Antarctica Lesson Plans

	Antarctica Teaching Theme		Antarctica Complete Workbook
	Antarctica Subject Matter Sites		Antarctica Worksheets

1. A Meal of Endurance- Students analyze the nutritional value of three meals representative of the food Shackleton's men ate as their journey progressed, and compare them to their own daily diet.
2. Animals of the Poles- "The activity may be used in connection with a science unit on animals of various regions of the world."
3. Antarctica: A Cold Desert Ecosystem- In this lesson students will construct a rough map of Antarctic ecosystems and explore relationships among the creatures that populate them.
4. Antarctica- A complete unit plan from a New Zealand based site.
5. Antarctica- Salinity (amount of salt) of water affects the buoyancy (floatability) of ice when the water is frozen.

1. Antarctic E-Mail- "The students will demonstrate prior knowledge of the Antarctic (geography, population, etc.) They will also speculate on what kinds of people go to Antarctica and why those people go to live there. The students will speculate on what life is like in Antarctica. Finally, the students will develop questions they can ask of researchers living at the Amundsen-Scott Research Station in Antarctica."
2. Antarctica 2 Teacher's Guide- A series of lesson plans from this great site.
3. Antarctica or Bust- "The students take on the role of scientists being briefed on a future trip to Antarctica. The briefing will inform them of the land, climate, inhabitants, and rules of visiting this continent."
4. Classroom Antarctica - 8 units and lots of activities.
5. Expedition to the Poles- Students will pretend they have just returned from a year in the Arctic or Antarctic. They will look at Web sites about these regions and expeditions to them, and they will create posters illustrating their experiences.
6. Flags of Antarctica- The student will research and draw a flag of an ancestral country.
7. Ice Breakers- "Through participating in a number of in-class experiments using ice, students understand the effects of global warming on icecaps and the worldwide consequences that may result."
8. Icebergs Ahead!- Students make miniature icebergs, float them in water, expose them to the sun, and compare them to a floating cork stopper. Students also estimate the amount of drift ice around Antarctica.
9. Icebergs and Penguins- Emperor penguins are the largest penguin species and the only penguins that spend the winter on the Antarctic ice.
10. Investigating Our Place in the World- A series of activities.
11. Let the North Star Tell You Where You Are- Students make their own astrolabe, use it to sight the star Polaris, and determine their latitude.
12. Mapping Antarctica- "The student will use latitude and longitude coordinates to fill in a map grid."
13. Seasons Scavenger Hunt- The student will observe and record signs of spring.
14. S'more Seasons- The student will use marshmallows to create a model of the earth that shows the equator, the Tropics of Capricorn and Cancer, and the Arctic and Antarctic Circles.
15. South Georgia Island: Paradise of Ice- Math and science lessons.
16. South Pole Mars Bars- Students will color a simple bar chart comparing seasonal temperatures at the south poles of Mars and Earth. It's an opportunity for exposure to negative numbers and to reinforce the cold facts about these two planets.
17. Stories That Go with the Territory- "In this lesson, students investigate various expeditions throughout history to new and/or uncharted territories. Students then work in groups to develop and 'produce' television news magazine segments about some of these historic expeditions."
18. Teacher Resources- Complete with vocabulary terms, discussion questions, class projects, and worksheets.
19. The Antarctic Ecosystem and Krill- This lesson asks students to investigate the importance of krill to the Antarctic ecosystem by researching the animals that depend on it and drawing a food web.
20. The Antarctic Food Chain- This lesson introduces students to the animals of Antarctica and to the Antarctic food chain. Students will draw pictures of a variety of animals and attach the pictures to a wall collage (be sure to set aside some space on one of the classroom walls).
21. The Coldest Place at the Bottom of the World- Students use longitude and latitude coordinates to trace and estimate the miles on Shackleton's actual and intended polar journeys, describe the altitude changes across the continent, and compare Antarctica to their own state.
22. The Continent Game- "The students will correctly order the continents in terms of area, population, and other geographic terms."
23. Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star- Students will shine a beam of starlight (i.e, a flashlight) through a wet atmosphere (a pan full of turbulent water) and watch how bright and dim spots form on the Earth's surface (the bottom of the pan). They will discuss how this might be related to the twinkling of stars.
24. What Do People Know About the Arctic and Antarctic?- It's common to confuse characteristics of the Arctic and the Antarctic, and many people have never learned the differences between these two regions.
25. Wired Antarctica- Students learn about the history of exploration of Antarctica.