Activities
Responding to text
Getting to know Antarctica
Class
The very first sentence of this book says: 'At the bottom of our planet is a very strange land, known as Antarctica.'
- Why is it a strange place?
- How is it uniquely different from any other place on Earth?
As a group, make a list of headings that might apply to a study of Antarctica such as 'population', 'climate', 'transport', 'landforms', 'vegetation' and so on. Have each group member select a heading and then read pages 2–5 of the book and make a note of all the facts about Antarctica that you can find to match your heading.
Then each of you must choose one book from the 998 section of the library and one website from the list above (or another authoritative website you know) and find at least 10 more facts about your topic.
Construct a large outline wall map of Antarctica and add the information you have found, so it becomes a database for others to use.
Antarctic attraction
Individuals
For many years, northern European explorers believed that there had to be a 'great south land' to balance the land mass of the northern hemisphere and stop the planet tumbling over. Many sailed south but it was not until 17 January 1773, that the ships Resolution and Adventure – under the command of James Cook – most likely became the first to cross the Antarctic Circle. For two months, Cook sailed alongside the pack, looking for an entrance to travel further south, but as winter approached he had to sail north again. He returned south in November and on 30 January, he reached his most southerly point. He wrote:
...extended east and west far beyond the reach of our sight... It was indeed my opinion that this ice extends quite to the Pole, or perhaps joins to some land to which it has been fixed since creation.
It was to be 137 years before anyone reached that legendary South Pole.
Choose one of the Antarctic explorers from the list below, or another Antarctic explorer you know about, and research their journey and contribution to polar exploration.
- Robert Falcon Scott
- Roald Amundsen
- Vivian Fuchs & Sir Edmund Hillary
- Sir Douglas Mawson
- Ernest Shackleton
- James Cook
- Richard Byrd
- Thaddeus Bellingshausen
- James Clark Ross
- Børge Ousland
Imagine you are the explorer and write a series of at least ten diary entries describing your experiences, the sights you have seen, and your thoughts. The first entry should be just before you set out and record your feelings of what lies ahead; another should describe your first encounter with an Antarctic creature, knowing that no one has ever seen such a creature before; and the final one should reflect on your achievements and accomplishments, and their value to you and the world.
If your school allows access to Web 2.0 tools, you might be able to write these diary entries as a blog. Use: BlogNow or Edublogs
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Themes for Education for Sustainability
Who owns Antarctica?
Small groups
Activities in Antarctica and its surrounding seas are governed by the Antarctic Treaty, a unique agreement between nations. Australia was one of 12 original parties to the Treaty, which became law in 1961.
Construct a map which shows the division of responsibility for the Antarctic continent.
Use the information here and here to draw up a copy of the key points of the treaty, written in language that you can understand easily. Particularly focus on those points that aim to protect the environment.
For example, instead of:
Antarctica shall be used for peaceful purposes only. There shall be prohibited, inter alia, any measure of a military nature, such as the establishment of military bases and fortifications, the carrying out of military manoeuvres, as well as the testing of any type of weapon.
you might write:
Antarctica will always be a place of peace. No country is to establish a military base, test weapons or do anything of an aggressive nature there.
If, in the light of predicted climate change, a new treaty were to be negotiated, what should it contain that will ensure the protection of the environment and its inhabitants?
Consider these sorts of concerns:
- Is it still necessary to keep Antarctica and its resources free from commercial development?
- What could be the consequences of development, both to the continent and the world?
- Should it be kept as a World Heritage park?
- Why might Antarctica and its creatures be considered more precious than, for instance, the rainforests of Indonesia and the orang-outang?
- Should permanent settlement be allowed?
- How would the issue of increasing tourism be addressed?
- As one of its nearest neighbours, what should Australia's role be in the future of Antarctica?
- How could the land, its animals, and its minerals be protected from unscrupulous governments?
- If the terms of the treaty were ignored, is this a place worth going to war for?
- If a treaty works for Antarctica, why won't it work for other parts of the planet?
Class
As a class, construct a new Antarctic treaty which maintains the status quo, but addresses these concerns. Which countries should take the greatest responsibility for the maintenance of the treaty? Why?
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Research themes
The Antarctic desert?
Individuals
What is a desert? Make a list of the characteristics of a desert and then compare the Antarctic environment to this to determine whether Antarctica could be classified as a desert.
As cold as
Individuals
Investigate the minimum and maximum temperatures that Antarctica experiences and show these on this temperature chart. Investigate the minimum and maximum temperatures for your local area and show those on the chart too.
Write at least eight facts that you can learn about the temperatures in both places by comparing the charts. Why is the Antarctic so cold?
Create a slideshow presentation which would explain this to a Year 1 student. Use the diagram on page 5 to help you.
Create another chart which compares and contrasts the Antarctic environment with where you currently live.
- Are there any similarities?
- What are the key differences?
- How do these impact on your life?
Living in the freezer
Individuals
This book is subtitled 'Living in the freezer'.
- What is the temperature in a home freezer?
- How does this compare to the temperatures found in the Antarctic?
- If it was large enough, could you live in your freezer?
- What adaptations would you need to make?
Small groups
Read this information at www.coolantarctica.com to learn how humans survive in extreme cold.
Devise an experiment which could be used to investigate and demonstrate which fabric is the most effective as an insulator, using both natural and synthetic fabrics. Repeat the experiment using the most effective fabric, but investigate whether several thin layers are better than one thick one.
Individuals
How do animals adapt to the cold of Antarctica? Choose one of the creatures in the book and identify how it is equipped or has adapted to the Antarctic environment. Add the information to a class chart about Antarctic wildlife.
- Is there a common characteristic?
- What could humans learn from this?
- How will these creatures be affected if global warming continues as predicted?
Life in the freezer
Small groups
Which creatures live in the Antarctic? How are they interdependent? What is the most critical element for their survival?
Use the information in the book to construct an animal atlas of the Antarctic and illustrate the relationships between the creatures.
- What would happen to the infrastructure if just one species became endangered or extinct?
- Why is there so much opposition to the Japanese whaling activities in Antarctic waters?
- How might climate change and global warming impact on Antarctic wildlife? How would this impact on the world in general?
Individuals
Select one of the species from the book and write an editorial advocating its protection with evidence of the consequences if it is not.
- Which conservation organisations take a special interest in the protection of Antarctica and its inhabitants?
- What sorts of things do they do?
Prepare a print or digital advertisement for the organisation, highlighting its Antarctic activities so that people might be persuaded to give a donation.
The debate about global warming
Individuals
- What is global warming?
- What do many scientists believe causes climate change?
- Are climate change and global warming dire warnings or a media-fuelled scare campaign? What is your position?
Monitor the popular media (newspapers, magazines, television or radio) for one week and collect evidence of any references to global warming, whether they are:
- news items
- documentaries
- advertisements
- interviews
and sort these according to:
- their source
- their bias
- their language (factual or emotional)
- their authority (scientist, journalist, commentator, conservationist, etc)
- any other considerations you believe are important
Examine them and look for evidence that might confirm or change your opinion.
- Are you more influenced by one source or another?
- What would be the purpose of organisations such as the Humane Society http://hsi.org spending so much money on advertising campaigns rather than directing it towards their programs?
Construct a PMI chart to help shape your thinking. Can you find evidence that is opposite to one of the arguments in both your 'plus' and 'minus' columns?
Select at least one of the issues in your 'Interesting' column and research it more thoroughly. How and why has your opinion been confirmed or changed?
The author, Dr Mark Norman, has done something for the planet by writing this book to help us learn about the Antarctic and its inhabitants. What can you do?
Identify something that you as an individual and you, as a class, can do to minimise global warming. Develop an action plan to help you achieve your goal.
Destination Antarctica
Class
Tourists have been visiting the Antarctic regions since the 1960s and the debate continues about whether this is a positive or negative thing. The author himself has been involved in leading tour groups.
Read some of the following articles, identify the key arguments for and against the practice, and then debate the issue 'Tourists will save Antarctica'.
Individuals
Use the information at www.aad.gov.au to prepare and produce a 'Visitors' Guide to the Antarctic'.
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Assessment
Assessment tasks are dependent on the teacher's identified outcomes of the unit, the tasks selected and the evidence that teachers determine to be acceptable for the age group.
Changes in values and attitudes evolve over time as our expertise and experience grows and so cannot be measured. However, by exposing students to activities such as these we start them on their journey of awareness of the wider world, particularly if we give them the opportunity and time to reflect on their learning.
Antarctic wildlife officers
Cruising the Antarctic waters, especially those off the bottom of South America, is becoming a popular tourist activity.
Imagine that, like the author, you have been appointed as an ecotour guide for one of the companies which undertake Antarctic cruises, specifically to teach the visitors about the wildlife they might encounter on their journey.
Select one of the creatures from the book and use the information there to determine the headings for the information you will need to gather. Use print and online resources to research the creature you have chosen, using those headings to guide your searching and organise your information. As well as facts about the creature, you need to demonstrate how it has adapted to its environment, its relationship with the environment and the other creatures in it, and its prospects for the future.
Prepare a computer slideshow, with 15-20 slides, using software such as PowerPoint or Photostory (PC), or Keynote (Mac), which you could show the passengers on their way south. Educational copyright provisions allow you to use photos and other graphics for this presentation, although the words must be your own.
Address the criteria on the presentation worksheet to ensure you prepare, produce and present it as best you can.
Life elsewhere
Use the information you discovered in the 'Life in the freezer' activity to create an animal atlas for another ecosystem, such as the Great Barrier Reef, the Borneo rainforest, the Sahara desert, or the African savannah, and to examine and illustrate the interdependence of its creatures. Investigate the threats, if any, to this ecosystem.
- What lessons could be learned from the Antarctic experience to protect these areas?
- What lessons could be learned from the experience of these ecosystems to protect Antarctica?
Reflections
- How has this book and study impacted on you?
- What will you remember about it when you are older?
- Have the words or the pictures had the most impact? Why?
Use the reflections sheet think and write about what you have learned and how it might have changed your thinking and understanding.
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