Life in Antarctica (MP/UP)

Year level: Middle/Upper Primary Learning outcome Students will examine photos of Antarctica to develop an understanding of life in there and why we need to protect it. Locate Antarctica on some world maps, including a globe. What shape is it? How big is it? Which countries and cities are closest to Antarctica? How are people in other countries linked to Antarctica? (Think about air, sea, travel) What do we know about Antarctica? What is the climate like in Antarctica? Who and what lives on the land and in the surrounding sea? Examine the photos in the picture galleries on the Australian Antarctic Division's web sitehttp://www.aad.gov.au/default.asp?casid=5587. You might work in small groups and examine one of the sets of photos to find out information to add to your answers to the above questions. Find out about life in Antarctica. Start by reading the background paragraphs under the headings Antarctica and Polar regions and global warming on http://www.globaleducation.edna.edu.au/globaled/go/pid/3115. Try answering the following questions: How do plants and animals survive in Antarctica? Who visits Antarctica? How do people travel to and survive in Antarctica? What do people do in Antarctica? How do people impact on the environment in Antarctica? Why don't people live there permanently? How are people in Australia connected to plants, animals and people in Antarctica? Examine this photograph and suggest some of the problems that people create. Caption: Abandoned fuel drums at the closed Wilkes Station. © Commonwealth of Australia Source: http://www.aad.gov.au/default.asp?casid=3436 Examine this photograph and suggest some of the problems that people create. Create a consequence chart for one of the following questions: • What might happen to the animals and plants living in Antarctica if the water gets warmer? • What might happen to people living near the sea in other parts of the world if the ice from Antarctica melts?   Assessment task Write a statement about the value of the environment in Antarctica and what people in Australia need to do to protect it.