Lesson Plan - Survival on a Sea of Ice

Watch a Video: The Search for a Sunken Ship
Discuss: Why did the Endurance22 team set out to find Shackleton’s ship? 

Preview Words to Know
Project the online vocabulary slideshow and introduce the Words to Know. 

• expedition
• uninhabited

Set a Purpose for Reading
Note the “As You Read” question. Have students identify challenges Shackleton and his crew faced. 

1. The article says that earlier this year, the story of Shackleton’s expedition “got a new chapter.” What does this mean?
This means that something new happened. Shackleton’s ship, the Endurance, was found on the ocean floor.
^{R.4 Determine Meaning}

2. Based on the article, why do you think Antarctica stayed unexplored for so long?
The article says that “Antarctica is surrounded by thick sea ice” and has winter temperatures that go below -70 degrees Fahrenheit. You can infer that such conditions make it hard to explore Antarctica.
^{R.1 Text Evidence}

3. Why did Shackleton and his crew leave the Endurance before reaching land?
Shackleton and his crew had to leave the Endurance after the ship got stuck in sea ice. Pressure from the ice caused the ship to flood and sink.
^{R.5 Cause/Effect}

FEATURED SKILL: Critical Thinking/Discussion
Use the Skill Builder “What Would You Take?” to have students think about the supplies they would have taken for survival if they had been in Shackleton’s shoes. 
^{SL.1 Collaborative Discussions}