In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex Lesson Plan

Stove by a whale: Multiple accounts

Kind of Activity:

Group Discussion

Objective:

To examine multiple representations of the same event in different media formats; to explore how representations that use artistic license can both strengthen and weaken understanding of source material

Common Core Standards:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RI.11-12.7, CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.SL.11-12.2

Structure:

Students will read Chapter 2 of Narrative of the Most Extraordinary and Distressing Shipwreck of the Whale-Ship Essex by Owen Chase (available here http://mysite.du.edu/~ttyler/ploughboy/1821%20-%20Owen%20Chase%20-%20Essex%20Narrative.htm), which recounts the whale attack from Chase’s point of view....