Sherry Sakamoto
Third Grade Geography

PURPOSE:
The purpose of this unit is to provide the students with a concise survey of the Earth’s southernmost continent by researching its environment, understanding its inhabitants, and being able to identify its animals.

CONNECTION TO THE NATIONAL GEOGRAPHY STANDARDS:
No. 1- Knows and understands how to use maps, globes and other graphical tools to acquire, process, and report information. This unit helps the student to know and understand how to use maps, globes, and other graphical tools to acquire , process and report information by requiring the students to visit a web site to attain the locations of important geographical places on the continent of Antarctica and plan a trip based on what they have learned.
No. 4- Knows and understands the physical and human characteristics of places. The students will know and understand the physical and human characteristics of Antarctica once they have learned the physical geography of the continent and been familiarized with the people and animals that inhabit the continent.
No. 7- Knows and understands that physical processes shape patterns on the earth’s surface. The opening activity of using the world as a puzzle will allow the children to understand the physical processes that shape pattern’s on the earth’s surface.
No. 12- Knows and understands the process, patterns, and functions of human settlement. Once the children have been educated on the environment of Antarctica, they will discuss why people would want to go there, relating the process, patterns, and functions of human settlement. No. 14- Knows and understands how the earth’s physical and human systems are connected and interact. By discussing the activities of the researchers in Antarctica, the students will have a better understanding of how the earth’s physical and human systems are connected and interact.

OBJECTIVES:
Students will demonstrate their ability:
1. To identify Antarctica on a map and be able to locate its significant places and features.
2. To research information about Antarctica’s environment.
3. To understand the difficulties of people in settling and exploring Antarctica by planning an imaginary trip to the continent.
4. To name and identify animals that are capable of adapting to the cold environment of Antarctica.
5. To utilize a computer to conduct research.

OVERVIEW OF PRESENTATION:
This unit is divided into four main sections. They correspond directly with the first four objectives; each objective receiving on day or period. For this reason, each day or period will be referred to according to the objective to which they correlate. The only exception is the last objective, which has been integrated into to first four. Throughout the unit, the students will learn about Antarctica and its environment through the use of experiments, worksheets, web site, and other assignments to aid their understanding of this icy continent. Near the end of the unit, the students will be asked to use what they know to plan a trip to Antarctica. The closing activity will be to develop a "Did You Know...?" list as a class of facts about Antarctica to be displayed in the class newsletter that goes home to parents every month.

PROCEDURES:
Sponge Activity: The students will be given a word find of various terms that will be learned throughout the unit (see Appendix A). Students who finish early will be given a blank graph and asked to make a word find of their own using the given word bank.
Opening: Each student will be given a plastic bag with the continents’ shapes in it and asked to put the pieces together like a puzzle. Then the teacher will introduce the concept of Gondwanaland. After explaining how Africa, India, Australia, South America, and Antarctica were all once connected, the teacher will use the overhead projector to demonstrate how the continents drifted to their present locations. Finally, she will explain that now that the class knows where Antarctica has come from, now the class is going to concentrate on what Antarctica is presently like (see Appendix C).

Objective 1:
Guided practice: First the students will look at a map of the world, discuss facts about Antarctica and determine which continent is Antarctica (see Appendix D). Then the teacher will explain how this is how Antarctica is represented on most maps, but that in reality its actually what is represented on the overhead (see Appendix E). Independent practice: Here the children will be asked to go into a given web site and correctly place the given locations on a blank map (see Appendix F).
Assessment: The children will be given a labeled map with correct and incorrect information (see Appendix G). The students will be assessed on their ability to locate and circle the five incorrectly labeled geographical locations in red.

Objective Two:
Guided practice: The teacher will lead the class in a discussion that compares the North and South poles using a transparency (see Appendix H). Then, as a class, the students will complete a Vinn diagram comparing the two poles (see Appendix I).
Independent practice: The children will then be asked to go on-line to a given web site and find the current temperature in Antarctica. They will be required to record their findings each day and graph the changes in temperature on their own paper. (Note: This activity can go across the curriculum to Math.)
Assessment: The students will be given the materials needed to complete an Antarctic information wheel and be assessed on their ability to do so (see Appendix J1 & J2)

Objective Three:
Guided practice:
The teacher will conduct a class experiment that demonstrates the insulation properties of air and how it helps animals adapt. (see Appendix K)
Independent practice: The students will be asked to draw the physical environment of Antarctica. Then they will be asked to draw pictures of Antarctic animals in their natural habitats and label.
Assessment: The students will choose an Antarctic animal and make a "baseball card" for the animal. On the front, they will draw a picture of the animal. On the back of the "card" the student will list facts about their animal. They will be asked to stress things that help their animal adapt to cold weather.

Objective Four:
Guided Practice: The teacher will lead a class discussion on the careers available in Antarctica and what types of safety rules and packing instructions one must follow if they were going to Antarctica to pursue one of these careers (see Appendixes L, M, & N).
Independent practice: The students will now be required to develop a list of what to take on a trip to Antarctica. Assessment: The children will now be assessed on their ability to plan a trip to Antarctica on their own. Instruct them to write a report about an imaginary trip they have taken to Antarctica. Instruct them to tell about what they ate, places they visited, people they met, animals they saw, what they packed, and if they thought they would enjoy living there. Encourage the students to use a variety of resources in constructing their report (i.e. books, journals, the Internet, etc.) Also, allow the children to write their report in the form of a story, a letter home, a journal entry, or anything they can come up with. Finally, tell the children that any pictorial documentation will be considered extra credit.

MATERIALS:
access to the world wide web
baggies
cold water
computers (several)
construction paper
copies of all worksheets
globe
ice
map of Antarctica (App. O)
map pencils
markers
scissors
sugar cubes transparencies

APPENDIX:
The following representations will be used with this unit:
A: a word search that includes words related to Antarctica
B: a partner word search where students pair up and create a puzzle for their partner to solve
C: an outline of Gondwanaland for the students to color, cut out, and use to demonstrate how the continents have drifted
D: a worksheet with facts about Antarctica at the top, requiring the student to find Antarctica on a world map and label it appropiately
E: a polar view of Antarctica
F: a worksheet that includes an unlabeled outline of Antarctica and a list of geographical locations to be completed while visiting a given web site
G: a map of Antarctica with five places labeled incorrectly that the students will be asked to circle in red
H: a worksheet with eight statements that apply to Arctic, Antarctic, or both; student will be required to determine which, and a list from Live From Antarctica 2 contrasting the Arctic and Antarctic
I: a vinn diagram using penguins instead of circles to compare and contrast the poles
J: an Antarctic information wheel where students will produce a tool for learning that consists of one circle that rotates above a larger one and show Antarctic information based on where the student places the information "window" of the smaller circle
K: an experiment that shows the students how Antarctic animals stay warm (found in Penguins by Robin Bernard)
L: a list of Antarctic careers from Live From Antarctica
M: a list of Antarctic safety rules from Live From Antarctica
N: a list of things to take on a trip to Antarctica from Live From Antarctica a list of things not to take to Antarctica from Live From Antarctica
O: a polar projection of Antarctica P: a bingo grid with a penguin’s picture in the middle square

EXTENSIONS:
Math: The temperatures the students will retrieve from the Blue Ice Home Page will be in Celsius. Use this as an opportunity to teach the children about converting Celsius to Fahrenheit and vice versa. C=F(1.8)+32…F=(C-32)1.8

Language Arts: Pass out a vocabulary list appropriate for the Antarctic unit. Have the students write a different word from the list in each box on a bingo chart provided by the teacher (Appendix P). Randomly call out definitions and have the children cover the defined word with a sugar cube.

Music and Movement: Teach the children the following song and accompanying choreography:

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

Atkins, Edward G. Antarctica. Arlington: National Sciences Foundation,1996 Bernard, Robin. Penguins. New York: Scholastic Professional Books,1994

"BlueIce: Focus on Antarctica." On-line Class. February 1997. http://www.onlineclass.com/BI/BIsub_web.html. (April 10, 1997)

Bowman, Lee. "Budget Crunch May Cause Americans to Leave South Pole." Abilene Reporter News. 29 July 1996

Facts About the United States Antarctic Program. Virginia: Office of Polar Programs National Science Foundation, 1994.

"Live from Antarctica." February 1997.
http://questarc.nasa.gov/antarctica/index.html (April 10, 1997)

Moore, Jo. Antarctica. Monterey: Evan-Moore, 1992

Yoder, Carolyn P. Odyssey. January 1996

Created April 15, 1997