Lesson Four:

Subject: The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald

Benchmarks/Standards

National Standards:

Singing, alone and with others, a varied repertoire of music

Listening to, analyzing, and describing music

Understanding relationships between music, the other arts, and disciplines outside the

arts

Understanding music in relation to history and culture

Common Core Standards:

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.6-8.4 - Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are

used in a text, including vocabulary specific to domains related to history/social studies.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.8.1 - Engage effectively in a range of collaborative discussions

(one-on-one, in groups, and teacher-led) with diverse partners on grade 8 topics, texts,

and issues, building on others’ ideas and expressing their own clearly.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.8.1 - Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard

English grammar and usage when writing or speaking.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.8.5 Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word

relationships, and nuances in word meanings.

Behavioral Objective

By the end of this lesson, students will be able to discuss the history of the Edmund Fitzgerald,

the reason why Gordon Lightfoot wrote the song “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald,”

understand the lyrics and sing along with “The Wreck…” with provided lyrics.

Anticipatory Set

Today we’ll be going back in the past, 1975 to be exact. This is the year that a large storm came

rolling over Lake Superior and tragically sank an iron ore carrier called the Edmund Fitzgerald.

History is an important part in music. We look back to see why a songwriter wrote what they

did. Well today, we’ll look back at Canadian songwriter Gordon Lightfoot, and the “Wreck of

the Edmund Fitzgerald.” Now although Gordon Lightfoot is a Canadian songwriter, the Edmund

Fitzgerald was an American ship, heading toward Detroit to drop off the iron load before heading

to Cleveland to dock for the winter. By the end of this class, you should be able to understand

why Lightfoot wrote this song, we’ll analyze the lyrics and let everyone take a stab at what they

could mean, and we’ll sing along with the song. Now let’s read into the history behind the

sinking of the Edmund Fitzgerald and Gordon Lightfoot’s song.

Student Objective

I can describe 2 facts about the Edmund Fitzgerald or its sinking.

I can describe any given lyrics in the song “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.”

I can sing along with the song with provided lyrics.

Input

A. Task Analysis

1. Entrance Slip – Name 4-6 famous singers from Michigan and 1 fact about them.

2. Attendance

3. Anticipatory Set

4. Pass out Edmund Fitzgerald and Gordon Lightfoot readings

5. The Edmund Fitzgerald sinking history

SS Edmund Fitzgerald was an American Great Lakes freighter that sank in a Lake

Superior storm on November 10, 1975, with the loss of the entire crew of 29. When

launched on June 8, 1958, she was the largest ship on North America's Great Lakes, and

she remains the largest to have sunk there. Nicknamed Mighty Fitz, Fitz, or Big Fitz, the

ship suffered a series of mishaps during her launch: it took three attempts to break the

champagne bottle used to christen her, and she collided with a pier when she entered the

water.

For seventeen years Fitzgerald carried taconite iron ore from mines near Duluth,

Minnesota, to iron works in Detroit, Toledo, and other Great Lakes ports. As a

"workhorse" she set seasonal haul records six times, often beating her own previous

record.[5][6]

Captain Peter Pulcer was known for piping music day or night over the ship's

intercom system while passing through the St. Clair and Detroit Rivers (between

Lakes Huron and Erie), and entertaining spectators at the Soo Locks (between

Lakes Superior and Huron) with a running commentary about the ship.[5]

Her size,

record-breaking performance, and "DJ captain" endeared Fitzgerald to boat watchers.[7]

Carrying a full cargo of ore pellets with Captain Ernest M. McSorley in command, she

embarked on her final voyage from Superior, Wisconsin (near Duluth), on the afternoon

of November 9, 1975. En route to a steel mill near Detroit, Michigan, Fitz joined a

second freighter, the SS Arthur M. Anderson. By the next day the two ships were caught

in the midst of a severe winter storm on Lake Superior, with near hurricane-force winds

and waves up to 35 feet (11 m) high. Shortly after 7:10 p.m. Fitzgerald suddenly sank in

Canadian waters 530 feet (160 m) deep, approximately 17 miles (15 nautical miles; 27

kilometers) from the entrance to Whitefish Bay near the twin cities ofSault Ste. Marie,

Michigan, and Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. Although Fitzgerald had reported being in

difficulty earlier, no distress signals were sent before she sank. Her crew of 29 all

perished, and no bodies were recovered.

Many theories, books, studies and expeditions have examined the cause of the

sinking. Fitzgerald may have fallen victim to the high waves of the storm, suffered

structural failure, been swamped with water entering through her cargo hatches or deck,

experienced topside damage, or shoaled in a shallow part of Lake Superior. The sinking

of the Edmund Fitzgerald is one of the best-known disasters in the history of Great Lakes

shipping. Gordon Lightfoot made it the subject of his 1976 hit song "The Wreck of

the Edmund Fitzgerald".

Investigations into the sinking led to changes in Great Lakes shipping regulations and

practices that included mandatory survival suits, depth finders, positioning systems,

increased freeboard, and more frequent inspection of vessels.

6. The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald

a. “According to a legend of the Chippewa tribe, the lake they once called Gitche

Gumee ‘never gives up her dead.’” – Great Lakes: The Cruelest Month, James R.

Gaines with Jon Lowell in Detroit, ©1975 Newsweek Magazine.

Thus began the Newsweek article in the issue of November 24, 1975. That lead

and the news magazine’s dry story inspired Gordon Lightfoot to write on of the

greatest “story songs” ever.

On November 10, 1975, an iron ore carrier – the Edmund Fitzgerald – sank in

Lake Superior during a November storm, taking the lives of all 29 crew members.

Later that month, Gordon Lightfoot, inspired by the article in Newsweek

Magazine, wrote what is probably his most famous song: Wreck of the Edmund

Fitzgerald.

Lightfoot wrote Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald as a tribute to the ship, the sea,

and the men who lost their lives that night. When asked recently what he thought

his most significant contribution to music was, he said it was this song, which he

often refers to as “The Wreck.”

http://gordonlightfoot.com/wreckoftheedmundfitzgerald.shtml

7. Listen to the “Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald”

8. Discussion of the meaning behind the lyrics

a. Pass out lyrics to all students

9. Sing along with the “Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald”

B. Thinking Levels: Bloom’s Taxonomy

1. Comprehension – students paraphrase the facts found in the readings

2. Application – apply the history into the lyrics of the song

3. Analysis – breakdown of the lyrics

C. Materials

1. Attendance List

2. Entrance Slips

3. Copies of history readings

4. Copies of “Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” lyrics

5. Computer/projector

6. Listening example: Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald

Modeling

Singing along with the “Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald”

Providing examples of what the lyrics could mean

Check for Understanding

Can students provide 2-3 facts about the Edmund Fitzgerald?

Students sing along with the song.

Can students explain some of the lyrics, in their own words?

Closure

Answer any questions.

Next Class: Detroit Motown