Morse Code/Poetry

Goals

  1. Incorporate morse code into literature.
  2. Student interaction through group work.
  3. Enhance student's communication skills.

Materials
Copy of translation of morse code for each student
Paulsen, Gary. The Voyage of the Frog.Ý Bantam Doubleday Dell Books, New York, 1989.
A Night to Remember. Dir. Roy Ward Baker, Produced by William MacQuitty.Ý Rank Film Productions, 1958.

** Possible Resources for teachers

History of morse code:
Jepsen, Thomas C. Women Telegraph Operators on the Western Frontier. Journal of the West. Apr. 96, Vol. 35,
Iss. 2, p. 72-80.

Uses of morse code:
Buckley, Christopher. Want to Send a Witty email Forbes FYI Supplement. Spring 1997, p. 15-18.
Linton, Clifton. Chicago Firefighters Will Stop Dashing; Some Say Dots Too Bad. The Wall Street Journal. Sept. 03, 96,
Vol. 1, Section B, p. 1.
Krugman, Paul. Global Economy: De Ja Vu. Harperís.Ý May 96, Vol. 292, Iss. 1752.

** Possible Internet Sites to Bookmark

Time
1.5 - 2 hours

Procedure

Part 1 - Introduction to Morse Code

  1. Introduce the students to the history and use of morse code. For possible resources, see Resources: History and
    uses of morse code
  2. Show a clip of the movie, A Night to Remember.Ý The reason for this is to visually show the history and use of
    morse code on the ships.

Part 2 - Incorporating poetry

  1. Have students use net search or teacher defined bookmarks to look for poems about survival, the ocean, or morse
    code. Each student will find a poem that they like and either print it out or copy it down for use in the classroom.
    For possible sites for the students to find poetry, see Resources: poetry above.
  2. The students will get into a group of about 4 students and pick one of the four poems to focus on.
  3. Once they have chosen a poem, they will receive a copy of the morse code translation sheet.
  4. The students will translate 5-6 words in the poem into morse code. Each word that they choose will hold an important
    meaning in the poem.
  5. Once each group has finished translating the words in the poem, they will pass it to another group to translate the
    words back to written work.
  6. After the students translate the poem back, each group will read the poem out loud to the class. Can use choral
    reading techniques.

Part 3 - Incorporating The Voyage of the Frog

  1. Each group that was formed from part 1 will be given a certain part of the book that they have already read.
  2. The groups will come up with a morse code that they think David should have sent at that particular time. Note: A
    message for help should be short and simple and very accurate for others to understand.
  3. Each group will send their message to another group.
  4. The groups will decode the message that they received and try to figure out what part of the book the message came
    from.

Assessment

  1. A copy of each group's poem with the translated words in morse code as well as the copy of the poem that they
    received with the translations of the words back into English can be collected (Criteria for success: X number of words
    translated correctly).
  2. Participation in group activity  (Criteria for Success: A rubric filled out with 7 out of 10 of the questions answered
    with either always or most of the time from each member of the group).
  3. A copy of each groups message from David (Criteria for Success: an accurate and specific use of morse code dealing
    with the groups given section of the book).

Major Concepts

  1. Language Arts - Poems, Writing
  2. Social Studies - Survival Skills, Communication
  3. Mathematics - Problem solving and logical thinking (Placing the message with the correct part of the book)

Extensions

  1. Read a section of the book S.O.S. Titanic to demonstrate the use of morse code in history on a ship.
  2. Have students send messages to one another in morse code.
  3. Discuss the reason that morse code is not used for communication on ships today.
  4. Other movies with clips that demonstrate the use of morse code:
  5. independence Day
    Executive Decision
  6. A science activity involving morse code in the magazine Science Teacher called Using Electromagnetics by Judy A.
    Porter in volume number 63, issue number 3, in the March, 1996 issue, pages 54-55

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Submitted By St. Norbert College Ocean Voyagers Program