We decided to extend our Edwardian study to include the years up until the First World War. This was great because it meant we could add a Titanic Unit Study to our list of things to learn about. And, it dove tailed nicely with our science study into ships and boats.
The Titanic was a deluxe passenger liner, ironically known as the ‘unsinkable Titanic’. It sank on its maiden voyage on the 15th April 1912, after hitting an iceberg in the Atlantic. Over 1500 people lost their life that night, due to an inadequate number of life boats. We had an enormous amount of fun with this study, culminating in a very cool stop motion movie!
Titanic Unit Study: Books
The Story of Titanic for Children
I read this scrapbook-type book out loud. It was fascinating, full to the brim of interesting stories, artefacts and photos. It brings together a very complete story of the Titanic and its sinking.
Ship and Boats
I used this boat to teach the girls our science unit. I will be posting all our demonstrations and experiments in a different post.
Voices of the Titanic
Voices of the Titanic is a book full of true firsthand stories of people on the Titanic. A good mix of stories about first, second and third class passengers, alongside tales of specific individuals who were working on the Titanic that fateful night. Some survived, some didn’t, but each person’s story adds interest to this fascinating book.
Can You Survive the Titanic?
This was a great little addition to our daily reading. You had to choose a character and then make choices about the story which would ultimately lead to your demise or your safety. I’m not certain it was very educational, but the girls loved choosing the story of their characters.
My Story: Voyage on the Great Titanic
This is a diary of a girl in service, travelling to America on Titanic’s maiden voyage. Abigail read this as part of her quiet time reading
The Titanic Detective Agency
I bought this for Abs because she is always solving some mystery or other. It is the story of tomboy Bertha Watt and her new friend Madge as they set up their very own detective agency in order to solve the odd behaviour of some of the passengers. Abigail really enjoyed this book.
Magic Tree House: Tonight on the Titanic
This was a great easy read for Becca, who has taken a while to love reading. Jack and Annie are transported back to the decks of the Titanic as they try to save as many people (including themselves) from sinking with the ship.
Jasper Prince of Cats
A story all about the only cat to ever survive the sinking of the Titanic. This was probably the first long chapter book that Becca has read. Thick books scare her! However, I offered to buy her a sign for the girls’ new playhouse outside if she managed to read all the way through it. She did, and she loved it! And better still, it has given her the confidence to read other longer books too. Especially any by Michael Morpurgo.
Titanic Replicas
There is a fabulous place on Amazon that you can buy historic reproduction of memorabilia. It’s one of the first searches I do when I tackle a new topic. This Titanic pack included tickets, newspaper reports, advertisement flyers, menu and a distress telegram:
The girls will be using some of these in their presentation next week.
Titanic Unit Study: Morse Code and Marconigram
I have written all about Samuel Morse and Guglielmo Marconi in a post all about Morse Code and Marconigrams. In particular, I include how these were used on the Titanic to call for help when she hit the iceberg. We made our own Morse Code key and Becca will be using it in her presentation next week:
Here they are practicing:
Titanic Unit Study: Stop Motion Movie
To make my stop motion movie I needed to gather a background, scenery and props. I used a large black card for the night sky; white card to cut and paint as sea waves; polystyrene block for the iceberg and a Lego model of the Titanic.
Thomas very kindly made the Lego model with his sisters:
The first thing I did was to cut the waves – I made two sets:
The girls painted the waves with two different blues, as well as using white at the tips:
I propped the black card up using an activity box, and a couple of containers. The waves were taped to the containers and I built a Lego bridge to lift the Titanic up above the waves:
The final scene ready to go:
I used an app with my iPhone called Stop Motion. I had read and watched all the instructions and had a go! It worked, more’s the miracle! I then taught the girls how to do it:
And here is the end result. A seven second stop motion movie of the sinking of the Titanic. Not hugely accurate, given the actual Titanic broke in two, but I am more than chuffed with the result. I am a beginner after all…
Titanic Museum at Belfast
These are photos from a few years ago, but I hadn’t posted them yet and here seems a pretty good place to pop them in 😊
The above photos show Thomas using the Morse Code key, along with advertisements and the time clock.
The launch of the Titanic:
Original photos of the actual Titanic:
Some first, second and third class rooms:
This was such an interesting topic to study, one of our best I think. Becca will be doing her presentation on the Titanic next week.
To read about our Titanic Murder Mystery Party, click on the picture below:
