Science // Polar Regions

Brave Polar Explorers

Know simple stories of brave polar explorers — Robert Falcon Scott and Roald Amundsen who raced to the South Pole, and Ernest Shackleton whose ship Endurance was crushed by ice but who brought all his men home safely — and understand that polar exploration required incredible courage and endurance

Ages
5 to 7
Type
Concept
Builds on
1 topic
Leads to
1 topic

Quick check

Can the learner tell you the story of explorers who went to the South Pole — like Scott and Amundsen's race, or Shackleton whose ship got trapped in the ice but who saved all his crew?

Ask this to see whether the topic is secure.

Topic // Mastery

What mastery looks like

What a learner can do once this topic is secure.
  • Name at least two polar explorers: Scott, Amundsen, or Shackleton
  • Tell the basic story of Scott and Amundsen's race to the South Pole in simple terms
  • Describe what happened to Shackleton's ship Endurance and how he brought his crew home safely

Topic // Map

Where this fits

What to learn first and what this topic opens up, with the reason for each link. Required links come first.
  • RequiredMust come first
  • HelpfulHelps, but not essential

Before this

1 topic
  • Where Are the Poles?Required

    Polar Regions // Ages 5 to 7

    Must know where the poles are before learning about explorers who went there

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Brave Polar Explorers

Ages 5 to 7 // Concept

Leads to

1 topic

Topic // Research-informed

Teaching notes

From the Marble Skill Taxonomy. These notes have not been validated in classrooms, so treat them as a starting point for your own judgement.

The approach

For ages 5–7, help children KNOW and feel a few vivid, true stories of polar explorers: Amundsen reaching the South Pole first, Scott reaching it but dying on the return, and Shackleton losing his ship Endurance yet bringing all of the Endurance crew home. Teach it as narrative with a beginning, danger and ending, anchoring the hardship in things a young child can feel (bitter cold, hunger, darkness, being far from home) and surfacing the reframe that 'brave' and 'successful' are not the same thing. This fits the UK KS1 History aim of teaching the lives of significant individuals in the past (explorers), alongside a cold-environments science context.

Common misconceptions

  • Being brave means always winning — Scott and Shackleton are heroes despite not achieving their goals
  • Explorers went alone — these were teams who depended on each other
  • It happened long, long ago in a made-up way — these are real people from about 100 years ago with real photographs
  • They could just call for help — there were no phones, planes or rescue; they had to save themselves
  • Reaching the Pole was the only thing that mattered — getting the team home mattered just as much

Useful representations

  • Illustrated story-map of a route to the South Pole with key story beats marked
  • Before/after pictures of the Endurance whole, then trapped, then sinking
  • Portrait cards of Scott, Amundsen and Shackleton with one memorable fact each
  • A simple 'what they packed' picture (dogs, sledges, tents, warm furs) showing how they survived

Teaching practices

  • Tell it as narrative — a beginning, a danger, and an ending — not a list of facts or dates, which young children won't retain
  • Use the powerful reframing that 'brave' and 'successful' aren't the same: Shackleton failed his mission but succeeded as a leader by saving everyone
  • Anchor the danger in things a 5-year-old feels: bitter cold, hunger, darkness, and being far from home
  • Show real photographs (Frank Hurley's Endurance images) so children grasp these were real people, not a fairy tale
  • Connect to the child's own experience of persevering when something is hard, keeping the emotional lesson accessible

Activities to try

  1. 1

    Three explorers, three stories (illustrated narrative with reveals)

    Why it works: These were real people from more than 100 years ago who faced real danger as a team; being brave is not the same as winning — Shackleton never reached his goal but kept every member of the Endurance crew alive.

    1. Look at a wide wintry picture of the ship Endurance trapped in white pack ice under a low sun.
    2. Reveal the story in order: Endurance is crushed and sinks; the crew camps on the ice and reaches Elephant Island in boats; Shackleton and a small party sail through rough seas to South Georgia to seek help; a rescue ship later returns for the men left behind.
    3. Reveal Shackleton's outcome: 'He brought all the men of the Endurance crew home — not one was lost.'
    4. For Scott, Amundsen and Shackleton, ask whether they reached the South Pole: Amundsen reached it first; Scott reached it but died on the return; Shackleton did not reach it on the Endurance expedition, but all members of the Endurance party survived.
    5. (Optional) Reveal a 'what they packed' picture — dogs, sledges, tents and warm clothing such as furs and wool — to show how the explorers tried to survive the cold.
  2. 2

    Talking with Shackleton (spoken role-play extension)

    Why it works: Leadership and care for the team — not reaching the goal — are what make Shackleton remembered as brave.

    1. Pretend to talk with a warm, friendly Shackleton and ask how he kept his men going when the ship was lost.
    2. Ask him what the hardest and coldest moments were, and how the team helped each other.
    3. Say back in your own words one thing Shackleton did to bring everyone home.
  3. 3

    Who did what? (sorting to firm up recall)

    Why it works: Children can keep the three stories distinct and tie each explorer to his outcome, while still holding onto the point that getting the team home mattered as much as reaching the Pole.

    1. Sort three portrait cards — Amundsen, Scott, Shackleton — each with one memorable fact.
    2. Match each explorer to his story: Amundsen (first to the Pole), Scott (reached it, died returning), Shackleton (ship crushed, saved all of the Endurance crew).
    3. Name at least one thing that made polar exploration hard: freezing cold, running short of food, or thick ice.
    4. Say in one sentence why Shackleton is remembered as brave even though he never reached his goal.

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