20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
Unit Study: Part 6
"20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" by Jules Verne makes a really good literatur unit to combine with oceanograpy, marine biology, seamanship, the science fiction genre, etc. Part six of this unit study covers Part 2, Chapters 1 - 5 of the book.
As with many classics, there are several versions of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea on the market. The edition that I am using for this unit was originally published by Classic Press, Inc. in 1968.
Suggested Vocabulary:
hippocampi
scorpaena
pearls
annelides
tridacne
sponge
dugong
tern
If you would like to download a free copy of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, one of the best downloads that I’ve found is available from http://www.knowledgerush.com/books/2000010.html. Its a no frills, continuous copy of the book.
Online-Literature.com also has 20,000 Leagues as well as several over works by the author Jules Verne. And at http://www.selfknowledge.com/446au.htm there is a realaudio version of the book you can listen to!
Book Summary from http://www.people.virginia.edu/~mtp0f/flips/jules.html
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea is about the adventures of Captain Nemo and his crew aboard the submarine, Nautilus. One day ships start sinking, particularly ones dealing with war. Survivors think it is a big whale. A harpoon ship goes out to kill it, but finds out that the whale is actually the Nautilus. The most interesting part of this book was probably the Nautilus itself. It is shaped to look like a fish, with a large metal fin on top used to ram and sink the ships. The camouflage of the boat being shaped like a whale works, up until the part where the Nautilus takes on a few passengers from one of the sinking ships. Another intriguing part of this book was Captain Nemo. He is the kind of character that you neither like nor dislike. I say this, because of some of Nemo’s actions. Captain Nemo hates war, and throughout the book, he uses his submarine to destroy all kinds of war related ships. You would like him for trying to put an end to war, but dislike his method (destroying ships and killing innocent lives).
Suggested Questions and Activities:
1. Locate the Indian Ocean on a globe.
2. This is the beginning of the second half of the journey. Why ... or why not ... do you think that it was appropriate to end the first half of the book at the moving scene in the coral cemetery?
3. According to the first few paragraphs in chapter one of section two, how did Conseil view Nemo? Why did Arronax disagree with this?
4. Research the kind of life that might be found in the Indian Ocean, both below the water line and above it. What peoples live in and around the Indian Ocean?
5. Locate Keeling Island. What, if anything, is it famous for?
6. Learn about the various sharks that inhabit the Indian Ocean.
7. Continue to draw pictures of all the animals meantioned in the story into your Log Book.
8. Find Ceylon and the Gulf of Manaar on a globe.
9. What is a pearl? How is it formed?
10. What did Captain Nemo give as the reason for helping the pearl diver?
11. If possible, follow the landmarks in order that they appear in the story to mark the journey of the Nautilus.
12. According to research, how did the Red Sea get its name?
13. What is a dugong? What mythological creature was probably inspired by this creature? [Answer: mermaids]
On Line Lessons:
http://www.sdcoe.k12.ca.us/score/leag/leagtg.htm
http://www.kidzone.ws/math/ocean/
http://www.cln.org/themes/oceanography.html
http://www.libsci.sc.edu/miller/Ocean.htm
