By following this series of Titanic KS2 activities, children will compose and then perform a piece of music that describes an imaginary tour of the Titanic wreck.
Titanic KS2 learning objectives
- Explore, choose, combine and organise musical ideas within a musical structure suggested by JJ’s tour of the Titanic
- Use ICT to capture and change sounds
- Combine and organise musical elements
- Record and perform your music with a graphic score
Starter activity
Discovering the wreck of the Titanic two and a half miles under the Atlantic was made possible thanks to new underwater technology.
In 1986, a remote controlled robot called Jason Junior (JJ) swam around and inside the wreck taking still pictures and video.
Show children video footage of the wreck, then ask them to imagine exploring the Titanic wreck. What might they discover at those depths? What would it look and feel like (pitch black / extreme cold / intense pressure)?
At this point, there’s also an opportunity to discuss the science of underwater exploration. Explore why we use robots to explore the wreck in place of divers.
To prepare for the next stage of the lesson, ask the children to research some of the objects that have or might be discovered in the wreck. These include:
- Rusticles
- Boilers
- Chandeliers
- Titanic’s three-tone whistles
- A musical box
Kevin Hamel is a primary educator, and the curriculum development officer for the Cumbria Music Service.
