Alison Wilkins LI 831XI Childrens Program Plan: Titanic Introduction: I would recommend this program plan be saved for

next year (April 2012) because that is the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic. Site: Public Library in the childrens area/room Target Group: Grade school children (approximately grades 2-5) Needed People: This program will have stations, so each station needs AT LEAST one person. If youre expecting several children, you will need two or more adults at each station. I would recommend the entire childrens library staff all attend then see if there are any parent volunteers who would like to also help and supervise. Meeting Target Groups Needs: This program will help the children learn about the Titanic. Children are often interested in the Titanic, and there is no better time to learn about it than the 100th anniversary of the ships sinking. There will also be opportunities for the children to exercise creativity, artistic skills, science, and reading/listening skills. There are a variety of activities available that should appeal to childrens varied interests and intellectual/academic learning styles and abilities. Materials and Resources Consulted in Creating this Program: http://www.cbv.ns.ca/sstudies/titanic/lessons/les11.htm http://www.ehow.com/info_7995420_childrens-activities-titanic.html http://www.rmstitanic.net/index.php4?page=422 http://www.theteachersguide.com/Titanic.html http://www.titanicattraction.com/ Activities: Introductory Activity: A librarian will read a book from the librarys collection about the Titanic. I would recommend The Story of the Titanic by Deborah Heiligman. It is written at an easy to understand grade level that all attendees of the program could understand and would still entertain. After the book has been read, the children could go to one of the stations to do an activity to learn more about the Titanic. The number of stations provided should depend on the number of children expected to attend. I did three because I think that would be about right for libraries that I have been to. Station #1: Sinking Boats(this mostly came from

http://www.cbv.ns.ca/sstudies/titanic/lessons/les11.htm) This station would be fun for science-minded children. The first part of the activity shows students how a big, huge boat can float. o You will need a basin of water (sitting on heavy plastic and/or towelsjust in case), lots of paper clips, aluminum foil (cut into 12 inch squares), and a metal pan. o Step 1: Wrap one of the metal squares around 10 paper clips and squeeze the foil into a tight ball. o Step 2: Fold the four edges of the second aluminum square up to make a small one square pan. o Step 3: Place 10 paper clips in the metal pan. o Step 4: Set the metal pan on the water's surface in the bucket. o Step 5: Place the metal ball on the water's surface. o Step 6: Discuss observations with the children. o Step 7: The metal pan should float and the ball should sink. o S Step 8: Ask the children why they think this happened. o Step 9: Discuss buoyancy with the students and how it allows huge ships like the Titanic to float. The second part uses one theory to answer the question: Why did the Titanic sink? o You will need ice cube trays and the same bucket of water o Step 1: Discuss the bottom of the Titanic and how it was similar to an ice cube tray. Place the ice cube tray in the water and gradually allow water to fill each section of the try. o Step 2: Discuss observations with the children o Step 3: Ask why this design could cause a ship to sink if water is rushing into it.

Station #2: DiagramsAt this station, children will get to exercise creative muscles. They can create a diagram of one of the rooms or scenes from the ship. You will need: many shoe boxes (or manila folders or something that could be folded and taped into some shape of a box), glue, scissors, tape, colored construction paper, markers, crayons, typing paper, pencils, ribbons/scrap fabric, cotton balls, and any other art materials you can think of and easily get a hold of. You will also need plenty of books on the Titanic and other pictures of the Titanic. Station #3: Titanic SafetyAt this station, children will get to observe and discuss images of safety measures on the Titanic then make up their own. Provide pictures of life jackets and lifeboats. Discuss Women and children first, the lack of lifeboats, and the hierarchy of passengers allowed to board the lifeboats (first class first, etc). You could also

discuss the frigid water that people fell into. Provide pencils, markers, crayons, and paper and allow children to design their own safety procedures, lifeboats, lifeboat boarding procedures, etc. They could also figure out ways to fit more lifeboats on the ship.

After Station Time: Pull all of the librarys materials (books, videos, magazines, etc) that are about the Titanic and are also appropriate for children. These should be available for checkout at the end of the program. Publicity for the Program: The childrens department should advertise in many ways. First, they should post colorful fliers around the library advertising the program. There should be some that would appeal to children posted in the childrens room and some that would appeal to parents posted in other areas of the library. Librarians should also investigate posting these fliers in other areas around the town like in the elementary schools, at restaurants, or other places families might go to. Another good idea would be to see if local schools would allow a librarian to speak to some of the classes at the schools about the program. Evaluation Tool: I plan on using observation as the primary evaluation tool. I will observe the number of children in attendance, how each station is going, the level of enjoyment the children seem to be showing, and the level of interest exhibited. If something does not seem to be going well, I will take note of it for the future. For example, if one of the stations is not popular or children start there, get bored and go to a different station, I will take a note that similar activities might not be well received in the future. I would also informally question children about their experience, what they liked, what they didnt like, etc. I will also talk to any parents who hang around the program or who seemed to have talked to their children about it.