The ArcticAims

Year 1• To locate the Arctic Circle.• To find out about explorers of the Arctic.• To write a letter about an Arctic adventure.

Year 2• To locate the Arctic Circle and name the 7 countries.• To find out about explorers of the Arctic.• To write a letter about an Arctic adventure.

Which explorers can you remember? Where did they explore?

Captain Robert Falcon Scott.

He explored Antarctica.

The South Pole is in Antarctica.

The South Pole is in Antarctica.

The North Pole is in the Arctic.What do you know about the Arctic?

The Arctic is one of the last places to be

discovered. It is at the very top of the Earth.

It includes the areas around the North Pole.

The Arctic isn’t a country or a continent. It is

actually mostly a frozen ocean.

The Arctic includes the Arctic Ocean and

parts of 7 countries.

This whole area is known as the Arctic Circle.

The Arctic is sea

surrounded by land.

The Arctic Circle is an imaginary line around the top of the planet. Imagine that you are standing above a globe and looking down.

Everything above this red line.

NORTH POLE

ARCTIC CIRCLE

Interesting fact:The Arctic Ocean is larger than the

continent of Europe, but it is

the smallest ocean in the world.

There are 7 countries in the Arctic Circle.

RussiaAlaskaCanadaGreenland

NorwaySwedenFinland

(Iceland is just outside of the circle)

A timeline to show famous explorers of the Arctic

1955Louise Arner Boyd

was the first woman to fly solo over the North

Pole.

1903Roald Amundsen

travelled across the Northwest Passage.

1845Sir John Franklin attempted to find

the Northwest Passage.

1829Sir James Clark Ross

used the Pole Star (also called the North Star) to discover the

North Pole.

1607Henry Hudson

explored islands and coasts in the

Arctic

Roald Amundsen (1872-1928)Amundsen was born in Norway. His dream has always

been to explore the world. He became a crewmember

on various expeditions travelling to the Arctic.

Amundsen learnt a lot about surviving in the Arctic,

such as eating seal meat (Vitamin C to help cure

scurvy) and using animal skin to keep warm.

Between 1903 and 1906, Amundsen and his crew were

the first to sail through the Northwest Passageway.

Roald’s ability to navigate and survive this trip was a great achievement!

The Northwest Passageway is the sea across the Arctic Ocean linking the Atlantic

Ocean and Pacific Ocean.

Year 1 Activity:Imagine that you are an explorer travelling through the Arctic. Write a letter to your friend to tell them about the places you have explored.

• What did you do on your adventure through the Arctic?• What was the journey like?• How did you feel? What did you see?• What countries might you have visited?

Year 2 Activity:Imagine that you are an explorer travelling through the Arctic. Write a letter to your friend to tell them about the places you have explored.

• What was the journey like?• How did you feel? What did you see?• List the countries that you have visited throughout your

journey.• What was your favourite part of the adventure?• What was your worst part of the adventure?

ExtensionCan you remember the names of the countries in the Arctic circle? What are the missing letters?

F_n_a_d

Al_s_a _or_ayS_e_en G_e_nla_d

C_n_da_us_ia

Challenge: Can you find and draw the flags for each of these countries?