Locating the North and South Poles
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can locate the North and South Polar regions and describe some of their icy features.
Key learning points
- The geographical North and South Poles mark where Earth’s axis meets Earth’s surface.
- The North Pole is located in the Arctic Ocean and the South Pole in the frozen continent of Antarctica.
- The Antarctic is colder because of its land mass, with high mountains and the Arctic warmer because much is ocean.
- Ice sheets cover land and ice shelves extend over the ocean.
Keywords
Glacier - A glacier is a huge accumulation of ice and snow that moves slowly over land.
Iceberg - Icebergs are large floating chunks of ice, that break off glaciers into the ocean.
Ice floe - An ice floe is a sheet of ice floating in the water.
Ice shelf - An ice shelf is a floating tongue of ice that extends from a glacier grounded on land.
Common misconception
The Arctic and Antarctica are both continents.
Antarctica is a continent but the Arctic is frozen sea ice.
Teacher tip
Use a globe to show the relative size of the Arctic and Antarctica and where the UK is located in relation to them.
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.What is the imaginary line which runs around Earth?
Q2.Where does Earth get heat from?
Q3.What is Earth tilted on which creates seasons?
Q4.The North Pole is in the same hemisphere as which country?
Q5.The South Pole experiences winter in which months?
Q6.What does a thermometer measure?
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Where is the North Pole located?
Q2.Where is the South Pole located?
Q3.Which is colder?
Q4.What is a floating sheet of ice called?
Q5.Which of these describes a glacier?
Q6.True or false? The Arctic is a continent.
To help you plan your 2 geography lesson on: Locating the North and South Poles, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 2 geography lesson on: Locating the North and South Poles, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 1 geography lessons from the Cold places: what is it like at the North and South Poles? unit, dive into the full primary geography curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.