

1.Ý Divide the class up into groups of four students.

2.Ý Make a hard copy of a passenger list for each group of students.

3.Ý Let the students look over the lists for a few minutes.

4.Ý Begin a short discussion with the following questions:
 

Are there any passengers that have the same last name as yourself? If yes, did they survive?

What are some of the job descriptions of the crew?

By looking at the names, were there a great deal of families aboard the Titanic? (These are just a few questions that the teacher could use to introduce this activity to the students.)

5.Ý Next introduce the problems the students must solve.
 

ratio of men to women

ratio of living to dead

% of 1st, 2nd, 3rd class passengers that survived and died

% of crew members that survived and died

6.Ý The students will work on one problem at a time. For each problem they will have to explain how they worked it out.

7.Ý The class will reconvene, explain, and share their results to the problems.

8.Ý The students will engage in a discussion pointing out surprises and unexpected outcomes.

Assessment:

Students will be assessed by the following rubric:
Ý
Exemplary - completes all problems with no errors; has appropriate problem solving strategies; explains in detail how they solved each problem

Proficient - completes all problems with little to no errors; most problem solving strategies are appropriate; explains briefly how they solved each problem

Novice - completes some of the problems with some errors; problem solving strategies are few; explains briefly how they solved each problem

Unemployable - completes few of the problems with many errors; no problem solving strategies; does not explain how problem was solved if solved at all

Ý
Curricular Strands and Major Concepts:

Science - discuss how many of the passengers died due to the temperature of the water versus the temperature the body

Math - using mathematical concepts to figure out the problems

Language Arts - discussing and using their communication skills to figure out problems

Social Studies - learning about their heritage by looking at the passenger list.

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.