Antarctica’s Changing Sky

Overview

In this second lesson of Exploring Antarctica: A Class Adventure, students investigate how sunlight changes across the year in Antarctica. They compare Antarctica’s very long summer days and winter nights with the more familiar pattern of day and night in Aotearoa New Zealand, using a globe, torch, images and simple geographical language.

Learning intentions

• We are learning to notice and describe changes in the sky and weather in Antarctica.
• We are learning to explain how people and animals are affected by Antarctica’s changing conditions.

Success criteria

• I can use simple words or drawings to describe changes in Antarctica’s sky or weather.
• I can give one example of how a person or animal responds to those changes.

Curriculum links

• Geography — Describing places: global variation in landscapes and environments.
• Geography — Location at different scales: using simple globes, symbols and visual representations to recognise land and ocean features.
• Geography — Describing places: communicating similarities and differences between places in Aotearoa New Zealand and contrasting places.
• Geography — Collecting and communicating observations about places.

Lesson structure (30 minutes)

1. 0–4 min · Wonder and revisit. Open with the opening image and wonder question showing a penguin landscape in bright sunlight and ask, “Could this place have daytime for months?” Students turn and talk, then recall what they learned in Lesson 1 about Antarctica’s location, cold conditions and position at the bottom of the globe. Introduce the learning intention: “Today we are learning about day and night in Antarctica.”

2. 4–10 min · Direct teach: two special seasons. Use the Antarctica day-and-night explanation to show that Antarctica has summer and winter. Explain in child-friendly language: during Antarctic summer, the Sun may stay above the horizon for many weeks or months; this is called polar day. During Antarctic winter, the Sun may not rise for many weeks or months; this is called polar night. Clarify that the whole of Antarctica is not always light or dark at exactly the same time, and that places nearer the South Pole experience the longest periods. Students act out “Sun up” and “Sun down” with their hands and repeat the terms daylight, darkness, summer and winter.

3. 10–16 min · Model with a globe and torch. Darken the room slightly. Place a sticker on Antarctica and another on Aotearoa New Zealand on a globe. Use a torch as the Sun and slowly turn the globe, modelling ordinary day and night. Then tilt the globe gently and explain that Earth’s tilt helps create seasons; in Antarctic summer, the South Pole points more towards the Sun, while in winter it points away. Use the globe-model diagrams to reinforce the explanation. Students observe and answer: “Which place is facing the light?” and “Which place is in darkness?” Avoid suggesting that the torch or globe is perfectly to scale.

4. 16–23 min · Partner task: compare places. Distribute the Antarctica and Aotearoa day-and-night comparison sheet. Students work with a partner to draw or match pictures showing Antarctic summer, Antarctic winter and a usual New Zealand day-and-night pattern. They complete sentence frames such as “In Antarctic summer, the Sun…” and “In Aotearoa New Zealand, we usually…” The teacher circulates, asking students to point to evidence in the pictures and use more, less, light, dark, long and short. Pause halfway for one pair to share an idea and address misconceptions.

5. 23–27 min · Share and consolidate. Return to the comparison and discussion slides. Invite pairs to share one similarity and one difference. Record responses under two headings: “Both places” and “Different”. Guide students towards the key idea that both places have sunlight and darkness, but Antarctica can experience extremely long periods of daylight or darkness, unlike the regular daily pattern most children experience in New Zealand. Students show a thumbs-up, sideways or down response to: “Antarctica has day and night just like us, but its daylight and darkness can last much longer.”

6. 27–30 min · Exit check. Students complete the final box on the drawing-and-sentence exit section: draw either Antarctic polar day or polar night and complete “This is different from New Zealand because…” Collect sheets as students leave, inviting a few volunteers to explain their drawings aloud.

Resources

• the Antarctica day-and-night slide deck
• the Antarctica and Aotearoa day-and-night comparison sheet
• Globe or world map
• Torch or small lamp
• Antarctica and Aotearoa New Zealand stickers or removable labels
• Dark cloth or partially darkened classroom
• Pencils and colouring materials

Assessment

• Listen during partner talk for accurate use of daylight, darkness, summer, winter, long and short.
• Observe students’ responses to the globe model and check whether they can identify the light and dark sides.
• Use the worksheet exit response to assess whether students can describe polar day or polar night and make a comparison with New Zealand.

Differentiation

• Support learners with the picture sequence, teacher modelling, gestures and sentence starters: “Antarctica can have…”, “New Zealand usually has…”, and “Both places…”.
• Provide a pre-labelled worksheet, allow drawing or oral recording, and pair students thoughtfully. Revisit the distinction between a single day and a season lasting many weeks or months.
• For EAL learners, use real photographs, repeated phrases and a partner rehearsal before sharing. Accept home-language discussion alongside an English sentence or labelled drawing.
• Extend confident learners by asking, “Why might people in Antarctica need special routines when it stays light or dark for a long time?” Accept ideas about sleep, work, animals or energy without requiring detailed scientific explanations.