At-Home Activities: Polar Quest - Special Equipment

November 2-6

Workshop Class Activities

Materials

• Various fiction and non-fiction books that relate to the poles

• notebook or lined paper

• pencil

• paper map

• large paper

• measuring tape

• ruler

• blank game board

• game pieces such as Legos or coins

• game cards (included, or make your own)

Reading

Writing

Copywork

"Polar exploration is at once the cleanest and most isolated way of having a bad time which has yet been devised." - Cherry-Garrard
“If Antarctica were music it would be Mozart. Art, and it would be Michelangelo. Literature, and it would be Shakespeare. And yet it is something even greater; the only place on earth that is still as it should be. May we never tame it.” - Andrew Denton

Language arts lesson

Ordinal number words are words representing position or rank in a sequential order. These are words like, “first”, “second”, and "third". They may be written with numerals and letter suffixes: 1st, 2nd or 2d, 3rd or 3d, 4th, 11th, 21st, 101st, 477th, etc. See more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ordinal_numeral

Writing Activity

Write instructions on how to do something such as going trick-or-treating, wrapping a present, or making a sandwich. Use ordinal numbers and include illustrations.

Journaling

Math

Math Concept

Maps are compressed versions of the real world. This means that a large piece of land is recreated onto a smaller piece of paper. The relationship between the real world size of a geographic feature and its representative feature on a map is known as scale. Scale is often represented as a ratio between the real world size and the size in units on the map. More about map scale: https://www.geographyrealm.com/map-scale/

Math Project

Use a paper map to figure out the distance between points of interest. For example, with a map of your city (usually free at your city’s Chamber of Commerce), figure out how far it is to the library or a park.

Math Project

Make a map of your bedroom or your whole house. Use ¼ inch to represent one foot. Include a map scale.

Mental math

Make up some poems to help you remember math facts. For example, you can use “Six and Eight went out to skate; when they came back they were Forty-Eight.” to memorize 6 x 8 = 48. Draw pictures that can help you visualize and memorize these poems and facts.

Math games

Make a game board from scratch or print one like this one: https://assets.fellowes.com/documents/IdeaCenter/us/en/home/crafts-games/board-game-template/Fellowes_IdeaCenter-Games.pdf
Add features such as. “Lose a turn”, “Move ahead three spaces”, and “Move back two spaces”. Use the included game cards or make your own, either harder or easier than the provided cards. To play, pick a card and solve the math problem. The answer to the math problem indicates how many spaces you take on your turn. The first player to the finish wins.

Projects

Research and Report

Find the following facts and features about both Antarctica to your state:
- Highest elevation
- Lowest elevation
- Highest temperature
- Lowest temperature
- Mountain ranges
- Lakes or rivers
- Types of vegetation
- Types of animals
- Largest population centers
- Wilderness areas
Use the gathered information to create Facebook-type profiles for the Antarctica and your state.

Themed Fireworks Project

Draw your home escape plan on graph paper. Can you find two ways out of each room?

6-week project

Investigate, research and observe the topic you chose last week. Collect interesting information into a notebook or binder. Work on your display.

Other Ideas

Make an igloo out of sugar cubes: https://thecraftyclassroom.com/crafts/native-american-crafts-for-kids/inuit-crafts-for-kids/sugar-cube-igloo-project/
Learn hot to treat hypothermia, frostbite, and snow blindness.
Experience Denali for kids: http://pbskids.org/nova/denali/index.html
Explore magnetic north: http://www.windows2universe.org/physical_science/magnetism/north_mag_pole_interactive.html
Create an alphabet book about the tundra.
Learn more about fire safety: http://www.sparky.org/
Find the camouflaged animals: http://www.brainpopjr.com/science/animals/camouflage/search/
Go to the CalFire Website for resources on how to prepare for and prevent wildfires: https://www.readyforwildfire.org/