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ANTARCTICAANTARCTICAANTARCTICAANTARCTICAANTARCTICA

Getting to the South Polemain ideas

backgroundinformation

� Antarctica is a frozen desertwith an extreme, inhospi-table climate.

� The South Pole is on the con-tinent of Antarctica but in alocation that is very difficultto reach.

� The North and South Polesare the points where Earth�saxis of rotation intersectsEarth�s surface.

The average temperature inAntarctica is 45 degrees belowzero Celsius; in winter, the tem-perature can fall to 74 degrees be-low zero Celsius. Because it�s socold, very little water evaporatesinto the air and precipitation israre. In fact, Antarctica is theworld�s largest desert�5.5 millionsquare miles, about the size of theU.S. and Mexico put together.

It wasn�t until 1901 that explor-ers first braved Antarctica�s inhos-pitable climate in order to try to getto the South Pole. After numerousfailed attempts, two teams of ex-plorers finally succeeded in reach-ing the pole in 1911.

Some of the ice that coversAntarctica is thousands of yearsold. It has preserved records of thepast. Because Antarctica is so re-mote, scientists go there to studypast climates and to conductexperiments relating to currentglobal pollution and climaticchanges.

SCENE 1 Earth Has Poles :50Cast member Z uses a spinning basket-ball and a spinning globe to illustrate thatEarth spins on its axis and has two poles�North and South.

SCENE 2 North Pole, South Pole 1:00An upbeat musical number comparessome features of Earth�s two poles anddispels some myths about Antarctica.

SCENE 3 Continental Comparison :50Just how big is Antarctica? Z comparesits size with that of a couple of Earth�sother continental masses.

SCENE 4 Cold Cover-Ups 1:00Before leaving for Antarctica, cast memberDebra gets layers of cold-weather gearespecially designed for the harsh climate.

SCENE 5 Historic Hut 2:00Debra�s amazed when she sees the hutBritish explorer Ernest Shackleton used asa base camp during his failed attempt toreach the South Pole in 1908. Why?Everything looks fresh because it�s beenperfectly preserved by the frigid Antarcticclimate.

SCENE 6 Early Explorers 4:40Film clips show some of the early explorerswho tried to make it to the South Pole.

SCENE 7 At the Pole 4:00Debra guides us on Shackleton�s routetoward the South Pole, past unique landfeatures of the desert continent. UnlikeShackleton, she does reach the pole, whereshe assists in scientific experiments.

SCENE 8 Adieu Antarctica :30Our host Z bids a fond farewell to Antarcticaand the South Pole.

PROGRPROGRPROGRPROGRPROGRAMAMAMAMAMSYNOPSISSYNOPSISSYNOPSISSYNOPSISSYNOPSIS

vocabulary: continent, pack ice, glacier

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LESSON ONE

BEFORE-VIEWINGDEMONSTRATIONMATERIALS:••••• cooler half-filled with ice

(or, if available, a freezer)••••• four 7-oz paper cups••••• 4 Celsius lab thermometers••••• enough cotton balls to fill 1 cup••••• enough polyester fabric to

fill 1 cup••••• enough down insulation to

fill 1 cup••••• an old woolen sock

2. Make sure the thermometers allshow the same temperature.Record it in a chart on the chalk-board. Then place 1 thermometer�tightly surrounded with one of theinsulating materials�in each cupand place the cups in the cooler orfreezer.

1. Explain that in Antarctica, thecoldest place on Earth, people needto wear insulated clothing to keepthemselves warm. Invite kids tohelp you find out which of 4 mate-rials�wool, down, cotton, and poly-ester�is the best insulator.

3. Ask students to predict which ma-terial will be the best insulator-whichtemperature will drop the least.

4. After 5 minutes, take out the cupsand record all 4 temperatures. Savethis chart for your after�viewing dis-cussion.

TUNING INTell students to number their papers from 1 to 5, listen as you read the following statements, then write Tif they think the statement is true and F if they think the statement is false.

1. The biggest land animal in Antarctica is the polar bear. (F�polar bears only in the Arctic)2. The temperature in Antarctica has been known to get as low as -100 degrees Fahrenheit. (T)3. It snows a lot in Antarctica. (F�hardly ever)4. December and January are the warmest months in Antarctica. (T�seasons south of the equator are opposite those north of the equator)5. In winter, Antarctica is about 4 times the size it is in summer. (T�pack ice on surrounding seas expand the size of the continent)

Now, have kids watch the video. They may be surprised.

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AFTER-VIEWINGDISCUSSION

Review quiz questions and answers with theclass. Then review the temperature chart from theinsulating materials demonstration. Which mate-rial was the best insulator�kept the thermometer thewarmest? (Answers will vary, depending on whetherthe material is moist from condensation or dry andhow tightly it was packed in the cup. In general, woolis best, followed by down, cotton, and polyester.)

Ask students why it was important for Debra todress in layers rather than having one super-insulatedcoat. (Layering more easily allows adjustment of bodytemperature�you can add a layer or remove a layerdepending on temperature changes.)

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LESLESLESLESLESSSSSSON TWOON TWOON TWOON TWOON TWOMATERIALS:(for class demonstration)� large globe� chalk� flashlight(per 4 students)� flashlight� scissors� eight 3" x 5" index cards� glue� marker

PURPOSETo helpkids betterunderstandwhy polarregions arecolder thanplaces alongthe equator.

WHAT TO DO:1. Copy the diagram of Earth and the sun�s rays (below)

on the chalkboard.2. Use the globe, flashlight, and references to the diagram

to help you demonstrate to the class how light rays fromthe sun are almost perpendicular to Earth at the equator.Then demonstrate how the sun�s rays hit the polar re-gions at an angle. Be sure students understand the con-nection between the diagram, the flashlight and globe,and the sun and Earth.

3. Divide the class into groups of 4 and distribute materialsand copies of the activity sheet, � Pole Position.� Haveeach group member cut out the 2 grids from the activitysheets, glue each to an index card, and label one cardEquator and the other South Pole.

4. Explain to students that they are going to use thecards to measure how much sunlight hits areasaround the equator and how much hits around theSouth Pole.

5. Have one member of each group hold his/her indexcard labeled Equator upright on line segment A ofthe diagram on the activity sheet. Ask another mem-ber to aim the flashlight directly at the card so thelight rays are parallel to those in the diagram andare centered on the card. Let a third group membertrace the outline of the light on the card.

6. Ask the first member to hold his/her South Polecard upright on line segment B. Tell the flashlightholder not to change her/his distance from �Earth,�but just to adjust the light so the beam is centeredon the card. Have the third group member tracethe outline of the light on the card.

7. Have kids trade positions so each group memberhas a chance to complete both of his/her indexcards. To help students get a rough idea of the dif-ference in �sunlit� areas, have kids count the num-ber of boxes inside the outlined-shape on each card�then record the number on that card.

Discuss the experiment with the class.Were all the outlined shapes the same?(No. Those at Equator should be roughlycircular; those at South Pole are not circu-lar.) Were all the outlined areas the same?(No, areas at Equator should be smaller.)What does this experiment suggest aboutthe amount of sunlight that hits variousplaces on Earth? (Sun�s energy is moreconcentrated at the Equator than at theSouth Pole.) Is the amount of sunlight theonly factor affecting temperatures? (No.)What effect might clouds, water, moun-tains, nearby continents, etc., have?

CURRICULUMCURRICULUMCURRICULUMCURRICULUMCURRICULUMCONNECTIONS Have students write about explorers trying toreach the South Pole. Let kids select a point of viewfrom which to tell the story, then figure out what in-formation they�ll need. For example, kids could writejournal entries from the explorer�s perspective or write

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LANGUAGEARTS

a news story from a reporter�s perspective. Poetry orsongs might focus on how brave the explorers wereon their trek toward the pole. Remind kids that eventhose who didn�t reach the pole make good subjectsfor stories, poems, and folk songs.

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3-2-1 CLASSROOM CONTACT© 1993 Children�s Television Workshop

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