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From the “Unsinkable” to the Unthinkable: Analyzing Historic News Coverage of the Titanic
Overview
Students activate their background knowledge of the Titanic disaster before analyzing the front page of The New York Evening World newspaper’s April 15, 1912 final edition. Using this historic newspaper’s subsequent front page coverage of the tragedy, students consider, “Which is more important to the Evening World in 1912: selling newspapers or reporting accurate information?” They discuss their findings and the historical context before writing letters to the editor from a reader’s perspective in 1912 to explain why they would or would not continue to buy the Evening World based on its Titanic front page coverage.
Objectives
After completing this learning activity, students will be able to:
- Analyze a primary source
- Define the phrase, “yellow journalism”
- Express an opinion based on evidence from primary sources
- Write a fictional letter from a historical perspective using primary source findings
Time Required
Two 45-minute class periods.
Recommended Grade Range
9-12
Topic/s
News, Journalism & Advertising
Subject
Language Arts
Standards
Language Arts
Standard 2. Understands the historical perspective
Science
Standard 4. (Writing) Gathers and uses information for research purposes
Standard 7. (Reading) Uses reading skills and strategies to understand and interpret a variety of informational texts
Standard 10. (Media) Understands the characteristics and components of the media
Credits
Adapted from “Titanic News,” a lesson plan created by Betsy Mecham, Canton High School, Canton, IL.
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