Procedures for Using the Simulation

Goal:

The main goal of Antarctica: 90 Degrees South is for students to investigate topics about Antarctica to determine if habitation is possible in this frigid land. This is accomplished by first having students go on a fact-finding mission and, second, synthesizing the information they gather to construct the society that would be developed in Antarctica.

Basic Design:

Students will watch the Overview video.
The teacher will present the problem or the scenario to the students.
Students will be assigned to a science exploration team to get facts about their topic.
Students will do research and/or perform lesson activities.
Teams will present findings to the class and develop a handout of the information they discovered.
Teams will pool information and make decisions about what could be done to allow human habitation of Antarctica.

Classroom Management:

Part 1: Fact-Finding

Students will be placed into fact-finding groups. Each group is responsible for finding information about their topic. They will both present their information to the entire class as well as make a fact sheet to be distributed to the class.

Possible topics are:

Earth Science

Location

Geology

Glaciation

Seasons

Convergence Zone

Extreme Conditions

Dry Valleys
Characteristics
Topography

Plate Tectonics

Katabatic Winds

Ozone Layer

Global Warming

Ice-Covered Lakes & Terrestrial Ice

Life Science

Conditions & Adaptations

Terrestrial Life

Marine and Sea Life

Life Zones

Ecology

The Research:

There are several ways in which students can carry out research to find the answers to their questions.

Students can go to the Antarctica: 90 Degrees South Web site at http://www.pbs4549.org /antarcti to find sites to help them to answer their questions.
The videos can give students information.
Print materials (both books and periodicals) are available in the media center of most schools and at all public libraries.
Students can use search engines on the Internet to help them find information.
Personal interviews are valuable resources in gathering information.

It is recommended that students find three Internet sites and three print sources. The teacher can alter this relative to the age level, time available and the ability of the students. It is important for students to cite all sources that they use in their presentation.

The Presentation:

After doing research, each team will present the information they have discovered to the large group. Presentations could employ a variety of approaches. Some examples are:

PowerPoint or HyperStudio presentations
Skits
TV news reports
A commercial or public service announcement
A video
Photo essays
A newspaper
Demonstrations using charts and graphs.

A written report that gives key information should be written by each team to be used as a resource in answering the synthesis questions.

Collaboration:

Once all the facts have been gathered, students will get into new groups (or work with the class as a whole) to develop a plan for:

feeding people and the impact of humans on the food chain;
finding energy sources;
determining the types of structures that could be built to house people;
and writing the laws necessary to maintain order.

The Decision:

Once the facts have been presented to the class, the final questions will be discussed either by the class as a whole or by once again breaking the students into groups. A plan will ultimately be made that shows how we would feed, clothe, shelter and govern people living in Antarctica.

State Standards: Benchmarks

Each student will either do research on the objectives below or be presented the information from their classmates:

Earth Science

Grades 3-5 Standards
B. Summarize the processes that shape Earth's surface and describe evidence of those processes.

C. Analyze weather changes that occur over a period of time.

Grade 6-8 Standards
C. Describe the interactions of matter and energy throughout the lithosphere, hydrosphere and atmosphere (e.g., water cycle, weather and pollution).

D. Describe the processes that contribute to the continuous changing of Earth's surface (e.g., earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, erosion, mountain building and lithospheric plate movements).

Grades 9-10 Standards
D. Describe the finite nature of Earth's resources and those human activities that can conserve or deplete Earth's resources.

E. Explain the processes that move and shape Earth's surface.

F. Summarize the historical development of scientific theories and ideas, and describe emerging issues in the study of Earth and space sciences.

Life Science

Grades 3-5 Standards
B. Analyze plant and animal structures and functions needed for survival and describe the flow of energy through a system that all organisms use to survive.

C. Compare changes in an organism's ecosystem/habitat that affect its survival.

Grades 6-8 Standards
B. Describe the characteristics of an organism in terms of a combination of inherited traits and recognize reproduction as characteristic of living organisms essential to the continuation of the species.

D. Explain how extinction of a species occurs when the environment changes and its adaptive characteristics are insufficient to allow survival.

Grades 9-10 Standards
E. Explain the structure and function of ecosystems and relate how ecosystems change over time.

F. Describe how human activities can impact the status of natural systems.

Science and Technology

Grades 3-5 Standards
A. Describe how technology affects human life.

Grades 6-8 Standards
A. Give examples of how technological advances, influenced by scientific knowledge, affect the quality of life.

B. Design a solution or product taking into account needs and constraints (e.g. cost, time, trade-offs, properties of material, safety, aesthetics).

Grades 9-10 Standards
A. Explain the ways in which the processes of technological design respond to the needs of society.