It’s time to explore the stories of Great Lakes shipwrecks using Wisconsin Sea Grant’s wisconsinshipwrecks.org website. You will learn some terms and geography of the Great Lakes and use your new knowledge to complete a crossword puzzle, go on a scavenger hunt using shipwreck clues, explore Great Lakes attractions and consider how studying shipwrecks may influence life today.
This lesson is geared toward students in upper elementary grades, ages 8 through 11, but any age can take the dive.
Test your knowledge!
- Deep Dive Activity Sheet
- Deep Dive Crossword Puzzle Answer Key
- Deep Dive Scavenger Hunt Answer Key
Learn more!
- Explore the wisconsinshipwrecks.org website
- Visit the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary
For educators
Great Lakes Literacy Principles
Principle 6 The Great Lakes and humans in their watersheds are inextricably interconnected.
Principle 7 Much remains to be learned about the Great Lakes.
Wisconsin Academic Standards
SS.Hist1.a: Use evidence to draw conclusions about probable causes of historical events, issues, and problems.
SS.Hist1.b: Use evidence to draw conclusions about probable effects of historical events, issues, and problems.
SS.Hist3.c.e Explain how something from the past can affect your life now.
RL.4.7 Make connections between the text of a story or drama and a visual or oral presentation of the text, identifying where each version reflects specific descriptions and directions in the text.
RL.4.4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including those that allude to significant characters found in mythology (e.g., Herculean).
RL.4.10 By the end of the year, read and comprehend literature, including stories, dramas, and poetry, in the grades 4–5 text complexity band proficiently, with scaffolding as needed at the high end of the range.
Looking for more Great Lakes at Home fun? See our distance learning page.
This lesson was developed by Great Lakes educator Susan Jurries (fourth grade teacher at Arbor-Vitae-Woodruff (WI) Elementary School). It was edited by Wisconsin Sea Grant (Anne Moser, education coordinator and Elizabeth White (editor). The lesson was designed by Yael Gen (graphic designer).
