Voices from the Titanic:Discovering History Through a Poet’s Eyes

Like playing the banjo,the Titanic disaster

is easy to learnbut tricky to master.

Allan Wolf

This handout is intended for classroom use only.Allanwolf.com

All page numbers refer to The Watch That Ends the Night: Voices from the Titanic by Allan Wolf (Candlewick Press); All track numbers refer

to the audio version of the book (Brilliance Audio).

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Web Resources

The Watch That Ends the Night: Voices from the Titanic (Candlewick Press) will be our main text in this session. The book’s back matter contains extensive bibliographical, biographical, and historical information, as well as a complete Titanic Miscellany.

The websites included below are particularly useful for the classroom teacher.

TITANIC: THE UNSINKABLE SHIPhttp://www.britannica.com/titanic

HISTORY ON THE NEThttp://www.historyonthenet.com

TITANIC SCIENCEhttp://www.TitanicScience.com

DOCS TEACHhttp://www.Docsteach.orgSpecial section of Titanic primary documents

A Note About the Common Core State Standards

While compiling this sample of activities I used the broader College and Career Readiness Anchor Standards (CCR) for Reading, Writing, and Speaking/Listening.

I have attempted to offer both “literary” and “informational” text, while acknowledging that many authentic reading samples may not fit neatly into one category or the other.

The Watch That Ends the Night: Voices from the Titanic provides a sampling of mentor texts for Poetry while simultaneously providing the content and specialized vocabulary that is the hallmark of “Informational Text.”

Historical Fiction, as its name implies, is a hybrid of Literary and Informational text.

Because of the limitations of time and equipment I was not able to address CCR Anchor Standards for Speaking/Listening [CCR.SL.5] and Writing [CCR.W.9] that call for strategic use of digital media and visual displays. To address this I have included links to examples of student projects generated with a variety of media tools. For those who wish to explore these popular digital tools I have included the proper links.

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Student Projects Using Media Tools

Drew Fisher (password: hanesms) Padlet http://padlet.com/wall/drewwatchproject

Emma Glen Padlethttp://padlet.com/wall/b06yemqxav

Raven Miller Glogsterhttp://www.glogster.com/rmtmmm/titanic-character-map-the-watch-that-ends-the-night/g-6kv1usoc2g74bjsr8986ua0

Myers Harbinson Glogsterhttp://www.glogster.com/myers0123/titanic/g-6kv6dovh90udrb015qpo3a0

Kate Lassiter MixBookhttp://www.mixbook.com/photo-books/education/the-watch-that-ends-the-night-8831929?vk=mK4wXkUjgU

Hannah Moore Wix (website)http://hbim1022.wix.com/titanic-new-life

Finn Lester-Niles Padlethttp://padlet.com/wall/xfeuygcjj

Ethan Evans Bitstrips.com (you must scroll through the comic backwards, but it’s a good project!)http://bitstrips.com/r/L3P11

Ryan Miller Capzleshttp://www.capzles.com/#/28cfd2ab-5ca9-4d88-ae94-b7cbd00251d3

Natalie Kraft Weebly (website)http://815172007944199167.weebly.com/index.html

Sarah Rice Capzleshttp://www.capzles.com/#/d067b226-d10b-43b8-962f-bce7d39c6402

Daniel Winkelman Yola (website)http://ddwlangartswatch.yolasite.com/

Henry Chen Glogsterhttp://www.glogster.com/chenryapple12/poster-glog-by-chenryapple12-/g-6l0b50tudktm4cvhhp9o7a0

Meghan Doty Padlethttp://padlet.com/wall/Jamila_and_iceberg

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Web Tools to Explore

Here are a few cool web tools that will get you thinking about your project! Remember: Learn something NEW! There’s so much more to presenting than just Prezi’s and PowerPoints! (Thanks to Jennifer Flanagan, at Haynes Magnet School in Winston-Salem, NC.)

www.yola.com – easy to use website templates! www.xtranormal.com – create your own cartoon! You can create your first one for free – after that, it costs a little. Doesn’t work well as an individual project; it’s best to embed xtranormal videos into a bigger project (wallwisher, wix, etc.).www.ahead.com - Similar to Prezi! Allows you to add high-definition videos, photos, and other effects.www.art.com - An art pad that might be helpful to you as you design your project.www.bitstrips.com - A comic generator that can help your engage your audience as you present the content of your project.www.capzles.com - A multimedia timeline! Add photos, videos, etc. as you take us through the Titanic’s journey.www.wallwisher.com - A “bulletin board” that allows you to add videos, links, photos, text - you name it!www.weebly.com - a cool site FULL of website templates. Similar to www.wix.com.Flipbook ( www.benettonplay.com/toys/flipbookdeluxe/guest.php ) - Generate a multimedia flipbook!www.voicethread.com - Cool site that allows you to use your voice to enhance presentations.www.wikispaces.com - Wikis are kind of like an interactive Word document - worth a look!www.museumbox.com - Create a “museum box” of videos, photos, articles, etc.! www.glogster.com - Very cool interactive multimedia tool! www.wix.com - Website templates that allow you to plug in your own information (videos, pictures, links, etc.).

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Exploring Titanic Through a Poet’s Eyes

How it works:[CCR Anchor Standards are included though they will vary slightly depending on the Team’s specific topic.]

You will be a member of a “Team.” Teams are formed around some unifying topic: The Shipbuilder; The Socialite; The Iceberg; The Undertaker. Each team will be given a variety of sources that might include: Informational Text; Literary text; A/V (audio, video, photo); primary documents; and hands-on activities. It is the job of each team to: compare the variety of texts, synthesize the facts; make connections and observations; draw conclusions; generate questions; and finally summarize its findings to other teams.

Informational Text: (From some other source.) [CCR.RI.1, 2,7, and 9].

Literary Text: (From The Watch That Ends the Night: Voices from the Titanic.) [CCR.RL.1-3; CCR.RL.4-6; CCR.RL.7 and 9]

Audio/Visual: From YouTube, audio books, photos, documents, physical props, etc [CCR.SL.2 and 3]

Activity: A hands-on relevant activity. [CCR.SL.1-3; Reading and Writing will vary depending on the activity.]

Compare, Connect, Synthesize, Comment, Question: This is where the team makes sense of the experience as a whole. What are the similar themes? What are the differences? What new ideas, if any, have been born? What questions still linger? [CCR.SL. 1-3; CCR.RL.7-9; CCR.RI.7-9]

Gather Words for the Titanic Word WallAll teams should create a list of specialized vocabulary, relevant terminology and useful phrases (specific to their Topic). [CCR.SL.5-6; CCR.W.4-5]

Share Your Discoveries with the Class [CCR.SL.4-6; CCR.W.7-9]

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The Shipbuilder

Informational Text: (Encyclopedia Britannica)

Literary Text from WATCH: Thomas Andrews, The Shipbuilder, page 57; The Iceberg, page 14.

Documents: Titanic Blue Prints.

Audio/Visual: Photos; Spoken Word--Disc 1, track 14, 1:22

Activity: Explore buoyancy and displacement by designing a ship’s Hull. Activity Terms

Displacement: When an object pushes water aside (like when you get in the bathtub).Archimedes’ Principle: An object will float if it displaces a volume of water whose weight is the same (or more than) its own. An object will sink if it weighs more than the volume of water it displaces. (Titanic’s displacement was 66,000 tons of water.)Buoyancy: The upward force exerted by a liquid on an immersed or floating object. The larger the surface area of the object, the greater the area for the water to push back on.

Activity DescriptionYou will be given six rectangular sheets of aluminum foil. Your task is to design a boat (from a single sheet of foil) that will stay afloat while holding as many marbles as possible. Experiment with different hull shapes and styles.

Compare, Connect, Synthesize, Comment, Question:

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The Shipbuilder Informational Text

Titanic: Origins and Construction from Britannica.com/titanic

In the early 1900s the transatlantic passenger trade was highly profitable and competitive, with ship lines vying to transport wealthy travelers and immigrants. Two of the chief lines were White Star and Cunard. By the summer of 1907, Cunard seemed poised to increase its share of the market with the debut of two new ships, the Lusitania and the Mauretania, which were scheduled to enter service later that year. The two passenger liners were garnering much attention for their expected speed; both would later set speed records crossing the Atlantic Ocean. Looking to answer his rival, White Star chairman J. Bruce Ismay reportedly met with William Pirrie, who controlled the Belfast shipbuilding firm Harland and Wolff, which constructed most of White Star's vessels. The two men devised a plan to build a class of large liners that would be known for their comfort instead of their speed. It was eventually decided that three vessels would be constructed: the Olympic, the Titanic, and the Britannic.

On March 31, 1909, some three months after work began on the Olympic, the keel was laid for the Titanic. The two ships were built side by side in a specially constructed gantry that could accommodate their unprecedented size. The sister ships were largely designed by Thomas Andrews of Harland and Wolff. In addition to ornate decorations, the Titanic featured an immense first-class dining saloon, four elevators, and a swimming pool. Its second-class accommodations were comparable to first-class features on other ships, and its third-class offerings, although modest, were still noted for their relative comfort.

As to safety elements, the Titanic had 16 compartments that included doors, which could be closed from the bridge, so that water could be contained in the event the hull was breached. Although they were presumed to be watertight, the bulkheads were not capped at the top. The ship's builders claimed that four of the compartments could be flooded without endangering the liner's buoyancy. The system led many to claim that the Titanic was unsinkable.

Following completion of the hull and main superstructure, the Titanic was launched on May 31, 1911. It then began the fitting-out phase, as machinery was loaded into the ship and interior work began. After the Olympic's maiden voyage in June 1911, slight changes were made to the Titanic's design. In early April 1912 the Titanic underwent its sea trials, after which the ship was declared seaworthy.

As it prepared to embark on its maiden voyage, the Titanic was one of the largest and most opulent ships in the world. It had a gross registered tonnage (i.e., carrying capacity) of 46,328 tons, and when fully laden the ship displaced (weighed) more than 52,000 tons. The Titanic was approximately 882.5 feet (269 meters) long and about 92.5 feet (28.2 meters) wide at its widest point.

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The Socialite

Informational Text (Encyclopedia Britannica)

Literary Text from WATCH: Margaret Brown, The Socialite, p. 112-113.

Audio/Visual: YOU TUBE: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKFRekX-LrU

Photo. And Spoken Word--Disc 2, track 11, 4:00.

Activity: Noblesse Oblige. Each member of the Molly Brown team must greet at least 3 people of lower class (i.e. outside of the Molly Brown team) and conduct an act of kindness.

Activity: Divide either of the 1st class promenade poems (p.145 or p175) into speaking parts and present it as readers’ theatre or a fully “staged” production.

Compare, Connect, Synthesize, Comment, Question:

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The SocialiteInformational Text from Encyclopedia Britannica

Margaret Brown, née Tobin, was born July 18, 1867, Hannibal, Missouri, U.S. died October 26, 1932, New York, New York She was an American human-rights activist, philanthropist, and actress who survived the sinking of the Titanic. The real-life Margaret Tobin Brown, never known in life by the nickname Molly, bears little resemblance to the legendary Molly Brown, who was created in the 1930s and achieved prominence in the 1960 musical The Unsinkable Molly Brown and the 1964 film adaptation starring Debbie Reynolds.

The daughter of Irish immigrants, Tobin (then known as Maggie) attended a grammar school run by her aunt in her hometown of Hannibal, Missouri, and as a teenager worked at Garth's Tobacco Factory. In 1886 she joined her brother Daniel in the mining town of Leadville, Colorado, where she worked at a mercantile store. She married James Joseph Brown, and they moved to Stumptown, a small community close to the mines. She helped establish soup kitchens for miners' families and became involved with the budding western branch of the woman suffrage movement.

Her husband advanced from day miner to superintendent, and, during the crisis following the 1893 repeal of the Sherman Silver Purchase Act, he devised a method of reaching gold at the bottom of the Little Jonny Mine. The Browns enjoyed new wealth and in 1894 moved to Denver, where they were welcomed into society. Margaret became a founding member of the Denver Woman's Club, part of a national network of women's clubs dedicated to improving conditions for women and children, and worked with Judge Ben B. Lindsey to establish one of the first juvenile courts in the country.

In 1901 Brown studied language and literature at the Carnegie Institute. Sometime later she became involved with Alva Vanderbilt Belmont and the Political Equality League. Between 1909 and 1914—before women had the right to vote—she made several unsuccessful bids for a seat in Congress. A lifetime interest in drama and the stage led Brown to study acting in the Sarah Bernhardt tradition in Paris and New York.

In Egypt in 1912, Brown received word of her grandson's illness and traveled to Cherbourg, France, where she boarded the Titanic to return home. During the ship's sinking, she helped command a lifeboat and used her fluency in several languages to assist survivors. She later headed the Survivors' Committee. In 1932 she received the French Legion of Honour for her efforts during and after the sinking of the Titanic, her work with children, her work on behalf of miners' rights, and her volunteer work during World War I.

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The Iceberg“Chaos was the law of nature; Order was the dream of man.” Henry Adams, The

Education of Henry Adams. Adams, an American journalist, historian, academic and

novelist (February 16, 1838 – March 27, 1918), was the grandson of John Quincy

Adams. Tradition holds that Adams suffered a stroke brought on by the news of

Titanic’s sinking for which he had purchased return tickets to Europe.

Informational Text (Titanic Science Article)

Literary Text from WATCH: The Iceberg p. 7. The Iceberg, p.415. The Iceberg, p. 417. The Iceberg, p.424.

Video, Audio, Photo:Photos. Spoken Word: Disc 1, track 2, 4:35. Prop: An anatomically correct heart.

Document: Map that includes North Atlantic, Canadian and US coast.

Activity: Trace the icebergs path from the west coast of Greenland to the outer banks where it strikes the iceberg.

Activity: Plot Ice Warnings on Chart using Long and Lat.

Compare, Connect, Synthesize, Comment, Question:

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The IcebergInformational TextFrom TitanicScience.com (Activity Guide, p. 10)

What Sank the Titanic?

The story of the iceberg that sank Titanic began about 3,000 years ago. Snow fell on the ice cap of Greenland. The snow never melted. Over the course of the next forty to fifty years, it was compressed into ice and became part of a glacier--a river of ice. Due to its enormous weight, the glacier flowed toward the sea at a rate of up to sixty-five feet per day. Like the snow that formed it, the glacier ice was fresh water ice.

When the glacier reached the sea, huge chunks or slabs were weakened and broken off by the action of rising and falling tides. One of these became Titanic’s iceberg. The iceberg slowly made its way down the coast of Greenland through Baffin Bay and the Davis Strait into the Atlantic Ocean. Most icebergs melt long before reaching the ocean. One estimate is that of the 15,000 to 30,000 icebergs produced yearly by the glaciers of Greenland, only one percent (150 to 300) makes it to the Atlantic Ocean. Once an iceberg reaches the “warm” water (32-40° F) of the Atlantic, it usually lasts only a few months. Very few icebergs are found south of the line of 48° North latitude. Titanic’s iceberg collision took place at approximately 41° 56’ degrees North latitude and 50° 14’ degrees West longitude.

About 7/8ths (87%) of an iceberg is below the water line. No one is exactly sure how large Titanic’s iceberg was, but according to eyewitness reports it was approximately 50 to 100 feet high and 200 to 400 feet ling. It was tall enough to leave ice chunks on one of Titanic’s upper decks.

ICEBERG STATISTICS

Icebergs come in a range of sizes and shapes.Growlers: Less than 3 feet high and 16 feet longBergy Bits: 3-13 feet high and 15-46 feet longSmall: 14-50 feet high and 47-200 feet longMedium: 51-150 feet high and 201-400 feet longLarge: 151-240 feet high and 401-670 feet longVery Large: Over 2240 feet high and 670 feet long

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The WordsInformational Text (Why A Verse Novel by Allan Wolf)

Literary Text from WATCH: The Iceberg p. 7; Lolo, The Tailor’s Son, p. 180; Thomas Andrews, The Shipbuilder, pp. 358-359; The Ship Rat, p. 23 and p. 181. And, pp. 368-9.

Audio/Visual: Photos, Spoken Word: Ship Rat--Disc 3, track 2,

Activity: Write your own personae poem (in voice of the ship, or another character of your choice.

Activity: Script the Ship Rat piece (p. 23 or your choice) into speaking parts and present it as readers’ theatre. Act it out for bonus points. Compare, Connect, Synthesize, Comment, Question:What are the similar themes? How do they differ?How does each poem’s form reflect the poem’s content?

Extra Credit: Note the Iceberg’s melting from p.415 to p. 417 to p.424.

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The WordsInformational Text

Why a verse novel?by Allan Wolf

To me publishing a book is one of the most personally gratifying of human achievements. But even more gratifying is publishing a book that someone else actually reads. So thanks.

Although New Found Land has been recognized by many as poetry, I usually take care to use the term “verse.” In fact those savvy folks in the publishing world have even coined a name for this popular genre, calling it the “verse novel.” Members of the book sales and marketing field may snidely (if correctly) note that a book with “A Novel” written after the title will automatically sell better than a book with “A Collection of Poems” written after the title. “Poetry,” they say, “is a hard sell.” True or not, a verse novel is not simply a collection of poems called “a novel.”

As a poet I am drawn to this form for the same reasons that as a child I was drawn to poetry. I like how the snippets of the narrative emerge and fall into place as if I am reading a jigsaw puzzle. And I have an innate love of how lines of verse turn. Their shape is not mandated by the dimensions of the book’s page. Their shape is determined by something more mysterious, some sort of magic that comes from the words themselves. These line breaks are a constant graphic reminder that the words have been worked by the hands of man, like taking in the sight of a freshly ploughed field. The intentional furrows are a testimony to human ingenuity.

The image of the plough is important to my point. The word “verse” derives from the Latin versus which literally means “having turned.” Poet Robert Wallace goes on to explain that “As a noun [versus] came to mean the turning of the plough, hence furrow, and ultimately row or line. Thus, the English word verse refers to the deliberate turning from line to line that distinguishes verse from prose.” †

To read a verse novel is to watch the words of the story turned into furrows, the lines emerging in the wake of a tiny invisible plough. What better medium could there be to relate the story of Lewis and Clark’s Herculean struggle to inch their way across the continent and back?

† Writing Poems by Robert Wallace (Little, Brown and Company, 1982), page 8. I cut my teeth on this great book in graduate school. It’s a must for any serious poet.

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The UndertakerInformational Text (From Encyclopedia Titanica).

Literary Text from WATCHJohn Snow, The Undertaker, pp.44-45.

Documents: Record of Effects; Affidavit Audio/Visual: Various Photos; Spoken Word--Disc 2, Track 7

Activity: FIRST read the following pieces: Jock Hume, The Second Violin, pp. 354-355; John Jacob Astor, The Millionaire, pp. 10-11; Oscar Woody, The Postman, pp.83-84; Frankie’s Gang, pp. 155-156. THEN attempt to place a name to each body described in each Record of Effects.

Compare, Connect, Synthesize, Comment, Question:What are the similar themes? How do they differ?

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The UndertakerInformational Text

Classified in Death: Recovering Titanic’s Dead (Excerpt)by Brian Ticehurst

AFTER the Titanic sank in the early hours of the 15th April, 1912 the sea around the site was littered with the flotsam and jetsam of the liner. Among the broken decking, furniture and fittings were hundreds of bodies floating around. Each of these had a cork lifejacket on which would keep them afloat for weeks.

After the RMS Carpathia left the scene with her survivors she asked the RMS Californian, which had belatedly arrived to search for more survivors and bodies. Another of the unanswered mysteries is the fact that the Californian claimed not to have seen any at all. The Californian must have made a very cursory search of the area and not allowed for the fact that the wind, drift, and current would have already scattered the wreckage and bodies over a very wide area.

The officials of the White Star Line were not convinced that everything had disappeared and they set to and chartered several ships to go and search the area and recover any bodies that they could.

The SS Mackay-Bennett was the first to be made ready, she was a cable laying ship under the command of Captain F. H. Lardner. She hurriedly loaded over 100 coffins and as much embalming fluid as could be found at short notice and also loaded 12 tons of grate iron (the purpose of which will be seen later).

The Mackay-Bennett recovered some 306 bodies, 116 were buried at sea and 190 taken to Halifax, Nova Scotia. To help in the recovery the cable ship SS Mina was also sent, she had 150 coffins, 20 tons of ice and 10 tons of grate iron, she was under the command of Captain W. E. S. Decarteret. She picked up 15 bodies, of these two were buried at sea and the rest returned to Halifax.

Also sent was the Marine and Fisheries vessel the SS Montmagny under the command of Captain Peter Johnson and they recovered just four bodies, one of which was buried at sea and the other three returned to Halifax.

The last ship was the Bowring brothers of St. Johns, the SS Algerine, she along with the Montmagny searched for as long as there was any possible chance of finding any bodies, they searched to the edge of the Gulf Stream. She picked up just the one body, that of James McGrady a Saloon Steward whose body was transshipped to the SS Florizel and the body was finally transported to Halifax where it arrived on the 11th June and was interred on the 12th June nearly two months after the disaster.

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The Mackay-Bennett was the first vessel to return to Halifax and there were some harrowing scenes on her arrival.

The following is an extract from the Nova Scotian Evening Mail dated 31st April 1912:

‘’The first bodies taken ashore were those of the crew. These bodies had not been embalmed or even sewn up in canvas (they had been kept in the ice filled hold) and presented a gruesome sight that it would be impossible to picture. The bodies were carried on stretchers by members of the Mackay-Bennett crew and at times as many as 30-40 bodies were in a heap on the deck where they had been taken from the ice-filled hold. (It is reported that to get the bodies on to the stretchers and later into the coffins many of the frozen limbs had to be broken). The bodies of the Second Class passengers and steerage were sewn up in canvas bags, and these were brought ashore next. The bodies of the First Class passengers were all in coffins on the poop deck and were the last to be brought ashore.’’

To sum up the above:

Crew members: put in the ice filled holdSteerage (Third Class) passengers: sewn in canvas bagsSecond Class passengers: sewn in canvas bagsFirst Class passengers: placed in coffins

Truly they were Classified in Death

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