Ships and the Ocean
Explore how ships provide clues about what life was like in the past.
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About
About
Underwater archaeologists try to find clues about the past from sunken ships. Shipwrecks of the past are both tragic and mysterious. By diving into the dark depths of oceans and seas, archaeologists try to salvage, or save, items that can help us understand why these ships never made it to their destinations and how the people aboard these vessels lived.
Essential Questions
Essential Questions
How do underwater archaeologists learn about the past?
What are some important underwater discoveries?
How does the work of underwater archaeologists contribute to our understanding of history?
Choose a Focus
Choose a Focus
Use the Suggested Activity to learn about your chosen focus in a fun way. Or visit the Activity Library to pick another interactive activity.
Note: Britannica School, BrainPOP, and Kids Discover are provided by Prenda. Make sure you are logged in via Clever.
Use the Suggested Activity to learn about your chosen focus in a fun way. Or visit the Activity Library to pick another interactive activity.
Note: Britannica School, BrainPOP, and Kids Discover are provided by Prenda. Make sure you are logged in via Clever.
The Oseberg Viking Ship
The Oseberg Viking Ship
The Vikings were known for being fearless and skilled sailors. Still, very few Viking ships have been found. One was recently excavated in 2020 in Norway. It helps show why Viking ships were so amazing.
Essential questions:
What is the Oseberg Viking Ship?
Why is its discovery so remarkable?
What can we learn from recovered Viking ships?
Suggested Activity: A Different Point of View
Titanic ⚒️
Titanic ⚒️
The ship Titanic set sail for the first time in 1912. As the largest ship ever built, it was considered unsinkable. However, it struck an iceberg and ended up on the ocean floor. Divers have since recovered much of the wreckage, answering the question: Why did this enormous ship sink?
Essential questions:
Why was the Titanic so remarkable?
What caused the ship to sink?
What have historians learned from the recent discovery of the wreckage?
Suggested Activity: Image Analysis
Curricular Connections
Curricular Connections
Continue your learning by choosing one of these related activities.
Continue your learning by choosing one of these related activities.
Related Social Studies topics
Timeline Challenge
Start a class timeline (or add to an existing timeline) showing important discoveries of ships and shipwrecks.
Create
(Not sure what to do? Write a short play about someone traveling on the Titanic!)
Just for Fun
Read about the details of the sinking of the Titanic in this short article by Scholastic.
Image Attributions
Shipwrecks banner: National Marine Sanctuaries, Public domain, via Wikimedia CommonsThe Oseberg Viking Ship: Larry Lamsa, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia CommonsTitanic: Courtesy of NOAA/Institute for Exploration/University of Rhode Island (NOAA/IFE/URI)., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
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