Transcript RMS Titanic

R.M.S. Titanic
Historical Article
A Fireman’s Story/From a Lifeboat
Eyewitness Accounts
Feature Menu
Introducing the Selections
Informational Text Focus:
Evaluating Primary and Secondary
Sources
Writing Skills Focus: Preparing for
Timed Writing
R.M.S. Titanic
Historical Article
What choices doomed so many people to
die during the sinking of the Titanic?
R.M.S. Titanic
Introducing the Selection
On April 10, 1912, the largest ship ever built started
out on its first voyage to New York.
The Titanic never arrived at its destination.
R.M.S. Titanic
Introducing the Selection
The ship’s builder believed
she was unsinkable—a
gigantic lifeboat.
What went wrong?
Read “R.M.S. Titanic”
to learn the truth
behind the mammoth
ship’s ironic fate.
[End of Section]
R.M.S. Titanic
Informational Text Focus: Evaluating Primary and
Secondary Sources
When you research historical information, you’ll
find two categories of materials:
• primary sources
• secondary sources
R.M.S. Titanic
Informational Text Focus: Evaluating Primary and
Secondary Sources
A primary source is a firsthand account that has
not been interpreted or edited by other writers.
Examples:
• letters
• interviews
• speeches
• eyewitness accounts
R.M.S. Titanic
Informational Text Focus: Evaluating Primary and
Secondary Sources
A primary source has the advantage of being a
firsthand account of an event.
A Fireman’s Story
by Harry Senior
I was in my bunk when I felt a bump. One
In the eyewitness accounts of “A Fireman’s Story”
and “From a Lifeboat,” you learn about the sinking
of the Titanic from people who were actually there.
R.M.S. Titanic
Informational Text Focus: Evaluating Primary and
Secondary Sources
The drawback of a primary source is that it
includes only one person’s viewpoint.
A primary source may be
unreliable, especially if it is
highly subjective, or based
heavily on emotion or
opinion.
R.M.S. Titanic
Informational Text Focus: Evaluating Primary and
Secondary Sources
A secondary source is based on other sources.
Information is interpreted, summarized, or retold
by another writer.
Examples:
• encyclopedias
• textbooks
• biographies
• newspaper and
magazine articles
R.M.S. Titanic
Informational Text Focus: Evaluating Primary and
Secondary Sources
A secondary source, such as “R.M.S. Titanic,”
often covers the topic more broadly.
Secondary sources are generally more objective,
or factual. However, writers sometimes include their
opinions and feelings on the topic.
R.M.S. Titanic
by Hanson W. Baldwin
R.M.S. Titanic
Informational Text Focus: Evaluating Primary and
Secondary Sources
As you evaluate a source, decide how much you
should believe—and why. Ask yourself:
• How credible—or believable—is the source? How
knowledgeable is the writer about the subject?
• Does the writer seem to
Watch for words or phrases
have a bias—a prejudice
that give a one-sided view.
about the topic?
• When was the text
written?
Recent dates may be better
for secondary sources, but
primary sources may be
more valuable.
R.M.S. Titanic
Informational Text Focus: Evaluating Primary and
Secondary Sources
Into Action: As you read, record objective and
subjective language in a chart like the one below.
Selection
Objective Details
Subjective Details
“R.M.S. Titanic” “Westbound steamers “Out of the dark she
report bergs, growlers came, a vast, dim, white,
and field ice”
monstrous shape”
[End of Section]
R.M.S. Titanic
Writing Skills Focus
Preparing for Timed Writing
As you read the selections, you may notice
differences in the accounts of the Titanic’s sinking.
Record these differences
in your notebook.
[End of Section]
Vocabulary
R.M.S. Titanic
Vocabulary
ascertain v.: determine.
corroborated v.: supported.
perfunctory adj.: done with little care or
thought; indifferent.
pertinent adj.: having some association with
the subject.
R.M.S. Titanic
Vocabulary
The sentence below may help you understand how
the word ascertain is used in “R.M.S. Titanic.”
The dark, frigid night made it difficult to ascertain
the damage to the ship.
Why do you think it was so difficult to ascertain
whether the ship was sinking at first?
R.M.S. Titanic
Vocabulary
The extent of the damage might have been difficult
to ascertain because
• the shock of the impact
was so slight, many didn’t
know it had occurred
• the large ship and latenight hours made it
difficult to communicate
information among the
crew
R.M.S. Titanic
Vocabulary
What might the doctor
hope to ascertain from this x-ray?
She might be checking the patient’s lungs for signs of
pneumonia.
R.M.S. Titanic
Vocabulary
Read the sentence below to help you understand
how the word corroborated is used.
A survey of several sources corroborated the
serious nature of the damage.
Professor Guzman corroborated the fact that
I had written the research report on my own.
R.M.S. Titanic
Vocabulary
Our veterinarian corroborated the new study’s
findings about nutritional supplements for dogs.
Did the veterinarian
a) fill out important forms?
b) confirm the study’s information?
c) contradict the research?
R.M.S. Titanic
Vocabulary
The sentence below may help you understand how
the word perfunctory is used in “R.M.S. Titanic.”
The perfunctory nature of the inspections meant
that little additional information was acquired.
What actions would you expect in a
perfunctory safety drill?
R.M.S. Titanic
Vocabulary
Dragging their flotation devices, sleepy passengers
slowly lined up,
which gave the
evacuation drill a
perfunctory feel.
R.M.S. Titanic
Vocabulary
Which image shows what appears to be a
perfunctory activity?
R.M.S. Titanic
Vocabulary
The sentence below may help you understand how
the word pertinent is used in “R.M.S. Titanic.”
The investigating committee collected all the
pertinent facts related to the tragedy and its
aftermath.
Why do you think the investigators
collected only the pertinent facts?
R.M.S. Titanic
Vocabulary
Pertinent is another way to say . . .
relevant
related
important
applicable
relatable
significant
R.M.S. Titanic
Vocabulary
Which equipment looks as though
it would be pertinent to sailing?
[End of Section]
The End