The sinking of the Titanic

LEVEL: 2n ESO
ATTENDING TO COGNITIVE DEMAND LESSONS STEP BY STEP.
New topic: Oral Presentation in class.
First step: Presentation. Listening and speaking
Teacher will introduce the topic to their students. He will talk in class. In order to keep the
students focus on the presentation the teacher will use some visuals, gestures and body
language.
I will also use visuals for revisiting the concept of the sinking of the Titanic and Key words
such as:

April

luxurious

unsinkable

iceberg

sank

Steam

Ireland

ship steamboats

wreckage

lifeboats

Titanic

Coal

And some structures like:

What is this?........................ This is a
Which kind of energy can we get from..?
We can get ..energy from

Why did the Titanic sink???

Before we can consider this we must find out about the Titanic!...

So...

What do you already know?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5609Lrpy8VQ

Write down any facts you know about the Titanic

Examples:
Titanic began her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, bound for New York
The Titanic was the most luxurious liner of the time
The ship had many features that were perfect for a holiday cruise

At the time of her construction, Titanic was the largest passenger steamship in the
world. Titanics maximum speed was 23 knots (26 MPH)

Why do you think there are so many people there to see the Titanic set sail?
____________________________________
What is the inside of the ship like?
____________________________________

...it was a really huge steamboat!!!!

Second step: Reading a text in English, according to their level.

The text will revisit the sinking of the Titanic

EXAMPLE OF TEXT
From the article Spotlight on the Titanic. Encyclopdia Britannica
http://spotlight.britannica.co.uk/Titanic/Titanic_Article.html
THE DAY THE TITANIC SANK
From the article Spotlight on the Titanic. Encyclopdia Britannica
The luxury liner Titanic was making
its first voyage in 1912 when it struck
an iceberg in the North Atlantic
Ocean. The ship sank in the early
morning of 15 April, killing more than
1,500 people. Since then, the Titanic
has become a symbol of the great
triumphs and tragedies of the 20th
century. It has been the subject of a
number of stories and films, as well as a musical.
Background
Before aeroplanes, the trip between Europe and the United States could only be made by boat. Stateof-the-art steel steamboats, powered by mechanical engines, set record times in travelling the ocean.
Wealthy people often travelled between Europe and the United States for pleasure. However, many
more people made the trip to move to the United States from Europe. Because of this demand,
operating ships became a big business. The White Star Line was one of the leading companies in that
business. To compete with its rival's ocean liners, White Star planned a fleet of three ships that would
be safer, larger and more luxurious than its competition. The Titanic was one of them.
Built in Ireland, the Titanic was a huge vessel. It was more than 270 metres (880 feet) long. It was also
23 metres (93 feet) wide. Its nine decks rose as tall as an 11-storey building. The ship weighed more
than 46,000 tonnes. The ship was also elegant. Its first-class accommodations were as impressive as
Europe's best hotels. Because of its design, the Titanic was considered unsinkable. .
Departure
A cheering crowd came to see the Titanic set off on its first voyage on 10 April 1912. Sailing from its last
European stop in Queenstown, Ireland, the ship was headed for New York City. Among the more than

2,200 people on board were members of well-known US, British and European families. Many of the
passengers were moving to the United States to begin a new life there. These passengers were mainly
in the ship's steerage, or third-class, sections.
Disaster
On 14 April the Titanic sailed the cold waters of the North Atlantic. During this time, the crew received
several warnings of icebergs in the area. At 11:40 PM there was a sudden alarm of an iceberg ahead.
The crew slowed and swerved the ship, but it was too late. The iceberg ripped a series of gashes in the
side of the ship. Parts of the ship began filling with water. At 2:20 AM on 15 April the Titanic sank.
More than 1,500 people were lost at sea. Some people escaped in lifeboats. However, there was only
enough space in the lifeboats for 1,178 people. In addition, some of the lifeboats were lowered into the
water half empty. For these reasons, only 705 people survived, mostly women and children.
The Wreckage
In 1985 deep-sea explorers found the Titanic on the ocean floor. The wreckage lay at a depth of 4,000
metres (13,000 feet) near the Canadian province of Newfoundland. Underwater vessels, some carrying
people and some not, have explored the ship several times. Pieces of the wreckage have been brought
to the surface.

Third step: Collaborative working. Splitting the class in groups.

Writing
The class will be split in groups of four. They will have to classify the new concepts into the
text. The group will have to write four sentences about the new topic. The will also have to
answer the following questions in group after reading this article
1. Before aeroplanes, how did people travel between Europe and the United States?

by boat

2. What was the name of the company that built the Titanic?

White Star Line

3. Where was the Titanic built?

in Ireland

4. The Titanic was more than _______ metres long and _____ metres wide.

270; 23
5. There were more than _______ people on board the Titanic, when it sailed from
Southampton.

2,200

6. Some of these passengers were moving to the United States to begin a new _______
there.

life

7. On 14th April, the Titanic was sailing through the cold waters of which ocean?

the North Atlantic

8. What caused the Titanic to sink?

it struck an iceberg

9. On what date did the Titanic sink?

early in the morning of 15th April, 1912

10. More than _______ people were lost at sea.

1,500

11. Only 705 people survived, mostly women and _______.

children

12. In 1985 deep-sea explorers found the Titanic on the ocean floor near the Canadian
province of _______.

Newfoundland

ATTENDING TO LANGUAGE DEMAND

We will teach new vocabulary for new concepts. Such as Coal or Steam.
They will have to follow a sequence of ideas of the topic using connectors and writing a
sentence.
They will use new vocabulary using some phrases for classifying and some connectors to
show clarity.
EXAMPLE
Titanic was MUCH MORE bigger than a.................................
Student will use both, Dictionaries and L1in class in order to avoid initial problems.
Aquest s un exemple de com faria aquesta lesson inicial. No s si sha de esenvolupar
ms o b tindrem temps de fer-ho al llarg del curs.
En tot cas entenc que lscaffolding que ha de fer el profesor envers lalumne s un ajut
que de mica en mica faciliti laprenentatge daquest. A mesura que el grup o lalumne se
sentint ms segurs amb lidiome, sevolucionar cap a tasques on lalumne hagi de

pensar i reflexionar (desenvolupant el que la Metodologia CLIL anomenan Thinking

Skills)

Search the following words

steamboats

April

Titanic

iceberg

unsinkable

Ireland

White Star Line

lifeboats

wreckage

luxurious

NewfounNew York City

North Atlantic

ocean

Queenstown

sank

ship

TEACHER'S WORKSHEET
In this activity we will follow a Cooperative Learning Strategy called " Numbers
Head Together" adapted from kagan Cooperative Learning. Some cooperative
learning techniques utilize student pairing, while others utilize small groups of four or
five students. Hundreds of techniques have been created into structures to use in any
content area published by Dr. Spencer Kagan (1994).
We will split up the class in groups of 4. Every member of the group will get a number
from 1 to 4.

Aims:
LANGUAGE The activity addresses pupils' literacy skills of summarising and
collating as
well as producing a piece of extended writing.
They will also have to talk in groups

 Listening final answers.

OTHER Developing confidence in judgements
Fostering students to do hypothesis

Subject
Technology
Topic: Sea transports. Floating and Sinking
HOW THE ACTIVITY WORKS
We will split up the class in groups of 4. Every member of the group will get a number
from 1 to 4.
Teacher poses the following statements:
When the Titanic hit the iceberg, water got in and made the Titanic heavier. It started
to float deeper in the water (and started to list because of where the water was). This
is why the Titanic sank.
Things only float when there is no water inside them. Put water in them and things
sink. When the Titanic hit the iceberg, water got in. This is why the Titanic sank.
The bigger and heavier an iceberg, the lower it floats in the water. As an iceberg
melts, it floats higher in the water. This is why the Titanic sank - it hit an enormous
iceberg that was almost level with the water - and nobody saw it!
When water got into the Titanic when it hit the iceberg, all the pushing up that the
water had been doing from the outside now started pushing down also from the inside.
This, and the great weight of metal, tipped the balance of floating and sinking. This is
why the Titanic sank.
1st step. Students will have 6 minutes to think about this statements and they will
have to choose one of them writing an opinion about their choice.
2nd step. Groups work together and discuss about the answers of each one
question or statement, so that all can verbally report out the answer correctly....
3rd step Teacher randomly calls a number and the student with that number reports
for the group.

STUDENT'S WORKSHEET
UNDERSTANDING THE SINKING OF THE TITANIC
The Titanic sank because it hit an iceberg and was holed. Ships float because the

average overall density of metal, air and people is less than that of water. Adding
water (holing the ship) will upset this balance and the ship sinks lower in the
water. Individual bits of the ship (that may break off) are usually more dense than
water and sink.
Let's focus on the next statements!!!
When the Titanic hit the iceberg, water got in and made the Titanic heavier. It started to float
deeper in
the water (and started to list because of where the water was). This is why the Titanic sank.
Things only float when there is no water inside them. Put water in them and things sink. When the
Titanic hit the iceberg, water got in. This is why the Titanic sank.
The bigger and heavier an iceberg, the lower it floats in the water. As an iceberg melts, it floats
higher
in the water. This is why the Titanic sank - it hit an enormous iceberg that was almost level with the
water - and nobody saw it!
When water got into the Titanic when it hit the iceberg, all the pushing up that the water had been
doing
from the outside now started pushing down also from the inside. This, and the great weight of
metal,
tipped the balance of floating and sinking. This is why the Titanic sank.

Think about this statements and decide which of them are the most likely and why. You
have 6 minutes to write your opinion.
_____________________________________________________________________
__________
_____________________________________________________________________
___________
_____________________________________________________________________
___________
_________________________________
Let's meet up your group and now discuss all together each of the scenarios for why
the Titanic may have sunk. Which are the most likely and why? Place the scenarios in
order, with the most likely explanation first. 10 minutes

_____________________________________________________________________
__________
_____________________________________________________________________
___________
_____________________________________________________________________
___________
_________________________________
Finally, focus on the number you have got from your teacher at the beginning of the
class. Teacher will call a number, if it's your then you will have to report your group's
final answer

Let's focus on....

Speaking and Listening Exercise

FIRST CLASS SURVIVOR- FIRST CLASS SURVIVORS ARE
MORE IMPORTANT THAN ANYONE ELSE

You believe that first class passengers contribute more to society than any other class
and therefore are more important.
You are disgusted that third class people were rescued while some first class people
died
You believe that you paid more; therefore you deserved to be saved first.

Speaking and Listening Exercise

Third class child survivor

You are a third class child who was separated from your mother and put onto a

lifeboat.
Your mother was not allowed on the boat and drowned with the ship. Your father
also drowned, because first class people were jumping the queue to the

lifeboats
You miss your parents greatly, and wish that all people were treated equally

Speaking and Listening Exercise

TITANIC OFFICER- JUST DOING YOUR JOB

You are the second in command officer of the Titanic.

It was your job to help the first class into lifeboats, and stop any third class being
rescued.
You originally come from a third class family, but got the job on the Titanic as a lucky
break.
You believe that people should be treated equally, but you were just following orders
from the Captain
If you had disobeyed the Captain, you would have been thrown overboard and would
have died- you had no choice.

Speaking and Listening Exercise:

THIRD CLASS SURVIVOR

You are a third class survivor who dragged a first class lady out of a lifeboat and

took her place instead. The other lady drowned.

You do not feel like you have done anything wrong- you do not see it as murder,

as she might have died anyway.

You were so scared, and you felt that you had no other choice.
You feel sorry for the lady, but you dont regret what you did as you had a family
waiting for you at home in America.

Speaking and Listening Exercise

FIRST CLASS SURVIVOR

You are a first class passenger who was forced onto a lifeboat.
You wanted to stay behind on the ship to help save everybody- including the third class
but you were not allowed because you were an important first class passenger.
You are disgusted at the way the third class people were treated, and are furious that
there were not enough lifeboats to go around all the passengers.
You believe ALL humans should be treated as equals

Speaking and Listening Exercise

TITANIC SHIP DESIGNER

You are the designer of the Titanic

You believe that the Titanic was unsinkable, which is why you did not include enough
lifeboats.
You do not accept any blame at all that so many people died
You claim the sinking of the ship was a horrible accident that could not have been
predicted.
You claim that even with enough lifeboats, hundreds of people will still have died.

The Titanic
Learning Objective: To use our inquiry skills to discover information about the
Titanic
The Titanic sank on its maiden voyage, its first voyage, from Southampton to New York. It was
one of the worst ship disasters ever seen. The ship cost 1.5 million pounds (that would be 22
million pounds today), and was built in Belfast by the White Star Line Shipping Company.
It was the length of three football fields, and was as high as a 17- floor building.
The owners said it was unsinkable as its hull (at the bottom of the ship) had 16 watertight
compartments, and up to four could be flooded without the ship sinking.
The Titanic had luxurious first class facilities such as a gym, a swimming pool and a tennis
court. A first class ticket cost 870 pounds (that would be 27,000 pounds today).
The Titanics voyage began at midday on Wednesday 10 April 1912 from Southampton. On
board were some of the richest and poorest people in the world. There were 322 people in
first class and it was their chance to show off that they had been on the worlds largest luxury
liner. There were 709 third class passengers (poorer people) who were hoping for a new life
and opportunities in America. They were at the bottom of the ship and some paid as little as 3
pounds for their ticket (95 pounds today).

First Class Bedroom

What do the numbers mean? Finish the sentence starters

1.5 million is how much

________________________________________________________

The Titanic was the length of 3

________________________________________________________

The Titanic was as high as a 17

________________________________________________________

The Titanic s hull had 16

________________________________________________________

4 of the watertight compartments could be

________________________________________________________

870 was the cost of as

________________________________________________________

322 was how many passengers there were in

________________________________________________________

709 was how many passengers there were in

________________________________________________________

3 was the cost of a

________________________________________________________