Lesson Plan - Mystery of the Ghost Ship

Watch a Slideshow - Mary Celeste: Mystery at Sea
Ask: What do you think happened to the people on the Mary Celeste? Explain.

Preview Words to Know
Project the online vocabulary slideshow and introduce the Words to Know. 

• fateful
• maritime

Set a Purpose for Reading
As students read, have them underline clues about what happened to the ship’s crew and passengers. 

1. What is the author’s purpose in the first four paragraphs of the article?
The author’s purpose in these paragraphs is to grab readers’ attention by describing the spooky scene when the Mary Celeste was found floating in the Atlantic Ocean.
^{R.5 Craft and Structure}

2. According to the article, what are two theories about what happened to the Mary Celeste crew?
One theory is that pirates attacked the ship. Another is that the captain, worried the ship was sinking, used the lifeboat to try to get everyone to safety.
^{R.2 Key Details} 

3. Why does the author write that what happened to the people on the Mary Celeste is a mystery that “might never be solved”?
There is no proof to explain the crew’s disappearance, although people have theories.
^{R.8 Reasons and Evidence}

FEATURED SKILL: Cite Text Evidence
Use the Skill Builder “Be a Text Detective” to have students practice citing text evidence in response to true-or-false questions from the article. 
^{R.1 Text Evidence}