Arctic vs Antarctic

Activities to try

1. 1

   Sort each animal and feature to its pole

   Why it works: Which-pole-and-why is a sorting contrast: polar bears and their neighbours belong to the Arctic (frozen ocean, people live there), penguins to the Antarctic (ice continent, only temporary scientists), and the two never meet because they live at opposite ends of the Earth.

   1. Look at two frozen scenes: a cracked, floating sea-ice ocean at the top of the world (Arctic) and a solid white ice-continent at the bottom (Antarctic).
   2. Place picture cards onto the pole where each belongs: polar bear, penguin, walrus, a family in warm parkas, and the frozen sea at the North Pole. Then place a research hut card: scientists visit both poles, so it can go at either one — but in Antarctica it is the only kind of home people have.
   3. Say WHY each card belongs there as you place it — for example, 'the bear lives on the frozen sea in the North', or 'families live in the Arctic all year round, but in Antarctica the only people are scientists who visit for a while and then go home'.
   4. After sorting, look at the two scenes side by side and notice that every polar bear card is North and every penguin card is South — they never share a home — and that one pole floats on ocean while the other rests on land.
2. 2

   Floating ice versus solid ground: ocean or land?

   Why it works: The two poles are not the same kind of place: the Arctic is mostly a frozen ocean, while the Antarctic is a land continent covered in ice.

   1. Stand a toy polar bear on a piece of 'sea ice' floating on water in a bowl (the Arctic — a frozen ocean).
   2. Stand a toy on a solid block of ice resting on a table (the Antarctic — an ice-covered land continent).
   3. Describe the difference: at the North Pole the ice floats on the sea; in the Antarctic most of the ice sits on real land.
   4. Match each pole to a simple cross-section picture: Arctic = frozen sea with land around it; Antarctic = land under ice with sea around it.
3. 3

   Top and bottom of the globe: tap to reveal who lives where

   Why it works: North and South are opposite ends of the Earth; naming who lives at each pole reinforces that bears belong North and penguins belong South.

   1. Find the North Pole at the top of a globe or ball and the South Pole at the bottom.
   2. On a split-screen North/South scene, tap each pole to reveal a fact: North shows polar bears, walruses and people in parkas; South shows penguins and a visiting scientist's hut.
   3. Trace with a finger how far apart the two poles are — 'opposite ends of the Earth'.