THE TRUE CONFESSIONS OF CHARLOTTE
DOYLE
By: Avi
A Web Quest for 6th Grade (Language Arts)
Designed by: Danielle Kunz (dkunz100@aol.com)
The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle is a story about a thirteen-year-old girl who was a passenger on a ship named "The Seahawk" which had set sail to Providence, Rhode Island from Liverpool, England. Charlotte was from a wealthy family and she was sailing to Providence to meet her family. Her father arranged the entire trip. At first Charlotte was very excited about the voyage because she was supposed to meet other families aboard that had children her age. But just before boarding she found out that she was going to be the only passenger on the entire ship. Many members of the crew tried to warn her not to sail, but she continued as her father wished. Charlotte heard many dreadful stories about the Captain and prior events that had taken place on the Seahawk from the shipmates. She was warned prior to boarding that the Seahawk was not a proper place for a lady. At first, she felt trapped and powerless, and followed the Captain's orders. Then she came to realize the real person the Captain truly was. She dared to become one of the crew and helped with the Seahawk's voyage. The crew initially challenged her, but they eventually cared for her and realized whom she was loyal to. The Captain continued to challenge her and tired to turn the crew against her. Charlotte was even accused of murder, brought to trial and found guilty. But, she managed to survive this frightful trip and learned a valuable lesson. She became independent and found out what type of person she wanted to be.
After reading this story,
you will work with a partner to investigate life on a tall ship in the
1800’s. You will have to decide if
Charlotte Doyle made the right choice!
TASK
1:
What
kind of food did the shipmates and passengers eat while voyaging on ships back
in the 1800’s?
How did passengers and shipmates wash
themselves and the clothes they wore while sailing?
List 2-3 general ship rules that you find interesting.
Write one paragraph in your Language Arts
journal describing what it would be like to sail on a ship in the early
1800’s.
To accomplish TASK 1, please try the
following site:
Life on a tall ship in the 1800’s
TASK
2:
You and your partner will choose 4 sailing terms each that you are unfamiliar with. Please define those terms, and be able to describe them to the class during our discussion.
To accomplish TASK 2, please
try the following site:
TASK
3:
Design a poster advertising a voyage
leaving from England to Rhode Island back in the 1800’s. Include the information from the above
tasks as a part of the advertisement.
Illustrate your advertisement with a picture
of your favorite tall sailing ship.
TASK
4:
Now that you have investigated life on a tall ship during the 1800’s, you must decide if Charlotte made the right choice. Write a brief summary in your own words about THE TRUE CONFESSIONS OF CHARLOTTE DOYLE. Please state whether or not you agree with all of Charlotte’s choices. Should she have joined the crew on the voyage? Should she have left her family at the end? You should write your summary and review of this selection in your Language Arts journal and be prepared to share it with the class during our discussion.
Look at these sites for
other reviews of this book:
1. Amazon review
2. Student review
.