Time Travelers: Exploring Our Past and Present · 2nd Year

Active learning ideas

Tom Crean: Antarctic Survival

Active learning works best here because Tom Crean’s story is full of physical feats, teamwork, and problem-solving under extreme conditions. Students connect deeply when they handle replica equipment, role-play survival situations, and examine photographic evidence of Crean’s life. These hands-on tasks make his endurance and leadership real and memorable.

• NCCA Curriculum Specifications
• NCCA: Primary - Story
• NCCA: Primary - Life, Society, Work and Culture in the Past

• 20–30 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 3 activities

Activity 01

• Inquiry Circle
• 30 min · Small Groups

Inquiry Circle: The Explorer's Kit

In small groups, students are given a list of items (e.g., biscuits, sled, sleeping bag, compass). They must choose the 5 most important items for an Antarctic trek and justify their choices to the class.

Analyze the character traits Tom Crean needed to survive the harsh conditions of the Antarctic.

Facilitation Tip

During the Collaborative Investigation, give each group two items only from a replica explorer’s kit and ask them to rank which is most useful for survival, citing Crean’s experiences in their reasoning.

What to look for

Provide students with a scenario: 'Imagine you are part of an Antarctic expedition and your main food supply is lost. List three essential items you would prioritize from a limited emergency kit and explain why each is critical for survival, referencing Tom Crean's experiences.'

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Self-Management
• Self-Awareness

Activity 02

• Role Play
• 25 min · Pairs

Role Play: The Long Walk

Students act out the scene where Tom Crean walked 18 hours alone in the snow to save his friends. They must describe their 'thoughts' during the walk to show his determination and bravery.

Explain how early explorers navigated and survived without modern technology.

Facilitation Tip

In the Role Play activity, assign a timekeeper and a notetaker to each group to capture how quickly decisions are made when food runs low or weather turns.

What to look for

Facilitate a class discussion using these prompts: 'What character traits did Tom Crean need most to survive? How did his teamwork with Shackleton and Wild contribute to their success? Why do you think people today still choose to explore dangerous places?'

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

Activity 03

• Gallery Walk
• 20 min · Whole Class

Gallery Walk: Crean's Life in Photos

Display famous photos from the Terra Nova and Endurance expeditions. Students use sticky notes to write down one word describing the environment in each photo (e.g., 'frozen,' 'dark,' 'dangerous').

Justify why individuals choose to explore unknown and dangerous parts of the world.

Facilitation Tip

For the Gallery Walk, post questions on the walls such as 'What does this photo reveal about Crean’s daily life?' to guide close looking and discussion.

What to look for

Ask students to create a two-column chart. In the first column, they list three challenges faced by Antarctic explorers. In the second column, they describe one specific strategy or piece of equipment that could help overcome each challenge, drawing parallels to Crean's journey.

• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Create
• Relationship Skills
• Social Awareness

A few notes on teaching this unit

Teachers approach this topic by balancing factual history with empathy-building tasks. Start with a clear timeline of Crean’s voyages, then immerse students in the sensory and physical demands of Antarctic exploration. Avoid romanticizing danger; instead, focus on the practical skills and teamwork needed. Research shows that when students role-play survival scenarios, they better understand the emotional and cognitive load explorers carried each day.

Successful learning looks like students explaining Crean’s role as a team player rather than a leader, describing his navigation challenges without modern tools, and linking his actions to survival strategies. They should use evidence from activities to justify their views. By the end, they can articulate why Crean’s contributions mattered in exploration history.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During the Collaborative Investigation: The Explorer's Kit, watch for students labeling Tom Crean as the leader or captain of the expedition.

  After distributing replica explorer’s kits, pause the group work and ask, 'Look carefully at the roles listed on these kits. What does Crean’s role say about his position on the ship?' Guide students to read aloud the label 'able seaman' and discuss what that means in the context of a crew.

• During the Role Play: The Long Walk, watch for students assuming explorers had modern navigation tools like GPS.

  Before the activity, place a simple compass on each table and ask students to use it to find north without looking at a map. After the activity, ask, 'How did this tool help or limit you compared to Crean’s use of a sextant?' This makes the historical limitation concrete.

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Methods used in this brief

• Inquiry Circle
• Role Play
• Gallery Walk