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Exploring Antarctica by Lisa Benjamin Fountas-Pinnell Level P Narrative Nonfiction Selection Summary in 1911, Two Teams of Explorers Set out to Reach the South Pole

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Exploring Antarctica by Lisa Benjamin Fountas-Pinnell Level P Narrative Nonfiction Selection Summary in 1911, Two Teams of Explorers Set out to Reach the South Pole LESSON 21 TEACHER’S GUIDE Exploring Antarctica by Lisa Benjamin Fountas-Pinnell Level P Narrative Nonfiction Selection Summary In 1911, two teams of explorers set out to reach the South Pole. Roald Amundsen of Norway led one team. Robert Scott of Great Britain led the other. Both reached the South Pole, but Amundsen’s team got there fi rst. Scott’s team never made it back. In 1914, Ernest Shackleton tried Number of Words: 745 to explore Antarctica. Disaster struck, but Shackleton saved his team. Characteristics of the Text Genre • Narrative nonfi ction Text Structure • Chronological narrative of Antarctic exploration in fi ve chapters • Each section a different category of information about Antarctic exploration Content • Antarctic exploration • The 1911 race to the South Pole between Roald Amundsen and Robert Scott • The Shackleton expedition of 1914 Themes and Ideas • Exploring the Antarctic is dangerous. Language and • Clear, straightforward language Literary Features • Vivid details Sentence Complexity • A mix of short and more complex sentences • Multiple items in series: The surrounding seas are dangerous, the winds strong, and the water freezing. Vocabulary • Terms that may not be familiar: snowshoes, blizzards Words • Many words made from base words, such as surrounding, hungry, stormy, hopeless, luckily Illustrations • Photos, many historical, or graphics on every page • Photo of Earth from space, with callouts for North Pole and South Pole • Map showing Antarctica Book and Print Features • Easy-to-read section headings that indicate contents • Timeline of Antarctic expeditions © 2006. Fountas, I.C. & Pinnell, G.S. Teaching for Comprehending and Fluency, Heinemann, Portsmouth, N.H. Copyright © by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or recording, or by any information storage or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the copyright owner unless such copying is expressly permitted by federal copyright law. Permission is hereby granted to individual teachers using the corresponding (discipline) Leveled Readers to photocopy student worksheets from this publication in classroom quantities for instructional use and not for resale. Requests for information on other matters regarding duplication of this work should be addressed to Houghton Miffl in Harcourt Publishing Company, Attn: Contracts, Copyrights, and Licensing, 9400 SouthPark Center Loop, Orlando, Florida 32819. Printed in the U.S.A. 978-0-547-30472-4 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 0940 15 14 13 12 11 10 09 If you have received these materials as examination copies free of charge, Houghton Miffl in Harcourt Publishing Company retains title to the materials and they may not be resold. Resale of examination copies is strictly prohibited. Possession of this publication in print format does not entitle users to convert this publication, or any portion of it, into electronic format. 2_304724_OL_LRTG_L21_ExploringAntarctica.indd 1 11/4/09 5:50:26 PM Exploring Antarctica by Lisa Benjamin Build Background Help children use their knowledge of explorers to visualize the book. Build interest by asking a question such as the following: Why do you think some people want to explore wild, dangerous parts of the world? Read the title and author and talk about the cover illustration. Tell students that this book tells true stories about explorers who decided to try to reach the South Pole at the bottom of the Earth. Introduce the Text Guide children through the text, noting important ideas, and helping with unfamiliar language and vocabulary. Here are some suggestions: Page 2: Explain that the Earth’s North and South Poles have drawn many explorers to face the challenge of reaching these cold, distant places. Explain how to pronounce Amundsen’s name (AHM und sun). Suggested language: Turn to page 2. The photo shows Earth as seen from space. Where is the North Pole in this photo? Where is the South Pole? When some explorers fi nally reached the North Pole after many tries, what do you think this made other explorers want to do? Pages 4-5: Explain that the photos on these pages are historical; they were taken in the early 1900s and show people and events from that time. What is different in the two photos? Which team do you think would have a harder time, the men pulling their own sleds or the men with dog teams? Pages 8-9: Point out that the photos on these pages are also historical. What has happened to the ship shown in the photo on page 9? Would you be able to steer a ship that is stuck in ice? Sailors can’t control the way a ship moves unless the ship is in open water. Otherwise, it just stays where it is. Page 14: Point out that a timeline shows events in the order in which they happened. In what year does the fi rst event take place? The last event? Now turn back to the beginning of the book and read to fi nd out about some famous attempts to explore Antarctica. Target Vocabulary fi nally – happening in the end, otherwise – when a situation will waterproof – not letting water p. 2 be different if something does pass through, p. 10 junior – a person or animal not happen, p. 9 webbed – having skin connecting younger than others in a slippery – smooth, wet, or the toes or fi ngers, p. 4 group, p. 8 greasy, p. 6 whistle – a sharp, high sound steer – to control the way made by blowing air, p. 5 something moves, p. 9 Grade 2 2 Lesson 21: Exploring Antarctica © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company 22_304724_OL_LRTG_L21_ExploringAntarctica.indd_304724_OL_LRTG_L21_ExploringAntarctica.indd 2 77/30/09/30/09 110:05:400:05:40 AAMM Read Have children read silently while you listen to individual children read. Support their problem solving and fl uency as needed. Remind children to use the Infer/Predict Strategy , and to use text clues to fi gure out important ideas. Discuss and Revisit the Text Personal Response Invite children to share their personal responses to the book. Suggested language: What do you think about the early explorers of Antarctica? Were they really brave, or do you think they were foolish to put themselves in danger? Why do you think this? Ways of Thinking As you discuss the text, help children understand these points: Thinking Within the Text Thinking Beyond the Text Thinking About the Text • The South Pole is on the • Explorers will face great dangers • The section headings give a continent of Antarctica and is and even the threat of death to good idea about the information harder to reach than the North reach their goals. that will be provided. Pole. • For some people, being the fi rst • The historical photos bring the • In 1911, two teams set out to to reach a faraway place is a past events to life. reach the South Pole. challenge. • The timeline makes it easy to • Both Roald Amundsen and understand when events took Robert Scott reached the South place. Pole, but Amundsen got there • The author’s attitude towards fi rst. Antarctic exploration is positive. • Ernest Shackleton’s attempt to reach the South Pole ended when his ship was stuck in ice. © 2006. Fountas, I.C. & Pinnell, G.S. Teaching for Comprehending and Fluency, Heinemann, Portsmouth, N.H. Choices for Further Support • Fluency Invite children to choose a passage from the text and demonstrate phrased fl uent reading. Remind them to group words into meaningful phrases to show that they understand what they are reading. • Comprehension Based on your observations of the children’s reading and discussion, revisit parts of the text to clarify or extend comprehension. Remind children to go back to the text to support their ideas. • Phonics/Word Work Provide practice as needed with words and word parts, using examples from the text. Remind children that the letter r can affect the sound of a vowel letter or letters that come before it. For example, point out that on page 3, the vowel letters in reach stand for the long e vowel sound, but that in early, they stand for /er/. Grade 2 3 Lesson 21: Exploring Antarctica © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company 2_304724_OL_LRTG_L21_ExploringAntarctica.indd 3 11/4/09 5:50:34 PM Writing about Reading Critical Thinking Have children complete the Critical Thinking questions on BLM 21.8. Responding Have children complete the activities at the back of the book. Use the instruction below as needed to reinforce or extend understanding of the comprehension skill. Target Comprehension Skill Main Ideas and Details Remind children that they can tell important ideas and details about a topic. Model the skill, using a “Think Aloud” like the one below: Think Aloud Look at the chart on page 15. It already tells what the main idea of the book is: “In the early 1900s, explorers made expeditions to Antarctica.” What details that you’ve read support that main idea? Turn back to page 4 in the book. This page says that Roald Amundsen and Robert Scott had a race to get to the South Pole. That would be the fi rst detail to include in the chart. Practice the Skill Have children fi nd more details in the book to add to the chart. Writing Prompt: Thinking Beyond the Text Have children write a response to the prompt on page 6. Remind them that when they think beyond the text, they use what they know and their own experience to think about what happens in the story. Assessment Prompts • What is the author’s purpose for writing this selection? • What does the phrase “the top of the Earth” mean on page 2? Grade 2 4 Lesson 21: Exploring Antarctica © Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company 2_304724_OL_LRTG_L21_ExploringAntarctica.indd 4 11/4/09 5:50:41 PM English Language Development Reading Support In Introduce the Text (p.2), use pictures, concrete objects, or demonstrations that will help children understand the concepts and ideas in the text.
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