History · Year 2

Active learning ideas

Robert Falcon Scott: Race to the South Pole

Active learning helps Year 2 pupils grasp the extreme challenges of Scott’s expedition by turning abstract facts into lived experiences. When children physically map the journey, handle replica gear, or step into role-play scenarios, they connect emotionally with the team’s endurance and teamwork. These hands-on tasks make the hardships—blizzards, frostbite, and dwindling food—tangible and memorable in ways reading alone cannot.

• National Curriculum Attainment Targets
• KS1: History - Significant individuals in the past
• KS1: History - Events beyond living memory

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

Activity 01

• Timeline Challenge
• 30 min · Small Groups

Timeline Challenge: Scott's Polar Journey

Print key event cards with dates, images, and captions for the outward trek, Pole discovery, and return tragedy. Small groups sequence them on a long paper timeline, adding drawings of challenges like blizzards. Share and compare with the class.

Who was Robert Falcon Scott and where did he try to travel to?

Facilitation Tip

During the Timeline activity, provide sticky notes so pupils can move events into order collaboratively, reinforcing sequencing skills.

What to look for

Provide students with a postcard template. Ask them to imagine they are on Scott's expedition. They should write two sentences describing a challenge they faced and one sentence about what they miss from home, signing their name as if they were an explorer.

• Remember
• Understand
• Analyze
• Self-Management
• Relationship Skills

Activity 02

• Role Play
• 25 min · Pairs

Role Play: Facing Antarctic Dangers

Pairs receive scenario cards such as 'pony dies' or 'blizzard hits' and act out responses using props like toy sledges and fans for wind. They read simplified diary quotes to narrate emotions. Debrief on teamwork.

What dangers did Scott and his team face in Antarctica?

Facilitation Tip

For the Role Play of Antarctic dangers, give each group a scenario card and a list of survival tools to decide how to allocate them, practicing prioritization.

What to look for

Show students a photograph from Scott's expedition (e.g., of the sledges or the explorers). Ask: 'What does this picture tell us about how difficult their journey was? What questions does it make you want to ask about the people in it?'

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Social Awareness
• Self-Awareness

Activity 03

• Outdoor Investigation Session
• 35 min · Small Groups

Artefact Hunt: Expedition Gear

Display images or models of tents, skis, and rations at stations. Small groups rotate, noting advantages and problems in Antarctica via sticky notes. Discuss how modern gear differs.

How do we know what happened on Scott's journey to the South Pole?

Facilitation Tip

In the Artefact Hunt, place real items like mittens, goggles, or a compass in labeled boxes so pupils must describe each object’s purpose before seeing the label.

What to look for

Ask students to point to Antarctica on a world map or globe. Then, ask them to name one danger Scott and his team faced, using a sentence starter like 'One danger was...'

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

Activity 04

• Outdoor Investigation Session
• 40 min · Whole Class

Map It: Race to the Pole

Provide outline maps of Antarctica. Whole class plots Scott's and Amundsen's routes with string and pins, marking depots and hazards. Label why Amundsen succeeded first.

Who was Robert Falcon Scott and where did he try to travel to?

Facilitation Tip

Map It activity benefits from a large floor map where pupils trace routes with string or yarn to show distances and terrain choices.

What to look for

Provide students with a postcard template. Ask them to imagine they are on Scott's expedition. They should write two sentences describing a challenge they faced and one sentence about what they miss from home, signing their name as if they were an explorer.

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

A few notes on teaching this unit

Teachers find success by framing Scott’s expedition as a human story, not just a historical event. Use primary sources like diary extracts and photographs to build empathy, but keep explanations concrete with maps and artefacts. Avoid romanticizing the journey; focus on practical challenges like food rationing and temperature drops. Research shows children aged seven respond best when learning is active, visual, and emotionally engaging, so balance facts with feeling.

By the end of the topic, children should be able to retell key events in order, identify at least three dangers Scott faced, and explain why teamwork was vital. They should also compare Scott’s route with Amundsen’s and describe how preparation affected the outcome. Look for confident use of expedition vocabulary like man-hauling, supply depot, and crevasse.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During Timeline: Scott's Polar Journey, watch for pupils assuming Scott reached the Pole first.

  Use the timeline cards to place Amundsen’s arrival date clearly before Scott’s, then ask pupils to compare the two routes marked on the map to reinforce the visual difference in arrival times.

• During Role Play: Facing Antarctic Dangers, watch for pupils thinking Scott worked alone.

  In the role-play debrief, explicitly count the team members on Scott’s final push and ask groups to recount how each role contributed to survival, linking collaboration to success.

• During Artefact Hunt: Expedition Gear, watch for pupils believing Antarctica was lifeless and easy to cross.

  During the hunt, point out artefacts like animal fat lamps or photos of seals, then ask pupils to match each artefact to a danger or resource, reinforcing the presence of wildlife and hazards.

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Methods used in this brief

• Timeline Challenge
• Role Play
• Outdoor Investigation Session