Antarctica History Day 2
Race to the South Pole!
Objectives for these activities:
-
Each activity has its own goal.
Students will use context clues to learn definitions to vocabulary words.
Students will use illustrations to gain further information.
Students will use their background knowledge to understand new content.
Students will apply their knowledge gained from reading.
Students will participate in collaborative conversations with peers about grade level topics.
Antarctica-Big Idea

Antarctica is a huge continent that is very far away from other countries and has extreme weather.
History-Enduring Understanding:

Many explorers tried to reach the South Pole first in order to claim it for their country.
History-Essential Question:

Why did countries want to be the first to reach the South Pole?
Materials: Vocabulary, The Race to the South Pole! book, Anticipation Guide
Assign out to students: Book 3/Day 2
Activity A
2
Vocab
Day
Vocabulary Routine
Introduce and build knowledge
of new vocab words:
Activity B
Activity C
Shared Reading
Anticipation Guide Review
Provide shared reading of The
Race to the South Pole!
Review and revise
anticipation guide as needed.
invent, discover, sled dogs,
Arctic, blubber
Activity A : Vocabulary Routine
The goal of this activity is threefold: to use context clues to understand new words, to create
personal meaning to understand these words, and to increase comprehension of the book.
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Antarctica History Day 2
Race to the South Pole!
Beginning Instructions
 Say, “We are going to take a look at some new words. Knowing these words will help you
understand this book. I’ll point to each word and read it. Then you read it (aloud, with your device,
or using the voice in your head). As we read, notice the symbol that goes with each word.”
 Say, “I want you to think for a minute. We are going to sort these words by how well we know
them. Here are our choices. You can sort the words into I Know It, I Don’t Know It, or I Am Not
Sure.”
 Have the students sort the words. Provide assistance as needed.
1. Introduce the first word invent.
 Begin the vocabulary activity set.
 Say, “Here is the first word, invent. The word is (choral response) invent.”
2. Define the word.
 Say, “We are going to talk about what it means to invent something. If we invent something we
make something that has never been made before. When we make something that has never
been made before we (choral response) invent it."
3. Use the word in a sentence.
 Say, “Here is a sentence with our word. He was the first person to invent television.”
4. Select a method to apply the word.
 Say, “Now choose the way that will help you remember it.”
 Option 1: Select a symbol.
 Option 2: Record a response.
 Option 3: Build a sentence.
1. Introduce the second word discover.
 Show the next vocabulary word.
 Say, “Here is another word. It is discover. The word is (choral response) discover.”
2. Define the word.
 Say, “If we discover something we are the first to find some place before anyone else. If we find
some place before anyone else, we (choral response) discover it.”
3. Use the word in a sentence.
 Say, “Here is a sentence with our word. He wanted to be the first person to discover a new
country.”
4. Select a method to apply the word.
 Say, “Now choose the way that will help you remember it.”
 Option 1: Select a symbol.
 Option 2: Record a response.
 Option 3: Build a sentence.
1. Introduce the third word sled dogs.
 Show the next vocabulary word.
 Say, “Here is another word. It is sled dogs. The word is (choral response) sled dogs.”
2. Define the word.
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Antarctica History Day 2
Race to the South Pole!

Say, “A sled dog is a dog trained as part of a team to pull a sled. A dog trained as part of a team
to pull a sled is a (choral response) sled dog."
3. Use a word in a sentence.
 Say, “Here is a sentence with our word. The sled dogs pulled our sled through the snow."
4. Select a method to apply the word.
 Say, “Now choose the way that will help you remember it.”
 Option 1: Select a symbol.
 Option 2: Record a response.
 Option 3: Build a sentence.
1. Introduce the fourth word Arctic.
 Show the next vocabulary word.
 Say, “Here is another word. It is Arctic. The word is (choral response) Arctic.”
2. Define the word.
 Say, “The Arctic is the very cold area around the North Pole. The very cold area around the North
Pole is called the (choral response) Arctic.”
3. Use a word in a sentence.
 Say, “Here is a sentence with our word. We took a long trip to visit the Arctic.”
4. Select a method to apply word.
 Say, “Now choose the way that will help you remember it.”
 Option 1: Select a symbol.
 Option 2: Record a response.
 Option 3: Build a sentence.
1. Introduce the review word blubber.
 Show the next vocabulary word.
 Say, “Here is the last word. It is blubber. The word is (choral response) blubber.”
2. Define the word.
 Say, “Blubber is the layer of fat under the skin of whales, seals, and other large sea mammals.
The layer of fat under the skin of whales, seals, and other large mammals is called (choral
response) blubber.”
3. Use the word in a sentence.
 Say, “Here is a sentence with our word. The seal stays warm in the cold water because of his
blubber.”
4. Select a method to apply the word.
 Say, “Now choose the way that will help you remember it.”
 Option 1: Select a symbol.
 Option 2: Record a response.
 Option 3: Build a sentence.
Closing Instructions
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Antarctica History Day 2
Race to the South Pole!



Invite questions, comments, or discussion of the vocabulary words from this book.
Say, “That was great. Next time we encounter these words, we'll find them in the context of the book."
Say, “Next we are going to read the book together. Listen for the vocabulary words we just learned.
As we read, think about whether the predictions you made were correct.”
Activity B : Shared Reading
The goal of this activity is to determine if predictions made on the Anticipation Guide were correct,
while also introducing the vocabulary in context.
Beginning Instructions
 Show The Race To The South Pole!
 Say, “Let’s read this book about the history of Antarctica.”
 Follow the teacher text in gray as you conduct shared reading of this text.
The Race to the South Pole! book
Page Number
Text
cover
1
2
3
4
5
Get ready! Get set! Go! It was a race across
thousands of miles of snow and ice. It was a race
to the South Pole!
No one had ever been to the South Pole. Which
country would place their flag in the center of
Antarctica? Who would be first to discover the last
place on Earth?
One team was from Norway. They studied the
ways of people from the Arctic. The other was from
England. They did not. Can you guess who won?
They all needed good transportation to get to the
South Pole. The Norwegians studied how the
Arctic people traveled.
They brought skis and practiced for months. They
trained sled dogs to pull heavy loads.
Teacher text
This book is, “The Race to the
South Pole!” It is about two teams
who wanted to be first to discover
the South Pole.
Have you ever been in a race?
Would you like to be in this race?
Look at our map of Antarctica. This
spot Is the South Pole. It is the most
southern point on all of Earth. Both
of our teams were racing to be the
first to reach this exact hard to
reach spot!
Let’s take a minute and locate
Norway and England on the map.
It was going to be a long trip. They
couldn’t just walk.
Have you ever thought of skiing or
sledding as transportation?
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Antarctica History Day 2
Race to the South Pole!
6
7
8
9
The English brought ponies and invented sleds
with motors. The ponies died of cold. The sleds
were too heavy and fell through the ice.
They all needed warm clothing to get to the South
Pole. The Norwegians studied what the Arctic
people wore.
They dressed in many layers. They lined their
coats and boots with warm fur.
The English brought coats from home. Their boots
did not have fur.
10
They all needed energy-rich foods to get to the
South Pole. The Norwegians studied what Arctic
people ate.
11
They brought frozen seal meat and ate it at almost
every meal. They fed seal blubber to their dogs.
12
The English packed canned food from home. They
ate chocolate, cookies, and candy.
Both teams were brave and determined. Both
teams made it to the South Pole. Both teams
placed their country’s flags.
Sadly, only one team made it home safely.
13
14
15
Today, we celebrate Norway and England for
being first to discover the last place on Earth.
Do you think this team will win?
The Arctic people had already
figured out the best ways to travel
and dress in such a wintery climate.
What do you wear when you go out
the snow?
Let’s look through the text. Are there
any words there that you recognize
and can read?
In cold weather, you burn calories
easily. You need to eat more
calories to maintain your energy and
strength.
Seals have blubber. Blubber is fat.
That makes seal meat a high calorie
food.
Do you think junk food was a good
choice? Who do you think will win?
Have you ever done anything that
required bravery or determination?
On the return trip, the English team
froze to death in their tents. It was
very sad.
Would you like to be an explorer?
Do you have any questions so far?
Closing Instructions
 Invite questions, comments, or discussion of the book.
 Say, “That was great. Next time we visit this book, we'll compare the two teams who made this
exciting trip to the South Pole."
 Say, “Next we are going look at our answers on the Anticipation Guide again.”
Activity C : Anticipation Guide Review
The goal of this activity is to identify new learning that results from reading the text by reviewing and
comparing responses on the anticipation guide.
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Antarctica History Day 2
Race to the South Pole!
Beginning Instructions
 Navigate to yesterday’s activity set (Book 3/Day 1) and open ‘Anticipation Guide’ in order to review
and update the Anticipation Guide. *Note: Additional functionality has been added for the second
use of this activity to help students revise their predictions after reading and referencing the book.
 Say, “Now that we have read our book for the first time, we are going to look at our Anticipation
Guide again. Let’s look at how we answered the statements before and see if we still think we have
the right answer or want to change anything. We will get to check our answers now. Let's start with
the first statement…”
 Direct students to revisit their Anticipation Guide so they can review previous assumptions.
Closing Instructions
 Invite questions, comments, or discussion of the Anticipation Guide.
 Say, “That’s it for today. Tomorrow we will read our book again to compare the two teams who raced
to reach the South Pole first.”
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