Lesson Plan - Survival on a Sea of Ice
Learning Objective
Students will understand the historical significance of Ernest Shackleton’s 1914 expedition to Antarctica and the recent discovery of his lost ship.
Text Structure
Sequence, Description
Content-Area Connections
World History
Standards Correlations
CCSS: R.1, R.2, R.3, R.4, R.5, R.7, R.8, R.9, R.10, L.4, SL.1
NCSS: Time, Continuity, and Change
TEKS: Social Studies 5.23, 6.1
1. Preparing to Read
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.
Set a Purpose for Reading
Note the “As You Read” question. Have students identify challenges Shackleton and his crew faced.
2. Close-Reading Questions
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
3. Skill Building
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
