Geography · Year 2

Active learning ideas

Antarctica: The Icy Continent

Active, hands-on tasks help Year 2 students grasp Antarctica’s scale and conditions in ways that maps and explanations alone cannot. Building models, sorting images, and role-playing make abstract ideas like ice thickness and seasonal darkness concrete and memorable for young learners.

• National Curriculum Attainment Targets
• KS1: Geography - Locational Knowledge
• KS1: Geography - Human and Physical Geography

• 25–40 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 4 activities

Activity 01

• Outdoor Investigation Session
• 25 min · Pairs

Globe Spin: Finding Antarctica

Provide globes or large world maps for students to locate and point to Antarctica at the South Pole. Have them trace its shape and compare size to the UK. Pairs then label key features like ice shelves on personal maps.

Can you point to Antarctica on a world map?

Facilitation Tip

During Globe Spin, have students spin with eyes closed and point to stop, then check their hand’s placement on Antarctica to build spatial awareness.

What to look for

Give students a postcard. Ask them to draw a picture of Antarctica on one side and write two sentences on the other explaining one reason why it is very cold there.

• Remember
• Understand
• Analyze
• Social Awareness
• Self-Awareness
• Decision-Making

Activity 02

• Outdoor Investigation Session
• 35 min · Small Groups

Climate Contrast Boards

In small groups, students sort picture cards of UK and Antarctic weather onto comparison charts. They add notes on temperature differences using toy thermometers. Groups present one key contrast to the class.

What do you notice about what Antarctica looks like?

Facilitation Tip

For Climate Contrast Boards, provide two images labeled ‘My Town’ and ‘Antarctica’ so students can directly compare daylight hours and temperatures side by side.

What to look for

Show students a world map or globe. Ask them to point to Antarctica and then ask: 'What is one thing you notice about what Antarctica looks like from space?'

• Remember
• Understand
• Analyze
• Social Awareness
• Self-Awareness
• Decision-Making

Activity 03

• Outdoor Investigation Session
• 40 min · Small Groups

Ice Continent Models

Students in small groups build Antarctica models using playdough for land, white paper for ice, and blue tissue for surrounding ocean. They add research stations with toothpicks and discuss why ice dominates. Display models for a gallery walk.

Why do you think it would be very hard to live in Antarctica?

Facilitation Tip

When guiding Ice Continent Models, remind students to press clay against the base of the landmass to show the rocky continent beneath the ice layer.

What to look for

Pose the question: 'Imagine you are a scientist working in Antarctica. What one piece of special equipment would you need to stay safe and warm, and why?'

• Remember
• Understand
• Analyze
• Social Awareness
• Self-Awareness
• Decision-Making

Activity 04

• Outdoor Investigation Session
• 30 min · Whole Class

Survival Challenge Talk

Whole class brainstorms reasons living in Antarctica is hard, using prompt cards like 'food' or 'darkness'. Vote on toughest challenge and justify choices. Record ideas on a shared anchor chart.

Can you point to Antarctica on a world map?

Facilitation Tip

In Survival Challenge Talk, give each group one ‘scientist card’ with a role (doctor, cook, engineer) to focus their packing decisions.

What to look for

Give students a postcard. Ask them to draw a picture of Antarctica on one side and write two sentences on the other explaining one reason why it is very cold there.

• Remember
• Understand
• Analyze
• Social Awareness
• Self-Awareness
• Decision-Making

A few notes on teaching this unit

Start with physical models to correct misconceptions early, then scaffold from concrete to abstract through sorting and discussion. Avoid long explanations; instead, let students discover patterns through timelines and maps. Research shows that multi-sensory activities improve retention of polar concepts in primary classrooms.

By the end of the hub, students should confidently locate Antarctica on a globe, describe its ice cover and extreme climate, and explain why survival there requires special equipment. They should also distinguish Antarctica’s seasons from their own and recognize it as a continent, not floating ice.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During Ice Continent Models, watch for students who layer paper ice only on top without a solid clay base.

  Prompt students to press clay into a flat base first, then add layered paper ice to show the rocky continent beneath, matching the activity’s visual guide.

• During Climate Contrast Boards, watch for students who group images by color or animal rather than by temperature and daylight.

  Have students label each board’s columns ‘Hot and Bright’ and ‘Cold and Dark’ before sorting images to focus their comparisons on climate patterns.

• During Survival Challenge Talk, watch for students who pack everyday clothing for a trip to Antarctica.

  Provide a bin of labeled gear and ask students to justify each item’s purpose for survival in Antarctica, redirecting choices with evidence from the role-play scenario.

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Methods used in this brief

• Outdoor Investigation Session