Exploring Our Past: From Local Roots to Ancient Worlds · 3rd Class · Great Explorers and Change · Spring Term

Tom Crean: An Irish Antarctic Hero

A case study of the Irish explorer Tom Crean, focusing on his resilience, leadership, and contributions to Antarctic expeditions.

• NCCA Curriculum Specifications
• NCCA: Primary - Story
• NCCA: Primary - Working as a Historian

About This Topic

The Impact of New Discoveries examines the long-term consequences of the Age of Exploration. Following the NCCA 'Politics, Conflict and Society' strand, students look at the 'Columbian Exchange', the movement of plants, animals, and ideas between the Old and New Worlds. They learn how foods we think of as 'Irish', like the potato, actually came from the Americas.

This topic also handles the sensitive history of how exploration affected indigenous peoples, including the loss of land and the spread of diseases. Students are encouraged to look at history from multiple perspectives, understanding that a 'discovery' for one person was often a 'loss' for another. This topic is best taught through collaborative investigations into global trade and structured debates about the legacy of this era.

Key Questions

1. Analyze the personal qualities that enabled Tom Crean to survive extreme Antarctic conditions.
2. Evaluate the reliability of primary sources, such as expedition diaries, in understanding Crean's journeys.
3. Justify Tom Crean's recognition as a national hero in Ireland.

Learning Objectives

• Analyze the personal qualities, such as resilience and perseverance, that enabled Tom Crean to survive extreme Antarctic conditions.
• Evaluate the reliability of primary sources, like expedition diaries and photographs, in reconstructing Tom Crean's experiences.
• Justify Tom Crean's status as a national hero by citing specific examples of his leadership and contributions to scientific discovery.
• Compare the challenges faced by early Antarctic explorers with those encountered by modern polar researchers.

Before You Start

People and Places in My Locality

Why: Students have experience identifying important people and places in their immediate surroundings, which provides a foundation for understanding local heroes and their impact.

Stories from Long Ago

Why: Students have been introduced to the concept of historical narratives and understanding events from the past through stories, preparing them to engage with biographical accounts.

Key Vocabulary

Resilience	The ability to cope with difficult situations and bounce back from challenges. Tom Crean showed great resilience during his long and dangerous journeys.
Expedition	A journey undertaken by a group of people with a particular purpose, especially for exploration or research. Crean was part of several major Antarctic expeditions.
Primary Source	An original document or object created at the time under study, such as a diary entry or a photograph. Expedition diaries are primary sources for learning about Crean's life.
Leadership	The ability to guide and inspire others. Crean's leadership was vital when he led a small group on an epic journey to find help for his stranded crew.

Watch Out for These Misconceptions

Common Misconception

Potatoes have always grown in Ireland.

What to Teach Instead

Most students are shocked to learn the potato is from South America. Using a 'food origin' map activity helps them see how exploration fundamentally changed the Irish diet and led to the population growth (and later the Famine) of the 19th century.

Common Misconception

Exploration was only about finding new things.

What to Teach Instead

It was also about power and wealth. Through structured debate, students learn that while exploration brought new knowledge, it also brought conflict and suffering for many people, helping them develop a more mature and balanced view of history.

Active Learning Ideas

Inquiry Circle: The Global Dinner Plate

Students are given a list of foods (potatoes, tomatoes, chocolate, wheat, cows). In groups, they must sort them into 'Old World' and 'New World' categories, then discuss how a typical Irish dinner would have looked before the Age of Exploration.

40 min·Small Groups

Formal Debate: Was Exploration Good or Bad?

Divide the class into two groups. One group lists the benefits (new foods, better maps, shared knowledge) and the other lists the harms (diseases, loss of land, slavery). Students must present their points and try to reach a 'balanced' conclusion.

45 min·Whole Class

Think-Pair-Share: The Name Game

Explain that many places were renamed by explorers. Students think about how they would feel if someone came to their house and gave it a new name, discuss with a partner, and share their thoughts on why names are important to people's identity.

20 min·Pairs

Real-World Connections

• Modern polar scientists, like those at the Scott Polar Research Institute, rely on the courage and endurance of explorers like Tom Crean. Their work continues to expand our understanding of Antarctica's climate and wildlife.
• The skills of navigation, teamwork, and problem-solving demonstrated by Tom Crean are still essential in many professions today, including maritime careers, search and rescue operations, and even space exploration missions.

Assessment Ideas

Discussion Prompt

Pose the question: 'Imagine you are on an expedition with Tom Crean. What one piece of advice would you give him before facing a blizzard, and why?' Encourage students to connect their advice to Crean's known qualities like resilience or leadership.

Quick Check

Provide students with a short, simplified excerpt from an expedition diary (real or fictionalized). Ask them to identify one detail that tells them about the conditions and one detail that reveals Crean's character. Discuss their findings as a class.

Exit Ticket

Ask students to write down two personal qualities that made Tom Crean a successful explorer and one reason why he is remembered as a hero in Ireland. Collect these to gauge understanding of the key attributes discussed.

Frequently Asked Questions

What was the Columbian Exchange?

It was the massive swap of plants, animals, people, and even diseases between the Americas and the rest of the world after 1492. It's named after Christopher Columbus. It changed the world's environment and the way people ate forever.

Why did so many indigenous people get sick?

Explorers brought diseases like smallpox and flu from Europe. Because the people in the Americas had never been exposed to these germs before, their bodies didn't know how to fight them off. This was one of the saddest and most impactful parts of the Age of Exploration.

How did exploration lead to the Irish Famine later on?

Explorers brought the potato to Ireland. Because it grew so well in Irish soil, it became the main food for millions of people. This meant that when a potato disease (blight) arrived much later, the people had no other food to eat. It shows how a 'new discovery' can have huge long-term effects.

How can active learning help students understand the impact of exploration?

Active learning, like the 'Global Dinner Plate' or 'Structured Debate', helps students grasp the complex and often contradictory results of exploration. Instead of just hearing facts, they have to categorize information and weigh different viewpoints. This develops their ability to think critically about cause and effect, making the global connections of the past much clearer and more relevant to their own lives.