Spring 2 Topic MTP - Antarctica

History Geography Music Art Science PSHE

Devising questions

Mapping Biomes (Tundra’s) Lines of latitude Water Cycle Climate Fieldwork

Influential

composers and

musicians

Great artists in history

Analysing creative

works

Living things

Food chains

Life processes

Grouping materials

States of matter

Recording changes in states of matter

Rights and

responsibilities

Art Vocabulary (Wednesday am) - Learning about great artists in history - Evaluate and analyse creative works using the

language of art, craft and design

Music Vocabulary (Thursday am) - Appreciating and understanding a wide range of

high-quality music drawn from influential composers and musicians

Vangelis Antarctic Echoes

Prosody (Friday am) - Speaking audibly and fluently - Gaining, maintaining and monitoring the

interest of the listener - Using appropriate registers for effective

communication Greta Thunberg Speech Activism

Autumn 1

Vikings and Anglo Saxons

Autumn 2

Ancient Greeks

Spring 1

Age of Enlightenment

Spring 2

Antarctica

Summer 1

Ancient Baghdad

Summer 2

Ancient Baghdad

Spring 2 Topic MTP - Antarctica

Year 4 Topic Mid Term Plan – Spring 2 Topic Concept – The greatest threat to our planet is the belief that someone else will save it. National Curriculum Concepts: Week 1: Geographical features of the globe

Lesson 1: Identifying Antarctica’s place on the Earth

Lesson 2: Identify the position and significance of the lines of latitude.

Lesson 3: Describing and understanding the significance of biomes (including the Antarctic

tundra)

Lesson 4: Identifying the features of Antarctica’s physical and human environment.

Week 2: The Antarctic environment (states of matter)

Lesson 5: Comparing and grouping materials together, according to whether they are solids,

liquids or gases

Lesson 6: Observing that some materials change state when they are heated or cooled

Lesson 7: Using scientific evidence to draw conclusions about climate change

Lesson 8: Identifying the part played by evaporation and condensation in the water cycle

Week 3: Living things in Antarctica

Lesson 9: Identifying and grouping a variety of living things in Antarctica

Lesson 10: Constructing and interpreting a variety of food chains, identifying producers,

predators and prey.

Lesson 11: Recognising that environments can change and that this can sometimes pose

dangers to living things.

Lesson 12: Trip to Sealife centre

Explore and use classification keys to help group, identify and name a variety of living things

in their local and wider environment

Week 4: The geopolitics of Antarctica

Lesson 13: Rights and Responsibilities (PSHE) ??

Lesson14: Rights and Responsibilities (PSHE) ??

Lesson 15: Rights and Responsibilities (PSHE) ??

Lesson 16: Rights and Responsibilities (PSHE) ??

Week 5: Conservation / Activism

Lesson 17:

Lesson 18:

Lesson 19:

Lesson 20:

Week 6: Conservation / Activism

Lesson 21:

Lesson 22: Trip to Orchestra Unwrapped

Lesson 23:

Lesson 24:

Concept(s) Composites Success Criteria Prior Learning Activities Resources/ Vocab

Week1: Geographical features of the globe

Lesson 1

Identifying

Antarctica’s place

on the Earth

What is a

landmass?

Identify the UK on a map. Name the world’s seven continents.

Hook: Do you want to know why we are learning about

Antarctica this term? We could have chosen any topic! We

need your help to start a conversation about some of the

big issues facing this continent. Throughout the topic, you

Cartographer

Cartography

Spring 2 Topic MTP - Antarctica

What is a

continent?

What is a

country?

What is the

purpose of a

map?

When were maps

used?

What is the

equator, and

where is it?

Identify the world’s continents using a map/atlas. Locate Antarctica on the map and explain how it is a continent (unlike the Arctic).

are going to be scientists/researchers/geographers

investigating some very important features of Antarctica and

its environment. By the end you will have built a project all

about this endangered place which may lead to you doing

further work in the future towards stopping climate change!

As Robert Swan said - The greatest threat to our planet is

the belief that someone else will save it!

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

So, we know so much about the ancient Greeks and their

ideas and philosophies about the world. Using our

knowledge of Greek root words, can we guess what the

term Terra Australis Incognita means?

Terra = land / Australis = southern / incognita = unknown

The name given to the great and unknown southern

continent by the classical Greek geographers, who knew

that the earth was spherical, to balance the land mass

which was known to exist north of the equator.

As a class, identify the equator on the globe. Introduce

terms northern and southern hemisphere. In table groups,

can children name as many countries as they can north of

this equator? How about continents? Add to A3 world map

on tables.

Come back together - What is the difference between a

country and landmass? A continent and a landmass? What

did the Greeks mean by “balancing” this landmass?

Revisit Y4 working timeline: For a period in the Middle Ages

(Vikings and Anglo Saxons) the Church's insistence that the

earth was flat led to the complete eradication of all belief in

a southern continent. But the great years of exploration by

sea in the 15th and early 16th centuries confirmed the

approximately spherical shape of the earth.

Equator

Hemisphere

Arctic circle

Antarctic circle

Spring 2 Topic MTP - Antarctica

Show 15th century map – discuss how maps of that period

showed Terra Australis as a vast continent centred on the

South Pole, in the Pacific Ocean almost up to the equator.

Discuss with children their understanding of the southern

hemisphere and how accurate they think this map is?

Without looking at a globe/atlas, discuss what they think the

Terra Australis Incognita was.

During the age of exploration, many navigators, notably

Tasman and Cook, reduced the ‘unknown land’ to two

smaller continents, Antarctica and Australia. Children locate

these on their table world maps.

Individual task: Stick blank world map into book on double

page spread (to be used for next 3 lessons as working

document). Label map using correct labelling techniques (7

continents and UK/own home country).

Make distinction between the Arctic and Antarctica – why is

one a continent and the other isn’t? (landmass).

Lesson 2

Identify the position

and significance of

the lines of latitude.

How do we know

where places are

in the world?

What is a line of

latitude?

What is a line of

longitude?

What are they

used for?

When were they

first used?

Are they still used

today?

I can identify the position of the Arctic and Antarctic Circle.

Which is bigger, the UK or Antarctica? How about Europe

or Antarctica? How many of the UK fit into Antarctica? Make

a guess in triads. Do interactive game with children

comparing continent sizes to Antarctica:

https://discoveringantarctica.org.uk/activities/sizing_up/activ

ity.php

Come together: We know where the continents are based

on a modern map. Why do you think maps we look at today

are designed with Europe in the centre? Discuss.

From the perspective of Antarctica, the other continents and

the rest of the world don’t seem quite as familiar! Look at

the interactive map and locate countries from the

perspective of Antarctica:

https://discoveringantarctica.org.uk/activities/the_world_upsi

de_down/activity.php

Spring 2 Topic MTP - Antarctica

What are the

main lines of

latitude?

Why are they

significant?

So we know where Antarctica is located, and how big it is

compared to other continents, but what else do we need to

know? Ie Why is it so cold?

Ask children why they think its cold in Antarctica? Where

else in the world suffers extreme cold temperatures? (The

Arctic).

How about close to the equator? Is anyone from a country

near the equator? Does it ever get cold there?

Introduce the concept of the Arctic and Antarctic circles and

ask children to guess on a map where they are, and what

their significance is. Explain that they are imaginary lines

around the world which are called lines of latitude. Can they

think of any other important lines of latitude? (Equator).

Individual task Go back to working world map in books and

label the lines of latitude (tropic of cancer, tropic of

Capricorn, arctic circle, Antarctic circle, and equator).

HA to label northern hemisphere and southern hemisphere

with further details about their learnings.

Lesson 3

Identifying the

features of

Antarctica’s

physical and

human

environment.

Oracy: Use

relevant

strategies to build

vocabulary

What is a physical

environment?

What is a human

environment?

What is a feature?

What does

climate mean?

What does biome

mean?

Know that the world

has biomes

(including the

Antarctic tundra)

Describe the climate

of Antarctica using

key geographical

terminology.

Describe the

physical features of

Antarctica using key

Hook: Video of Miss Hartley on screen in ski jacket,

goggles, snow and ice everywhere (is there a snapchat filter

for this??)… she says:

“Hello brave explorers! Your research skills are needed in

Antarctica! Come to Antarctica and find out about the

physical environment and then report back via your

YouTube channel, explaining your findings…”

Provide children with prompts, expert packs and iPads to

answer the following questions:

Spring 2 Topic MTP - Antarctica

What is a tundra?

What is an ice

cap?

What is an ice

field?

geographical

terminology.

Explain why

Antarctica’s human

geography is the

way it is.

1. What is the climate like? (snow, ice, temperature,

precipitation)

2. What is the physical geography? (biomes, tundras, dry

areas, glaciers, ice sheets, ice caps, ice fields, ice

bergs, mountains)

3. What is the human geography? (no indigenous people,

researchers only, rely on deliveries from overseas)

Children research and start to build fact file of information

ready to present in the next lesson. Scaffold this with a

factfile worksheet/A3 paper version for all to use.

Encourage use of books too.

Lesson 4

Identifying the

features of

Antarctica’s

physical and

human

environment.

Oracy: Gain,

maintain and

monitor the

interest of the

listener

How do I monitor

my audience’s

attention?

How can I use

prosody in my

speech to do this?

What are the

main prosodic

features to use

when informing?

How is this

different to

performance? Ie

poetry?

What is the

purpose of my

speaking?

What will happen

if I don’t maintain

Know that the world

has biomes

(including the

Antarctic tundra)

Describe the climate

of Antarctica using

key geographical

terminology.

Describe the

physical features of

Antarctica using key

geographical

terminology.

Explain why

Antarctica’s human

geography is the

way it is.

Children finish their research and start dramatizing their

information to present via a video. This may require

scripting for LA learners.

Encourage children to be creative and engaging with how

they present their information (do they want to pretend to be

inside a tent? Are they going to imagine one of the team got

frostbite, and explain how this happened as a result of the

climate/extreme temperatures?)

Video each group and show the class. Encourage children

to ask questions to deepen their understanding of each

other’s research.

Plenary: Children work in teams to answer questions to

Antarctica Physical geography quiz on the board (award

winning team). https://discoveringantarctica.org.uk/oceans-

atmosphere-landscape/ice-land-and-sea/key-physical-features/

Links for the iPad:

Landsat Image

Mosaic Of

Antarctica (LIMA)

“Find an Antarctic

feature” (LIMA)

LIMA Antarctica

overview map

(pdf)

Spring 2 Topic MTP - Antarctica

my audiences

attention?

Week 2: Antarctica’s changing environment (States of matter)

Lesson 5

Compare and

group materials

together,

according to

whether they are

solids, liquids or

gases

What is a solid?

What is a liquid?

What is a gas?

How can these be

grouped

together?

What are the

properties of

these materials?

What is a

particle?

Why does it

matter how close

together the

particles are?

Why is some gas

visible and others

aren’t?

Hook: Show picture of melting ice caps in Antarctica and

the effects on animals. Ask children to think of some words

or feelings that they can share about the image.

Why is this happening? Explore ideas. Keep digging deeper

into the answers children give (global warming, climate

change, world getting hotter, etc). Explain that we are going

to come back to these big issues, but if we are really going

to be researchers, we need to understand the science

behind what is happening. What is happening exactly when

that ice is melting and becoming water?

This has to do with changing states of matter. Quick intro on

states of matter and what they are. Explain that by the end

children will be able to come back to me and explain what

the properties of the three states of matter are.

Split children into groups. There are objects on their tables

and they need to decide whether they are solids, liquids or

gases. Give children prompts on tables for each state of

matter: Can you change its shape? Can you pour it? Can

you contain it?

Chn complete table and group materials according to their

properties. Come back together and discuss findings and

create some ‘rules’ for each state of matter.

Household objects

Balloon

Plastic water

bottle

Vinegar

Baking soda

Spring 2 Topic MTP - Antarctica

Part 2: Gas is a very hard state of matter to observe, so

let’s do an experiment to see what it can do!

Show children equipment (balloon, plastic bottle, baking

soda, vinegar) – what do you think the experiment will be?

What are we going to show?

Quick demo to show how gas is created and blows up the

balloon. Children comment on the properties of this gas

from their prior learning.

What would happen if we change the variables? More

baking soda? Less vinegar? Lemon juice? Water? Discuss.

Lesson 6

Observing that

some materials

change state

when they are

heated or cooled

What are the

main properties of

the three states of

matter?

What is a

hypothesis?

What is a

prediction?

How are they

different?

What will happen

to the ice as it

warms up?

What is the

scientific

explanation for

this?

Why do some

solids melt and

So now we know that solids, liquids and gases are different

states of matter. What are their properties? So can you

name some solids, liquids and gases in this photo of

Antarctica? Discuss in groups.

Today we are going to do another experiment to observe

that some materials can change state when they are heated

or cooled. Can you think of a solid that can turn into a

liquid? Or a liquid that can turn into a gas? Let’s return to

our picture of the melting ice caps.

Make some hypotheses about what is happening here. Why

is the ice melting? What is causing this to happen? Which

state of matter is it changing from, and into?

We are going to find this out, but first we need to set up our

experiment so we can observe it throughout the lesson.

Chn ‘create’ their own Antarctic landscape based on the

image below and equipment provided. One per table.

Ask children to predict what is going to happen to the ice

over the next hour. Why do they think this will happen?

What is the air temperature of the room? What is the

temperature of a freezer where ice doesn’t melt? Can they

Plastic sea

animals

Stones

Food colouring

Freezer

Ruler

Thermometer

Containers

Spring 2 Topic MTP - Antarctica

others don’t?

What temperature

does ice melt and

freeze at? Why?

make a prediction about why the ice will melt? Or at which

temperature water turns from a solid to a liquid? Record

predictions on worksheets.

Provide children with ruler and ask them to measure their

water level just as the ice is placed into it. Record the

height. What do they think will happen as the ice melts?

Bring children to the carpet and give input on changing

states of matter – explaining about particles and how they

differ. Get children standing up, demonstrate how they are

differently structured in different states.

Return to experiment 15 minutes later, has the sea level

risen? Record.

Return to carpet. So how do some materials change state

when heat is added or taken away? Demonstrate water

turning to gas with the kettle.

Return to experiment 15 minutes later, has the sea level

risen? Record.

Finally children record the last measurement and draw

conclusions about the changing states of matter and how

this is applied to Antarctica.

Spring 2 Topic MTP - Antarctica

Lesson 7

Identifying the

part played by

evaporation and

condensation in

the water cycle

What is the water

cycle?

Why is it called a

cycle?

What does a

cycle mean?

What is

evaporation?

What is vapour?

What is

condensation?

What is

precipitation?

What is run off?

How do the states

of matter present

themselves in the

water cycle?

8.30 – 9am: Have you ever wondered where rain comes

from? Today we are going to find out. Children draw a sun

and some clouds, and the sea on a plastic bag (show

example). Explain that we are going to observe something

called the water cycle today, which is how water turns from

a gas, into liquid, and then back again. Add water and food

colouring. Make predictions about what we think is going to

happen to this water as we go through the day. Stick bags

on the window and leave there. Encourage children to go

back and observe any changes.

Use this as a basis to teach the water cycle in the afternoon

lesson. Observe how the liquid (rain) has turned into

droplets on the side of the bag. Why are the droplets clear,

not blue? How did they get up there?

Annotate diagrams, use terminology (precipitation,

condensation, evaporation) to explain. By the end of the

lesson children should be able to comfortably explain this

process using scientific terminology.

Water Cycle Song:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gBbFxl6Oy94

https://www.youtub

e.com/watch?v=4W

QBtAJxMbY

Spring 2 Topic MTP - Antarctica

Lesson 8

Using scientific

evidence to draw

conclusions about

climate change

What is scientific

evidence?

Why is it

important?

Why is it valuable

to base our

understanding on

science?

What is the

process of climate

change?

Why does the

earth warm up?

Where do

greenhouse

gases come

from?

How does this

affect the

atmosphere?

How is the water

cycle affected by

climate change?

So now we understand how the water moves through the

atmosphere and creates our weather. So how do you think

this process might change as our planet continues to heat

up?

Give children images or examples of extreme weather

conditions which have happened in recent years due to

climate changes. Droughts, storms, hurricanes, snow

storms. Ask them to hypothesise why this has happened.

Provide key vocabulary. Can they make links to the water

cycle? Provide visual of water cycle from yesterday,

Give input: So how does climate change impact the water

cycle? Put simply, water evaporates from the land and sea,

which eventually returns to Earth as rain and snow. Climate

change intensifies this cycle because as air temperatures

increase, more water evaporates into the air. Warmer air

can hold more water vapour, which can lead to more

intense rainstorms, causing major problems like extreme

flooding in coastal communities around the world.

But it doesn’t end there. At the same time that some areas

are experiencing stronger storms, others are experiencing

more dry air and even drought. Like we mentioned above,

as temperatures rise, evaporation increases and soils dry

out. Then when rain does come, much of the water runs off

the hard ground into rivers and streams, and the soil

remains dry. The result? Still more evaporation from the soil

and an increased risk of drought.

Children choose a way to teach this information clearly and

simply. A vlog post, poster, infographic, - they can choose.

This can be used as part of their overall project on

Antarctica later in the term. Show examples and highlight

important information to include.

Spring 2 Topic MTP - Antarctica

Week 3: Living things in Antarctica

Lesson 9

Understanding the characteristics of a living thing and to begin to consider that living things can be grouped in a variety of ways.

What is a living

thing?

How do you

know?

Is a plant a living

thing?

Why?

What is a life

process?

What does MRS

NERG stand for?

Why is it used?

What’s an

acronym?

Recognise that living

things can be

grouped in a variety

of ways

Ask relevant

questions and using

different types of

scientific enquiries

to answer them

Identify differences,

similarities or

changes related to

simple scientific

ideas and processes

Antarctica is the highest, whitest, driest, coldest and windiest continent on Earth. It’s so cold that creatures often retreat to the sea to warm up. Add 24 hours of darkness during the winter months, and it’s a wonder anything lives there. Yet, Antarctica has thriving ecosystems on land and in the water. Ask the children to sit in groups and discuss the question ‘What makes a living thing?’ on the sheet in front of them. They record their ideas on the sheet of paper. Bring the class back together and take feedback from each group. Remind children that they last looked at living things and their habitats when they were in Year 2. Which living things would you expect to find in Antarctica? Choose one and use as an example when teaching MRS NERG. i.e.penguin. There are seven characteristics of living things. Write the letters of MRS NERG vertically down one side of board. Remind children that these are the initial letters of the seven characteristics. Go back to your notes from the feedback – had any groups identified any of these? Bring the class back together and devise a sentence that explains each word. Give children examples of things they might find in Antarctica on picture cards: Gentoo penguin, seal, krill, plankton, sea water, rocks. Ask them to apply the rules of MRS NERG to check whether they are living things or not. Come back to class to share findings. Notes to consider when teaching ---- NB Respiration is not breathing, but the use of oxygen from the air to help turn food into energy. Breathing is the process of taking air (containing oxygen) into and expelling (containing waste

Key Vocabulary

alive, dead, never

been alive,

movement,

reproduction,

sensitivity,

nutrition,

excretion,

respiration,

growth, habitat,

local

Spring 2 Topic MTP - Antarctica

carbon dioxide) from the lungs. Excretion in animals means getting rid of waste: carbon dioxide when breathing out and various waste products in urine (wee). In plants both carbon dioxide and oxygen are excreted (and also used in different processes) & deciduous trees and other plants get rid of waste products when their leaves fall in Autumn. Plants also excrete waste water through small holes in the underside of their leaves.

Lesson 1

0

Constructing and interpreting a variety of food chains, identifying producers, predators and prey.

What is an eco-

system?

What does marine

mean?

What does

terrestrial mean?

What is a

consumer?

What is a

producer?

What is prey?

What is a

predator?

What is a food

chain?

How is energy

transferred via a

food chain?

How are nutrients

transferred?

An ecosystem is an interacting system made up of animals,

plants, microorganisms and the physical and chemical

environment they live in. Antarctica has marine ecosystems

and terrestrial (land-based) ecosystems. Ecosystems rely

on food webs – where energy and nutrients are passed

from one living thing to another.

Mix and match activity where children must match names of

living things to the picture. These will include producers

(lichen, algae, and mosses) and consumers (krill, whales,

penguins etc).

Short input on producers and consumers. What is the

difference? How do we know? Look at examples on tables

– which livings things are producers, which are consumers?

Look at a simple food chain. Discuss how energy and

nutrients are transferred from one living thing to another via

this food chain. Introduce terms predators, prey.

Split the children into groups. Some children will look at

marine eco systems and others will look at terrestrial. They

must use expert packs to create different food chains (use

pictures, arrows, ensure children can move things around).

Spring 2 Topic MTP - Antarctica

What elements

can disrupt a food

chain?

How can human

behaviour

negatively impact

these

ecosystems?

They must write up their different food chain options onto

A3 paper and be prepared to share with a group who

studied the other eco system.

Lesson 1

1

Recognising that environments can change and that this can sometimes pose dangers to living things.

What is an

environment?

Why do they

change?

How do they

change?

How can living

things be

threatened?

What kind of

dangers might

they face?

Identify what a living

thing is (according to

the 7 life processes).

Explain how

environments can

change, both

naturally and by

humans.

Are Antarctic ecosystems changing? What are the

pressures and threats facing Antarctic ecosystems, and

what actions are being taken to reduce them?

Using your knowledge of climate change see if you can

guess at the answers to the following questions:

What effects might global warming have on

terrestrial (land) ecosystems in Antarctica?

What effects might global warming have on the

marine ecosystem of the Southern Ocean?

The effects of climate change on the marine ecosystem are

largely detrimental: the seas around the Peninsula,

particularly on the western side, have warmed significantly

and this has caused a decline in the extent of sea ice (by

around 40% in the area west of the Peninsula). This has

caused problems for some penguin populations which

breed on, and hunt from, sea ice.

Spring 2 Topic MTP - Antarctica

Adélie penguin breeding success has declined in areas

where sea ice has melted too early in the summer season

or where their breeding grounds have become wet due to

the increase in snowfall associated with the warmer,

moister climate conditions.

Each group looks at a different animal living in Antarctica

and how the changing environment can affect their survival.

Create an A3 poster and present findings back to the class,

use iPads and expert packs to research.

https://www.bas.ac.uk/data/our-data/publication/penguins/

Lesson 1

2

Lesson 12: Trip to Sealife centre (Hunstanton)

Science: At the sealife centre, children explore and use classification keys to help group, identify and name a variety of living things in their local and wider environment

Science: At the sealife centre, children identify producers, predators and prey.

Geography: At the beach, children use fieldwork to observe, measure, record and present the human and physical features using sketch maps.

Week 4: The Geopolitics of Antarctica

Lesson 1

3

Rights and

Responsibilities

(PSHE)

What does treaty

mean?

What is an

agreement?

What other

agreements do

we know of?

Is it the same as a

law?

Is it the same as a

declaration?

To be able to

describe how we

protect Antarctica

To be able to

explain the

importance of the

Antarctic treaty

To be able to

analyse the most

important parts of

the treaty

Look back at our timelines of human activity and exploration

in Antarctica. Summarise our understanding from

Shackleton work in literacy too.

Today, Antarctica is designated as a continent of peace and

cooperation, but it hasn’t always been (as we know from our

prior learning). We are going to find out about how the spirit

of co-operation has developed and is demonstrated in

Antarctica today, and how we generations can learn from

this moving forwards.

The Antarctic Treaty System is a set of agreements about

the continent of Antarctica. It was signed in 1959 and took

effect in 1961. So far, it has been signed by 46-48

countries.

Spring 2 Topic MTP - Antarctica

What does

exploited mean?

How are living

things exploited in

Antarctica?

The ATS is used for governing the continent. The main idea

of the Antarctic Treaty System (ATS) is to make sure that

Antarctica is:

is used peacefully and taken care of.

is not exploited or used for animal hunting.

is not involved with military use unless for peaceful

purposes.

is not owned by one group.

is not ruled by any country and/or continent.

is not used for violence e.g. testing nuclear

missiles.

Diamond 9: Rank the 9 aims of the treaty based on

importance with your group. Justify your answer.

Then choose 3 aims and explain why they are important.

Use the thinking chain to help.

Challenge

What extra aims could they add? How might the aims need

to change in the future and why?

Lesson 1

4

Rights and

Responsibilities

(PSHE)

Is it our

responsibility to

protect our

planet?

Is it our

responsibility to

protect

Antarctica?

Starter – Mix and match activity

Match the new vocabulary to their definition

Ban | Quota | Limit | Introduce | Prohibit | Prevent |

Protect | Reduce | Improve | Enhance | Monitor

Without an international agreement like the Antarctic Treaty

there would be a free-for-all in Antarctica – anybody could

do or take what they want. What might this look like? What

would the dangers be?

Spring 2 Topic MTP - Antarctica

Is it our

responsibility to

protect our city?

Why? Why not?

How can we do

this?

Should we have a

treaty to protect

our own city?

What dangers

face Antarctica if

it is not

protected?

Mindmap ideas with children using the key words from the

word bank

Write a set of visitor guidelines for people visiting

Antarctica, using the Antarctic Treaty System as your basis.

Consider the following:

What must they do?

What should they not do?

Think about:

Wildlife and vegetation

Natural landscapes and protected areas

Scientific research

Waste / rubbish

Safety

Landing and transport

Extension – Highfields Treaty System – can we create our

own? What would be included? Does Highfields need more

or less protection than Antarctica? Why?

Lesson 1

5

Rights and

Responsibilities

(PSHE)

What is waste?

Why does it pose

a threat to our

environment?

What are some of

the ways people

deal with waste in

Why is science an important part of the Antarctic Treaty?

Article II of the Antarctic Treaty expressed that scientific

investigation and scientific cooperation should be free to

continue. Science on Antarctica has global significance for

the future or our planet – Match the statements to the

answers to find out which science experiments are being

carried out in Antarctica.

Spring 2 Topic MTP - Antarctica

the UK? In our

school?

Where does it go?

How about in

Antarctica?

Why do we need

different systems

there?

Why don’t people

treat waste in

Highfields and

waste in

Antarctica the

same?

Do we need an

agreement that

we all follow to

protect our own

environment?

Science on Antarctica is for the good of mankind and the

planet. However despite the careful control and monitoring

of activities, the presence of scientists on Antarctica has led

to some significant environmental impacts over the years.

Activity 1 - We all produce a lot of waste. Food waste like

banana skins, packaging for our sandwiches, paper or used

pens at school and of course human waste. Write a list of

all the waste you produced yesterday.

Activity 2 - Imagine you are a scientist on Antarctica and

have been asked to develop an action plan to deal with

waste at the research station. Brainstorm in groups ways

you could reduce and deal with the amount of waste

produced (e.g. food, packaging, research materials, human

waste, health and scientific equipment, cleaning materials).

Lesson 1

6

Rights and

Responsibilities

(PSHE)

What are our

human rights?

(revisited from

Autumn 2)

Why are they

important?

What is

collaboration?

What is

cooperation?

Antarctica has been a beacon of co-operation between

countries, who have worked together to preserve and

explore responsibly a pristine and fragile environment.

How have people from different countries worked together

in Antarctica? How might greater international co-operation

like this help in solving one of these global problems:

- the war against terror

- human rights abuses

- global warming

Spring 2 Topic MTP - Antarctica

How are they

different?

How have

countries

cooperated to

protect

Antarctica?

Why do you think

countries are

more reluctant to

work together on

these issues than

they have in

Antarctica?

Why do you think countries are more reluctant to work

together on these issues than they have in Antarctica?

Present your questions and ideas to the class.

_______________________________---

Plenary – Antarctic Treat Quiz (Table groups)

https://discoveringantarctica.org.uk/activities/antarctic_treaty/acti

vity.php

Spring 2 Topic MTP - Antarctica

Week 5 – Conservation Project

Lesson 1

7

It’s time to put everything you have learnt into practice. You

are going to start your own project with a small group, and

you can focus on any area you have learnt about in the past

4 weeks. The focus of your project is going to be:

Sustainability and Conservation.

Some project ideas:

- How will the melting ice caps affect sea levels?

- How will Antarctica’s changing landscape

affect its wildlife?

- What is the future of Antarctica?

- What can we do to protect Antarctica from

global warming?

- Save the penguins!

Show some model examples and get more ideas from

children. Draw on their experiences from the Sea Life

centre and trip to the beach, plus all of their prior learning.

Lesson 1

8

Work on proposed structure, and check with teacher for

input and guidance. Teacher simplifies and directs research

to ensure children can work independently.

Spring 2 Topic MTP - Antarctica

Lesson 1

9

Research / collate information in groups.

Lesson 2

0

Research / collate information in groups.

Lesson 2

1

Begin to work on writing up in a ‘report’ / portfolio style.

Include space for pictures / infographics / food chains /

water cycle diagrams etc

Lesson 22: Orchestra Unwrapped Trip

Spring 2 Topic MTP - Antarctica

Lesson 2

2

Write up project

Lesson 2

3

Write up project