ALL ABOARD! THE TITANIC

ALL ABOARD!

THE TITANIC

Ms. Wilson

3rd Class passager aboard the R.M.S. Titanic

Put on your magic time machine hats my friends, and your favorite pair of knickerbockers as we travel back in time to April 10, 1912.  The R.M.S. Titanic is boarding its first passengers, and we're along for the voyage to hear the first-hand accounts of our passengers aboard this "unsinkable" luxury liner.

Ms. DeMuth

2nd Class Passenger

 

Dear Diary,

My dear friend Megan and I just found out that our rooms are across the hall from one another (how exciting!).  We both enjoyed a marvelous dinner of shrimp and scallops after walking along the deck and singing a song we've made up called "The Titanic is unsinkable!"  I can't wait to arrive in America where I will build a mansion by the ocean.

Ms. DeMuth
April 11, 1912

If there's one thing my students seem to enjoy every year, it's picking their names out of a hat to see what "class" they will be boarding on for the Titanic (yes, first, second, and third class that is).  We spend a week reading as much on the subject as we can, including first-hand accounts (primary source documents) and scouring hundreds of images of the ship and its passengers.  They all seem to be fascinated with the subject, but then again, so am I.  I really don't like to admit this, but I did see the movie eight times in the theaters when I was in junior high…

Duchess Farran

1st Class Passenger

Dear Diary,

I love being on the Titanic with such good people like Ms. Gockel and Ms. Lehnhoff (oh how they make me laugh!).  My friends and I are going to enjoy some Earl Grey tea after dinner, and later on we will be meeting Mr. McDonald by the grand staircase at 8:00p.m.  Did I mention I'm in 1st class?  The rooms are so lovely here.

Sincerely,
Duchess Farran
April 11, 1912

In case you haven't noticed yet, we researched what a typical menu would look like for different passengers aboard the Titanic along with the things they might drink (like Earl Grey tea!).  This takes me back to my tea party days in elementary school when I would fill half of my cup with sugar and mix it with red Twizzlers (yeah, my parents didn't regulate my sugar intake).

Mr. Schemmel

1st Class Passenger 

Dear Diary,

What a wonderful dinner I had this evening with my wife in the first class dining hall.  My room is very charming, and it even has a walk-in closet to keep my finest suits.  My wife and I met a very nice lady in second class named Ruth Becker.  Maybe we will invite her to join us for dinner tomorrow.  We could show her the grand staircase.

Until tomorrow,
Mr. Schemmel
April 13, 1912

Easton (excuse me, "Mr. Schemmel") even referenced a real surviving passenger who was aboard the  Titanic named Ruth Becker.  That's an extra credit point in my book for referencing a passenger from a primary source.  How authentically awesome of you!

Now let's check out some more priceless photos of our passengers below:

Chef Shireman (no relation to Chef Boyardee)

3rd Class Passenger

If you can't tell, our chef takes reading the paper very seriously.  

(Special thanks to my cousin Forest for sending me the authentic 1900's Galena Newspaper to make this photo truly vintage!)

Mr. VonAh

2nd Class Passenger

Mr. VonAh will be working as a prestigious "paperboy" when arrives in America.  I assume he will be delivering papers to the one and only Chef Shireman.

Last, but not certainly least, every passenger must have a boarding ticket to arrive on board:

Chief Officer Taylor (directly under Captain Smith)

This guy might look friendly, but he's not letting anyone board the ship without a ticket!

Ms. Gockel
First Class Passenger

Featuring the latest look in Edwardian fashion.

What you learned from today's lesson:

Note to reader:  This photo has absolutely no relevance, other than it is my favorite photo from Halloween.  So I'll let Braydon and Tatym end with three things you should have learned from today's lesson:

1.  A primary source document (such as a diary entry written from a real passenger aboard the ship) refers to a first-hand account of an actual event.  They were there to experience it!

2.  Ms. Sprengelmeyer really did see the movie Titanic eight times in junior high.

3.  Fake blood and a plastic sword make for a really sweet Halloween photo.

Oh…and one more thing…

Thanks Mike Wolfe for our KID PICKERS books!  We are currently reading them in class

(I told them to do their happy, happy, joy, joy faces…..and they did).