April 15, 2012 marks the 100th Anniversary of the Titanic Disaster. If you’re a homeschooling parent, it’s an event in history that you don’t want to miss teaching about.
Below are a list of resources you can use to study the Titanic, but don’t stop there. It’s important to learn dates and facts, but as trainers of our children’s character and mentors in their relationship with God there is also a great opportunity to take the lessons deeper into our children’s heart.
Here are some journal questions you can use with your older children. After they write their thoughts, take time to talk over these heart-issues with your older student.
Journal Questions:
1. Many people assumed the Titanic couldn’t sink. An assumption means “something taken for granted.” Why do you think they believed that assumption? Also, what have you taken for granted in your life? Your parents? Your faith?
2. Key people didn’t heed warnings about the danger in the waters ahead of the Titanic. Wireless operators from other ships tried to get through to Captain Smith with warnings about the ice fields, but the operators on the Titanic were too busy with commercial transmissions. Why do you think the radio operators ignored the warnings? Are there warnings in your life that you’re not heeding?
3. A steward on the Titanic is quoted at saying, “Madam, God himself could not sink this ship.” A familiar saying goes, “Pride goes before the fall.” How did pride in this man-made ship lead many to loose their lives? Can you share a time when you witnesses pride bringing a person down.
4. History states that Captain Smith went down with the ship. Traditionally the Captain was the ultimate servant to the passengers on his ship. Also the crew members were expected to continued to serve passengers in the event of the ship sinking. Their job was to put the passengers needs before their own. How do you think this is similar to Jesus’ servant attitude?
Titanic Study Helps:
If you live near Branson or Pigeon Forge they have Titanic homeschooling scavenger hunts that seem worth checking out.
Amanda Bennett’s UK Passport (which talks at the Titanic Shipyard)
Free ebooks:
The Loss of the S.S. Titanic by Lawrence Beesley (Beesley was a Titanic survivor)
Sinking of the Titanic and Great Sea Disasters
The Wreck of the Titan by Morgan Robertson
Fourteen years before the RMS Titanic was built, the American Morgan Robertson wrote a novel called Futility or The Wreck of the Titan (1898) that prefigured the real ship’s destiny with remarkable precision. The Titanic and the Titan were both triple-screwed British passenger liners with a capacity of 3,000 and a top speed of 24 knots. Both were deemed unsinkable; both carried too few lifeboats.
And both sank in April in the North Atlantic after colliding with an iceberg on the forward starboard side. Robertson’s book The Wreck of the Titan was never published. Each time it was rejected by editor’s, they told him the same thing. The story was unbelievable. Surely the events he wrote of could not possibly happen to an unsinkable ship.
Titanic by Filson Young
Said to be the first book published on the great disaster. It appeared exactly 37 days after the Titanic sank, although it shows no signs of hasty writing.
The Titanic Disaster Poem by J.H. McKenzie
Titanic novels/Christian Fiction
Hearts That Survive by Yvonne Leman
Echoes of the Titanic by Mindy Starns-Clark and John Clark
By the Light of the Silver Moon by Tricia Goyer
Promise Me This by Cathy Gohlke
Non-fiction:
The Band Played On by Steve Turner
Amelia Gladstone’s hopes are tied up in the Titanic–hopes for a reunion with her sister and an introduction to an admirer. But when she offers a spare ticket to a down-and-out young man, her fate is about to change.
Quentin Walpole is stunned when a sweet lady secures his passage to America–and even more surprised to find his wealthy father and older brother on board the ship. Suddenly Amelia finds herself caught between the attentions of two men, but who should she entrust her heart to? As the fateful night arrives, will Amelia lose everything to the icy waters?
Awesome! Thanks for the great topics on the Titanic! Look forward to learning more.