Vocabulary
What is a torpedo?
It is an underwater bomb.
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In 1996, Hunter Scott, from Florida, began researching the history of the Indianapolis for his sixth-grade history fair project.
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What happened to the USS Indianapolis on July 29, 1945?
How many men were on board?
How many survived?
1. It was hit by 2 Japanese torpedos.
2. 1200 men were on board.
3. 900 survived the blast, but after 5 days at sea, only 316 survived.
What is the purpose of the first section of the story (On the first and second page before the Trial section)?
A. To persuade the reader to love reading about World War Two battles.
B. To inform you about what happened the night the ship sank and to explain how many people died.
C. To explain why Hunter Scott decided to research the sinking of the USS Indianapolis.
B. To inform you about what happened the night the ship sank and to explain how many people died.
What is the meaning of the metaphor:
About the length of two football fields, the ship was lightning fast.
The ship was very fast and it was as 200 yards long.
What does the word verdict mean in the sentence “This verdict did nothing to bring back the men who had been lost”?
a. actions taken by a leader
b. lives lost in a disaster
c. the decision made in a trial
d. a person's statement in a trial
c. the decision made in a trial.
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Hunter believed that McVay was innocent.
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Read the section “The Trial.” What was the verdict of Captain McVay’s trial? How did the verdict affect McVay?
McVay was found guilty and it shattered his life. He was haunted by the lost lives on the ship until his death in 1968.
What is the purpose of the Trial section?
A. To explain why McVay was put on trial for the sinking of the ship, and also the verdict of the trial.
B. To entertain the reader giving them a good story about the trial.
C. To persuade the reader to never commit the same crime as McVay.
A. To explain why McVay was put on trial for the sinking of the ship, and also the verdict of the trial.
What is meaning of this phrase:
The ship was hundreds of miles from land, wrapped in the darkness of night—just a whisper of a shadow on an endless sea.
The ship was in the middle of the ocean on a very dark night. It was so quiet on the large ocean.
When the ship was hit, they sent out a _______ signal.
distress
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The USS Indianapolis was sunk by enemy torpedoes in 1945, toward the end of World War II.
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The article tells you that 11-year-old Hunter Scott decided to do a history fair project about the Indianapolis. How did he find information about the ship?
He read books about it in the library, and also interviewed a survivor.
What is the purpose of the section A School Project?
A. To explain what really happened with the SS Indianapolis.
B. To inform the reader about how Hunter spent 4 years working to clear McVay's name.
C. To explain who Hunter Scott is and why he started researching the SS Indianpolis in the first place.
C. To explain who Hunter Scott is and why he started researching the SS Indianpolis in the first place.
What is the meaning of this phrase?
McVay was proud to be the leader of the Indianapolis, a jewel of the American Navy.
McVay was proud to be the leader of the ship because it was an impressive part of the Navy.
The family _______ over their lost son.
grieved
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McVay was blamed for the sinking of the USS Indianapolis.
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Based on the section “What Really Happened?,” why was it unfair to blame McVay for the sinking of the Indianapolis?
It was unfair because he had requested an escort but was not given this escort.
Also, he didn't know that another ship had recently been lost in that same area (they didn't give him this information).
Noone noticed that they were missing. It was by accident that someone found them. Someone should have noticed sooner.
What is the purpose of the section Honor restored?
A. To inform the reader about all the work Hunter went through to finally have the verdict changed.
B. To persuade the reader to work as hard as Hunter.
C. To entertain the reader with a good story about the USS Indianapolis.
A. To inform the reader about all the work Hunter went through to finally have the verdict changed.
Find the phrase on the first page that is used to describe how hot the ship was on the night it sank.
The air was blistering hot, and some crewmen had brought their bedding above deck to sleep under the stars.
What is an antonym for crucial?
A. very important
B. unimportant
C. critical
B. unimportant
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During his research, Hunter discovered that Captain McVay had been unfairly blamed for what happened to the Indianapolis.
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Read the section “Honor Restored.” What does it suggest about the kind of person Hunter is?
Hunter is a determined person who never gives up. He is also a very hard worker because he worked for four years on this project and didn't give up when the president denied his request.
What is the purpose of the map on page 7?
A. To explain what was happening during the sinking of the ship.
B. To inform the reader about where the sinking happened and how far away they were from land.
C. To describe the how far away Japan is from the United States.
B. To inform the reader about where the sinking happened and how far away they were from land.
Find the phrase that explains how rough the seas were when the men were waiting to be rescued.
Twelve-foot waves tossed them around like rag dolls.