Exploring Antarctica (a resource list)

Antarctica, August 14–September 15
This unit was mostly a matter of reading and writing about Antarctica with plenty of play thrown in.

Click here for a list of blog entries on Antarctica (which will include images of all Calvin's work that was posted, although I did not post the majority of the printed sheets from Evan-Moor because of the copyright).

Topics of focus (in no particular order):
Map skills: latitude, longitude, hemispheres
Astronomy: orbit of the earth around the sun (seasons)
The climate of Antarctica
The landforms of Antarctica

Penguins
Plant and animal life on and around Antarctica
Food webs
Exploration and research of Antarctica, past and present

Book list, non-fiction (alphabetical):
365 Simple Science Experiments, by E. Richard Churchill, et. al.
Antarctica, by Mel Friedman (Scholastic True Book)

Antarctica: A Guide to the Wildlife 3rd ed. (Bradt), by Tony Soper

Antarctica: Land of Endless Water, by Michael George

Arctic & Antarctic (an Eyewitness Book)

Evan-Moor Education Antarctica Unit Study (grades 3-6)
 (review)
Grolier Student Library of Explorers and Exploration: Polar Explorers
Nature’s Children: Penguins, by Merebeth Switzer
Penguins and Antarctica (The Magic Tree House), by Mary Pope Osborne and Natalie Pope Boyce

Penguins of the World, by Wayne Lynch

Rand Mcnally Picture Atlas of the World
Summer Ice, Life along the Antarctic Peninsula, by Bruce McMillan

Book list, fiction (alphabetical):
Eve of the Emperor Penguin (Magic Tree House #40), by Mary Pope Osborne
 (review)
Mr. Popper’s Penguins, by Richard and Florence Atwater (review)
Rime of the Ancient Mariner, by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, illustrated by Ed Young

Video list (alphabetical):
Challenging Antarctica (New Zealand Ltd)

Emperors of the Ice (National Geographic)

Life in the Freezer, David Attenborough (BBC)

a note—all of these videos covered predation and death in a very realistic way

Other (in no particular order)
Globe
Map
Compass
play dough
Standard project supplies

Activity list (in no particular order):
Science experiment
s with ice (glaciers, melting ice, and icebergs)
Making dimensional maps out of play dough
Charting locations on the globe/map
Going to the zoo
Playing with felt
Playing Mammoth Hunt
Illustrating
Writing stories and poems
Activities from the Even-Moor Unit Study (including map labeling, research hunts, word searches, crosswords, and trivia, etc.)

Experimenting with ice

Designing his desired felt set

Making a book of explorers (from the Evan-Moor unit study)