Camp Maritime: Understanding Shipwrecks by Reading Informational Texts

The International Literacy Association estimates that in our adult lives, 85-90% of our reading is informational.

Informational texts help us understand the world around us, including our natural and social surroundings. Our success in schooling, the workplace and society depends on our ability to understand informational stories. 


Reading informational texts’ benefits include:
•	Making authentic, real-life connections to information you want or need to know.
•	Demonstrating higher growth in reading comprehension and writing.
•	Transferring reading confidence across many genres.
•	Understanding text features, including captions, pictures and subheadings.

These maritime stories highlight humanity at its best and worst, from haughty overconfidence to boundless determination. For example, the Titanic crew set sail without enough passenger lifeboats; and the captain of the Costa Concordia defied protocol and sailed the ship dangerously close to shore. Conversely, Captain Ernest Shackleton of the Endurance ship helped lead his entire 27-member crew to safety after their vessel hit ice in the Antarctic.


The goal of this five-lesson camp is to engage learners in reading informational stories about famous shipwrecks, while understanding informational text structure and gamifying reading comprehension.

***Class Structure***

•	Establish baseline knowledge and understanding of the day’s shipwreck discussion by using a KWL chart: What do I already know about the topic? What do I want to know? What did I learn after reading this story?).
•	Collaboratively read shipwreck informational text.
•	Engage in critical thinking-asking “I wonder…,” I notice…,” and I think…” questions.
•	Analyze and apply informational text comprehension strategies when appropriate:  
   *Cause and Effect
   *Compare and Contrast
   *Description
   *Problem/Solution
   *Sequence
•	Summarize the day’s informational shipwreck story.
•	Examine captivating shipwreck-related video.
•	Gamify lesson review (Blooket and Quizziz)

***Featured Shipwrecks


Oceanic Grave: The RMS Titanic.  On April 10, 1912 the Titanic set sail on its maiden voyage, traveling from Southampton, England to New York City. The crew and passengers had no idea they were about to embark on what would become the world’s most famous shipwreck. On the evening of April 14, 1912, the ocean liner hit an iceberg which triggered its demise. It’s estimated that 1517 lives were lost that night  For decades, the Titanic sat at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean until technology advanced enough to confirm its location on September 1, 1985. Theories abound as to why the Titanic sank, including speed, lack of communication and poor construction. Today, the Titanic is an international cultural icon which still emanates stories of human frailties and fortitudes.

Seafaring Tragedy: The RMS Lusitania. On May 7, 1915, three short years after the Titanic’s demise, the RMS Lusitania sank when a World War I German U-boat strategically fired a torpedo at the ship’s boiler room, sinking the vessel in 20 minutes. The luxury liner set sail from New York City to England across the Atlantic Ocean. Germany, embattled in war with England and its allies, believed the Lusitania was carrying war ammunition and soldiers to England. Germany declared the ocean liner a war ship and fair game for destruction if traveling across the seas (if you and your family booked a present-day Disney cruise that traveled into a war zone, would you take the chance and sail across the seas?). That day 1193 souls died, including 123 Americans. Until then, the United States had stayed out of the war, but in April 1917, U.S. President Woodrow Wilson declared the U.S. was at war with Germany and its allies.

Vessel Wreck: Endurance. In January 1915, polar explorer, Ernest Shackleton set sail with 27 crew aboard the wooden steamship Endurance. They aimed to make the first land crossing of the Antarctic but abandoned their quest when the Endurance became trapped in sea ice. Survival mode set in and miraculously Shackleton led his men to safety by first taking a small lifeboat across fierce seas to get help. In March 2022, a Saab Sabertooth underwater robot located the shipwreck beneath West Antarctica’s Weddell Sea, about 4.6 miles south of the location recorded by the ship’s captain. Explorers affirmed they had completed the world’s most difficult shipwreck search, battling constantly shifting ice, blizzards and temperatures dropping down to 18 degrees Celsius (minus 0.4 degrees Fahrenheit). The wreck itself is a designated monument under the international Antarctic Treaty and cannot be disturbed in any way, including the removal of physical artefacts.

Fiztgerald Sinking. The S.S. Edmund Fitztgerald was one of the most famous ships to ever sail on the Great Lakes; and made its maiden voyage on September 24th, 1958. During it many voyages, the ship sustained internal and external damage from running aground, collisions and hitting a lock wall, which may have contributed to its demise. On the morning of November 9, 1975, the S.S. Edmund Fitzgerald left Superior, Wisconsin, headed to Detroit, Michigan. The ship encountered gale force winds with nearly 100 miles per hour gusts, 35-foot waves and a blinding snowstorm. On November 10 the ship broke in two, sank and now rests more than 500 feet below Lake Superior in Canadian waters. The crew of 29 men went down with the ship.

Maritime Disaster: Costa Concordia. Fast-forward to January 13, 2012 when behemoth luxury liner, Costa Concordia ran aground near Rome on the island of Giglio. Captain Francesco Schettino ignored course plans and sailed the ship dangerously close to the shore, struck the Scole Rocks reef; and killed 33 of the 4, 229 passengers on board and injured many others. Unexpected weather and ship malfunction did not cause the wreck, but instead a series of human errors, including navigating a poorly lit shore area at nighttime with high speed. The impact damaged the ship, allowed water to seep in; and caused an electrical blackout throughout the vessel. Evacuation proved challenging because the ship listed too far starboard, making lowering lifeboats more hazardous. Astonishingly, Captain Schettino abandoned ship before all passengers were deemed safe, faced trial; and received a 16-year prison sentence for his actions.