GRADES K-2 UNIT OUTLINE

Summary of Purpose for the Unit

This unit of study was developed to provide opportunities for students in the primary grades to learn about explorers. It uses nonfiction text and firsthand experience to answer the following questions:

• What is an explorer?
• Who can be an explorer?

Standards Alignment

National Science Education Standards: Science Content Standards

Science content standards are found in Chapter 6 of the National Science Education Standards.

Science as Inquiry

• Ask questions about objects, organisms, and events in the environment.
• Employ simple equipment and tools to gather data and extend the senses.
• Use data to construct a reasonable explanation.
• Communicate investigations and explanations.

History and Nature of Science

• Science as a Human Endeavor

IRA/NCTE Standards for the English Language Arts

View the standards at http://www.ncte.org/standards.

1 – Students read a wide range of print and nonprint texts.

4 – Students adjust their use of spoken, written, and visual language (e.g., conventions, style, vocabulary) to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences and for different purposes.

12 – Students use spoken, written, and visual language to accomplish their own purposes.

National Geography Standards

View the standards at http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/standards/matrix.html.

8 – The characteristics and spatial distribution of ecosystems on Earth’s surface.

Unit Outline

Engage

Read Keep On! The Story of Matthew Henson (from the Polar Explorers Virtual Bookshelf) to the class. Use a globe to track Henson and Peary’s expedition. Discuss what it means to be an explorer, and ask students to name other explorers that they have heard of. Record and post student ideas in a central location.

Explore

Read other books about explorers, or make a variety of titles available for independent reading. Ask students to brainstorm tools and equipment needed for exploration – in general and in specific environments, such as the polar regions. Use the activity Be An Explorer Every Day! to create exploration tool kits. Give students time to use their tool kits to explore the school yard or a local park.

Explain

Have students create a journal detailing their exploration and what they discovered. The ReadWriteThink lesson How Does My Garden Grow? Writing in Science Field Journals can be modified to be used in conjunction with the exploration theme. Revisit student ideas about explorers and ask them to revise their thinking and add new information.

Expand

Read our Feature Story, Two Miles Below, with students and discuss how technology helps scientists to explore remote locations.

This mini-unit could also serve as the starting point for a study of maps. Developing Map Skills Through Earth Science Activities and Mapping the Polar Regions provide related lessons and activities.

Evaluate (Assess)

Observe and assess student participation in the activities.

Class discussions provide a source of formative assessment.

Student field journals can be assessed using the assessment checklist from the ReadWriteThink lesson plan.

GRADES 3-5 UNIT OUTLINE

Summary of Purpose for the Unit

This unit of study was developed to provide students opportunities to learn about explorers. It uses nonfiction text, web sites, and discussion to answer the following questions:

• Why do people explore polar environments?
• Who are polar explorers?
• How does technology assist polar exploration?

Standards Alignment

National Science Education Standards: Science Content Standards

Science content standards are found in Chapter 6 of the National Science Education Standards.

Science and Technology

• Understandings about Science and Technology

History and Nature of Science

• Science as a Human Endeavor

IRA/NCTE Standards for the English Language Arts

View the standards at http://www.ncte.org/standards.

1 – Students read a wide range of print and nonprint texts.

4 – Students adjust their use of spoken, written, and visual language (e.g., conventions, style, vocabulary) to communicate effectively with a variety of audiences and for different purposes.

12 – Students use spoken, written, and visual language to accomplish their own purposes.

National Geography Standards

View the standards at http://www.nationalgeographic.com/xpeditions/standards/matrix.html.

8 – The characteristics and spatial distribution of ecosystems on Earth’s surface.

Unit Outline

Engage

Allow students to browse images of the polar regions, either by using images from our polar photo gallery or by picture walking through books such as Into the Ice (from the Polar Explorers Virtual Bookshelf). Briefly discuss the climate and characteristics of the Arctic and Antarctic environments. Ask students why they think people explore these remote locations. Record and post student ideas, or have students journal independently (or in small groups).

Explore

Provide a variety of books from the Polar Explorers Virtual Bookshelf, other titles from your school or local library, and/or selected web sites for student reading and research. As students read about each explorer, they should record information on a graphic organizer that includes the explorer’s name, significant dates, location, purpose or motivation, and accomplishments.

Create large paper or papier-mache maps of the Arctic and Antarctica on which students can plot exploration routes (see the activity Explorers’ Experience for information on making papier-mache maps).

Have students select one explorer and create a mobile as described in the Polar Explorer Activity. Alternatively, students could create a VoiceThread about the history of polar exploration, or a single polar explorer. Have students revisit and revise their ideas about the purposes and motivation behind polar exploration (in writing or in class discussion).

Explain

In this phase, focus on modern-day explorers – the men and women who travel to the polar regions for scientific research. Reading and discussing Two Miles Below (this issue’s Feature Story) will introduce students to the role that technology plays in current research and exploration. Other sources – Pioneering Frozen Worlds by Sandra Markle (from the Virtual Bookshelf), PolarTREC teacher blogs, and newspaper and magazine articles – can also serve as reference materials.

Students can demonstrate understanding of modern-day exploration in a number of ways – a written journal entry, a mock interview with a researcher, a scrapbook page or poster of an expedition, or Voice Thread. (See Lessons and Activities About Exploration for more ideas.) Again, students can revisit and revise their ideas about the purposes and motivation behind polar exploration.

Expand

The mini-unit could serve as the basis for student-directed research and inquiry. Students could select a location (Alaska’s North Slope) or topic (polar marine mammals) to explore through reading and research. Use Beyond Penguins and Polar Bears resources on organizing information and writing research reports, or have students create a field journal or log as described in To the Ends of the Earth: Research in Polar Seas. Or hold a mock convention in which “explorers” and “researchers” share their findings through posters and presentations.

This mini-unit could also serve as the starting point for a study of maps. Developing Map Skills Through Earth Science Activities and Mapping the Polar Regions provide related lessons and activities.

Evaluate

Student discussion of the purposes and motivation behind polar exploration can be used as formative, ongoing assessment. Finished products (explorer mobiles, VoiceThread, interviews, scrapbook pages, posters, etc.) can be assessed with a rubric for content, quality, and/or effort.

This article was written by Jessica Fries-Gaither. For more information, see the Contributors page. Email Kimberly Lightle, Principal Investigator, with any questions about the content of this site.

Copyright February 2010 – The Ohio State University. This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 0733024. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation. This work is licensed under an Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported Creative Commons license.