INTRODUCTION
The BBC film Planet Earth: From Pole to Pole introduces students
to how the power of the sun drives our world’s climate and the lifegiving cycle of water. It also explores how animals have adapted to
the seasonal changes in temperature and light. From the extreme
conditions faced on Antarctica by the Emperor Penguins who
incubate a single egg through the four-month winter. To the forced
march of the elephants in the Kalahari Desert in Africa in search
of water in the rainy season.
PHOTOGRAPHY © Fred Olivier
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TEACHER BACKGROUND
The sun drives our planet’s changing seasons, powers the endless
cycle of water, and is the source of energy for nearly every life form
on our planet.
The predictable succession of the four seasons – winter, spring,
summer, and fall – are a result of the Earth being tilted on its axis
as it revolves around the sun. The sun’s rays strike the surface of
the planet differently in each season. For example, in North America
in the summer the Earth is tilted toward the sun and so the days
become gradually warmer and longer. The opposite is true in the
winter, when North America is tilted away from the sun resulting
in shorter days and colder temperatures.
Spring
Summer
Winter
Fall
At the Arctic (North Pole) and in Antarctica (South Pole) the seasonal
changes are even more dramatic. When it’s winter in the Arctic,
these areas are blanketed in total darkness and endure extremely
cold temperatures, but at the same time, it’s summer in Antarctica
which is bathed in near constant sunlight during the summer.
The reverse is also true, when it’s winter in Antarctica, it’s summer
in the Arctic.
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TEACHER BACKGROUND cont’d
How do animals survive, find food and shelter, and care for their
young through the changing seasons, especially at the polar
extremes? Mother polar bears in the Arctic North spend the dark
cold winter months in a snow cave. It’s during this time that the
mother gives birth to her cubs, usually two. The mother does not
eat during this time, but uses the energy she stored up in the fall
to nurse the cubs. At birth the cubs are only about 12 inches long
and weigh about one pound.
PHOTOGRAPHY © Jason C. Roberts
In Antarctica, the Emperor Penguin survives the winter in one
of the most inhospitable places on the planet where temperatures
can drop to 90 degrees Fahrenheit below zero (-70 Celsius). All
winter long the males huddle together to stay warm while cradling
a single egg on top of their feet. The egg is kept warm by the male’s
warm feathers. After surviving the four-month long winter, the baby
penguins hatch and as a result have a head start on other birds.
During the summer months, the poles experience just the reverse,
sunlight all day. In the seas around the poles, sea ice melts and
plankton thrive from the combination of near constant sunlight and
nutrients in the sea water. The incredible abundance of the tiny
plankton provides food to animals like fish and squid. These in turn
are food for even larger predators like the fur seal, which are also
hunted by the great white shark.
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TEACHER BACKGROUND cont’d
Not only do the interactions between the sun and oceans affect
our seasons, they also have a tremendous impact on our weather
patterns. In the tropics, heat from the sun warms the oceans and
evaporates water into the atmosphere. The water condenses
to form clouds which are carried over land. Most of the rain we
experience on land started in the ocean. Hurricanes and monsoons
are examples of powerful weather systems that affect the land, the
animals, and people living there.
In the tropical regions, the temperature and amount of daylight stay
constant through much of the year. Instead of four seasons, these
areas may experience just two – typically one wet and the other the
dry season. For animals living in these areas, being able to survive
drought is critical until the rains come or they can find water.
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STANDARDS & PRINCIPLES
The following science standards and ocean and climate principles
are supported by the From Pole to Pole film, and the activities in
this resource guide.
NATIONAL SCIENCE EDUCATION STANDARDS
Life Science (Standard C)
• Characteristics of organisms
• Life cycle of organisms
• Organisms and their environment
OCEAN LITERACY PRINCIPLES
1. The Earth has one big ocean with many features.
3. The ocean is a major influence on weather and climate.
5. The ocean supports a great diversity of life and ecosystems.
6. The ocean and humans are inextricably interconnected.
CLIMATE LITERACY PRINCIPLES
1. Life on Earth has been shaped by, depends on,
and affects climate.
3. The sun is the primary source of energy for the climate system.
4. E
arth’s weather and climate systems are the result of
complex interactions.
5. Earth’s weather and climate vary over time and space.
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 PRE-SHOW ACTIVITY
‘TIS THE SEASON
DIRECTIONS TO TEACHERS
This activity is designed to introduce younger children to the concept
of seasons and how they follow a predictable cycle.
Discuss with your students: What are the four seasons? What
season is it now in your area? How do you know what season it is?
Which one is your favorite season? Why?
The Season Matching Game introduces students to some of the
differences in each season, and asks them to put the seasons in
their proper order.
SEASON MATCHING GAME
Match the season with the item on the right that best describes it.
Spring
Winter
Summer
Fall
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 PRE-SHOW ACTIVITY
Cont’d
What season is it now in your area?
How do you know this?
________________________________________________________
Put the seasons in the correct order. Start with the current season.
Either write the name of the season in the space below, or draw or
paste a picture of the symbol.
_________________
_________________
_________________
_________________
How do you prepare for each season?
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
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 PRE-SHOW ACTIVITY
Cont’d
POLAR BEARS VERSUS PENGUINS
PART 1 - DIRECTIONS TO TEACHERS
Not only do people have to be prepared for the changing seasons.
Animals have adapted to the seasons as well. In this activity students
will be introduced to two animals from the film – the polar bear and
Emperor Penguin – to get a better understanding of some of the
similarities between the Arctic and the Antarctic and to distinguish
facts and myths of penguins and polar bears.
One myth younger students often have is that polar bears and
penguins live together. Actually they live on opposite ends of
the globe.
Show or ask students to find the North Pole (Arctic) and the South
Pole (Antarctica) on a globe or world map.
When it is summer in the Arctic it is winter in Antarctic and viceversa. During the summer, the poles have 24 hours of daylight.
In the winter, the sun will not come up for months.
Ask your students to imagine living in a place where the sun never
sets all summer long. How would they live? What would they do?
Ask your students to imagine living in a place where it was dark
all winter long and the sun never rose. How would they live?
What would they do?
Polar bears inhabit the Arctic region in parts of Canada, Alaska,
Greenland, Norway and Russia. Temperatures can fall to -40 to
-50 degrees below zero in the winter. To stay warm, polar bears
have thick fur. They also have a layer of fat, called blubber, to help
them stay warm. In fact, sometimes polar bears can get too hot,
especially if they have been running or very active.
Demonstration:
Prepare for this demonstration by providing layers of warm clothes
(sweater, sweatshirt, etc.), a heavy winter coat, a hat, and gloves
for a volunteer student. Ask the volunteer to be a polar bear. Dress
the student in the layers of warm clothes, coat, hat and gloves.
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 PRE-SHOW ACTIVITY
Cont’d
Ask the student to walk quickly (do not run) around the classroom
until the student begins to feel very warm. Stop the demonstration
and remove the extra clothing.
Discuss with the class: How do you think the layers of clothing
are like fur and blubber? What can you do if you get too warm?
What do you think a polar bear does to cool down?
PART 2 - DIRECTIONS TO TEACHERS
Penguins live near Antarctica. Penguins are birds, but they cannot fly.
Instead they “fly” through the water. They have insulating feathers
and fat to keep them warm.
There are 17 different kinds of penguins. One is called the Emperor
Penguin. This penguin is unique because it lays its eggs at the
coldest time of the year. The male penguins are in charge of
protecting each egg. Instead of building a nest, he balances the egg
on top of his feet to keep the egg off the snow and ice. He covers
the egg with his belly and feathers to keep it warm. The males
huddle together to stay warm until spring when the egg hatches.
Activity:
Needs: A large open space. One large plastic Easter eggs or craft
egg for each student. A timer, stopwatch or clock.
Tell your students that they are going to become Emperor Penguins.
Each student is given an egg. Each student needs to care for and
protect their egg for the whole winter. Place the egg on top of his/
her feet. The penguins must also move slowly to stay warm. If the
egg falls off their feet, the egg will not survive.
Tell the students to put the egg on top of their feet. Set the timer for
“winter” to last two minutes. Tell students to start moving. If the egg
falls off their feet, the student must leave the game and sit on the
sidelines. After two minutes, how many penguin eggs survived?
At the end of the activity, ask your class what it was like to care for
the egg? Was it easy? Difficult?
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 POST-SHOW ACTIVITY
WHAT’S YOUR WEATHER?
DIRECTIONS TO TEACHERS
In the film From Pole to Pole, students saw how the weather, climate
and changing seasons affect animals. In this activity, students
conduct a simple experiment recording their observations of the
daily weather in their area.
Students will observe and record the weather in their area daily. It
is best if students can observe at the same time every day. Use the
Weather Chart below to record their observations. A simple Weather
Key is provided to help younger students identify the weather. Either
write in the word or put a picture that describes the weather for that
day. Remember, more than one type of weather condition could
happen at the same time (for example: rainy and windy)
Example:
DATE
September 19
September 20
September 21
September 22
WEATHER
Weather Key:
Rain
Cloudy
Partly
Sunny
Windy
Sunny
10
September 23
September 24
Continue
more daily
observations
 POST-SHOW ACTIVITY
Older students can also record the temperature using an outdoor
thermometer at school. If they do this, try to make the observation
at the same time of the day each time. If you don’t have access to a
thermometer at school, students can also find the daily temperature
on the Internet, or from the local newspaper, TV or radio.
Example:
DATE
September 19
September 20
September 21
September 22
60º
52º
49º
September 23
September 24
Continue
more daily
observations
WEATHER
TEMPERATURE
57º
61º
42º
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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS & RESOURCES
Planet Earth: Pole to Pole is a BBC/Discovery Channel/NHK coproduction in association with the CBC and are made available
through a partnership with CineMuse.
This companion piece to the film Planet Earth: Pole to Pole 4-D
Experience was created by Educational Consultant Joe Harber for
SimEx-Iwerks Entertainment. The following resources were used
to develop this Learning Guide. Educators may reproduce these
materials for students.
Design & illustration by Maggie Ziemirska,
SimEx-Iwerks Entertainment Graphic Design Department.
The Discovery Channel
Learn more about the Planet Earth Series, from which From Pole
To Pole in 4D is adapted.
http://dsc.discovery.com/
Polar Bears International
Contains lots of information about polar bears and how you can
help protect them.
www.polarbearsinternational.org
The Journey North
Is a global study of wildlife migration and seasonal change. Students
track the coming of spring through observing the migration patterns
of animals in their area. Then share their field observations with
classmates across North America.
http://www.learner.org/jnorth/
U.S. Antarctica Program
Find out what’s going on in Antarctica, including webcam of the
Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station.
http://www.usap.gov
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ENTERTAINMENT