Procedures

• SET UP

  This lesson offers several options for you to use with your students whether you are teaching in class, using a hybrid model, or engaging through distance learning. It can be completed in steps as a class or students can move at their own pace and complete the activities independently.

  You can post links to the videos in the lesson along with the related handouts and engage in discussion to share responses on a discussion board or learning management system.

  You can also save and share the following Google resources for students to use with this lesson.

  Handout: Graphic Organizer (Google Doc).

  Handout: Choice Board (Google Slides).

  In Google, choose "File" then "Make a Copy" to get your own copy. You can make any needed adjustments in the instructions such as which activities students need to complete, when it is due, etc. and then make it available to them via Google.

• WARM UP

  Pose the following brainstorming questions to your students, directing them to record their responses in their notebooks or on a piece of paper, share with a partner, and then with the class if they choose.

  • How might people on ships communicate with those on the mainland?
  • Historically speaking, how much have these communication methods changed over time?

• INTRODUCTION

  Play the following introductory video clip of author Ric Mixter discussing his interest in famous message-in-a-bottle notes from shipwrecks and talking about the first known message in a bottle, from the travels of Christopher Columbus. Direct your students to answer the related questions on their graphic organizer and share their findings with a partner, small group, or the class when finished.

  Clip #1: Interesting Stories and a Google Search (4:31).

  • What “realization” did Ric Mixter have during the coronavirus pandemic?
  • Based on the clip, what resources were used in Mixter’s project?
  • Which message-in-a-bottle is the “biggest hit” when searching on Google?
  • Summarize the “earliest recorded use” of a message-in-a-bottle from 1493.

• VOCABULARY

  Direct your students to their graphic organizers to view and define the vocabulary terms that will appear in the lesson in the chart in their graphic organizer handout. The vocabulary words are also listed to the right on this webpage. We recommend having your students define and present the terms in a jigsaw activity to save time.

  Depending on time and resources, you may consider having your students define and present the terms in a Frayer's Model activity, where each student takes one or two items. Students can then post their models around the room for reference throughout the lesson. Note: this is not an all-encompassing list of terms included in each video. We recommend you preview the video clips to determine any necessary additions/subtractions to this list for your specific students.

• ENGAGEMENT

  Direct students to the engagement section of their graphic organizers. Instruct your students to view the following two video clips that detail message-in-a-bottle notes from the Plymouth and from other ships that sank in the Great Lakes Storm of 1913. Direct your students to answer the related questions on their graphic organizer and share their findings with a partner, small group, or the class when finished.

• Clip #2: Plymouth (1913) (6:26).

  • What story from the Great Lakes Storm of 1913 “started the whole” project on message-in-a-bottle notes?
  • According to Ric Mixter, what world record did the Plymouth set?
  • Who was “on board” the schooner. Describe their journey and what ultimately happened to the Plymouth.
  • Who was blamed for the incident, and what happened when a “detailed note” washed ashore?

• Clip #3: Fake Notes (2:03).

  • How many message-in-a-bottle notes “came out of” the Great Lakes Storm of 1913?
  • According to Ric Mixter, how many ships were lost during the storm?
  • What was “significant” about the message-in-a-bottle notes from the SS Charles S. Price (1912)?
  • Based on the clip, how can one determine whether message-in-a-bottle notes are fake?

• CHOICE BOARD EXPLORATION

  After they have finished sharing their findings from the engagement portion of the lesson, have your students review the directions on the second slide of the Choice Board (Google Slides).

  After reviewing the directions, remind your students that they will choose to study four of twelve options. Have your students move to the third slide of the Choice Board and click the link for their first topic choice. They will watch the video clip for that topic by clicking the image that appears, take notes as they watch the clip, and then respond to the questions that follow on the slide.

  Your students will then click on the home button in the bottom-left corner of the slide to return to the list of topics and drag and drop a ship on top of the topic they completed. They will repeat the process until they have completed four topics. When they are finished with their four choices, have your students prepare a brief presentation to share their findings with the class. As each student shares their responses in a jigsaw activity, encourage your class to record the answers to all of the questions throughout the Choice Board.

  The twelve options and each video clip and related questions are listed below.

• OPTION #1 - Clip #4: RMS Titanic (1912) (3:47).

  • According to Ric Mixter, who survived the sinking on April 15th, 1912? Why?
  • Describe the two “hoaxes” shown in the clip.
  • What happened in “very south” Ireland?
  • Summarize the “clue” from Jeremiah Burke’s note.

• OPTION #2 - Clip #5: Archie Butt (1912) (6:23).

  • Based on the clip, who was Archie Butt?
  • Why was Butt often in newspaper headlines, according to Ric Mixter?
  • According to Mixter, why was Butt on the RMS Titanic?
  • Summarize Butt’s “last moments” on the ship and why the story is not “completely closed.”

• OPTION #3 - Clip #6: Santa Monica (1902) (1:35).

  • What is the “simple” story of fake message-in-a-bottle notes?
  • Why didn’t newspapers “question” the messages?
  • Summarize the story from Bloomington, Indiana, as stated in the clip.
  • Why doesn’t the story make sense, according to Ric Mixter?

• OPTION #4 - Clip #7: Aviation Daredevil (1875) (6:58).

  • Who was “Professor” Donaldson and how did his hot air balloon work?
  • Summarize what happened to Donaldson in 1872, as stated in the clip.
  • Why did Donaldson continually “kick up his game?” Describe his efforts.
  • What happened on July 16th, as stated in the “bottle?” What was the “big find?”

• OPTION #5 - Clip #8: SV George C. Finney (1891) (1:19).

  • How did the George C. Finney (1891) get “torn up?”
  • What was the shipyard in Buffalo able to do, according to Ric Mixter?
  • What did the ship run into in “November 1891?”
  • Based on the clip, how was the ship found? What message was discovered?

• OPTION #6 - Clip #9: Elizabeth H. Nicolson, State of Michigan SS, & SS M.M. Drake (1901) (4:57).

  • Describe the “twist” in the story from October 1895.
  • Summarize the events from November 1895, as told in the clip.
  • According to Ric Mixter, what happened to the Michigan and the Drake?
  • Describe what you see island hear in the video clip excerpt.

• OPTION #7 - Clip #10: Acacia SV (1908) (2:05).

  • Based on the clip, whose ship was the Acacia?
  • Summarize the “uproar” on July 4th, 1905.
  • What happened in July 1908, according to Ric Mixter?
  • Describe the messages written by the “daughters.”

• OPTION #8 - Clip #11: John R. Noyes (1902) (4:31).

  • Why was the John R. Noyes a “significant” shipwreck?
  • Why was the John E. Hall “cut from the towline?”
  • Based on the clip, what did the message from the Hall say?
  • Describe the “rescue” efforts and the role of George Gray.

• OPTION #9 - Clip #12: Rouse Simmons (1912) (4:24).

  • What was the “Christmas tree ship” and what role did it play?
  • Describe the “tragedy.”
  • What was the “problem” in Kewaunee?
  • Why was the event “devastating?” How did the family survive afterward?

• OPTION #10 - Clip #13: SS Benjamin Noble (1914) (3:36).

  • Who owned the Benjamin Noble and what was it “designed” for?
  • According to Ric Mixter, what did the ship pick up in Conneaut?
  • Based on the clip, what happened and how do we know?
  • What was in the bottle that washed “ashore?”

• OPTION #11 - Clip #14: SS Kamloops (1927) (1:58).

  • What was the “route” of the Kamloops?
  • According to Ric Mixter, why did the ship begin to sink?
  • Based on the clip, what happened to those who survived the shipwreck?
  • What was the content of the “note?”

• OPTION #12 - Clip #15: Lightship Buffalo (1936) (1:47).

  • What question does the speaker ask?
  • According to Ric Mixter, what happened on the Lightship 82 (Buffalo)?
  • Based on the clip, why did the crew stay out in the storm?
  • Why was the ship “devastated?”

• REFLECTION

  After your students finish sharing their findings from the choice board in a jigsaw activity, direct them to the reflection section in their graphic organizers.

  Instruct your students to view the following final video clip in which author Ric Mixter discusses how the eventual invention of the radio stopped floating farewells as messages-in-a-bottle notes. Direct your students to answer the related questions on their graphic organizer and share their findings with a partner, small group, or the class when finished.

  Clip #16: No More Floating Farewells (7:29).

  • According to Ric Mixter, what was difficult about message-in-a-bottle notes?
  • Based on the clip, what did the invention of the brass tube do? Summarize the note from the SS Milwaukee (1929).
  • What did Guglielmo Marconi invent, and how did Notre Dame professor Jerome Green’s “better one” impact shipping?
  • Why did the SS Pere Marquette 18’s (1910) use of CQD and SOS not work, according to Mixter?
  • As discussed in the video clip excerpt, what message did the SS Arthur M. Anderson receive from the SS Edmund Fitzgerald (1975)?

• CLOSURE

  After your students are finished sharing their findings from the lesson, direct them to complete the final culminating writing prompt in their graphic organizers, and have students share their responses, comparing their perspectives with their classmates' perspectives: Having now learned about several historical examples of message-in-a-bottle notes, describe the purposes they have served throughout time. Be sure to include evidence from the video clips in the lesson to support your argument.