Life Under the Ice

Overview

This is lesson 4 of 6 in Penguins of Antarctica Adventure. Students build on their knowledge of penguin habitats and use pictures, simple symbols and a key to investigate what Emperor and Magellanic penguins eat. An active hunting game helps students connect penguins’ food choices with life near the sea.

Learning intentions

• WALT identify foods eaten by Emperor and Magellanic penguins.
• WALT use pictures, symbols and a simple key to show information.
• WALT describe how penguins find food in coastal and ocean habitats.
• WALT share ideas and listen carefully to others.

Success criteria

• I can name at least two foods penguins eat.
• I can match food pictures to a penguin.
• I can use a key or symbol to show penguin food.
• I can explain that penguins hunt in the ocean near their habitat.

Curriculum links

• Geography — Location at different scales: recognising land and ocean features using simple keys, symbols or colours.
• Geography — Location at different scales: creating simple maps using symbols and keys.
• Geography — Coastal environments and wildlife: recognising coastal habitats that support birds and animals adapted to life near the sea.
• Geography — Describing places: communicating ideas about New Zealand and contrasting global landscapes.

Lesson structure (30 minutes)

1. 0–4 min · Hook and recall. Teacher opens with the penguin hook and picture prompt and asks, “If you were a penguin diving under the ice, what might you look for?” Students turn and talk, then share ideas; the teacher revisits that penguins live and hunt near the sea.

2. 4–9 min · Teach the food clues. Teacher uses the Emperor and Magellanic penguin food slides to introduce fish, krill and squid, explaining that Emperor penguins mainly catch fish, squid and krill, while Magellanic penguins catch fish, squid and small sea animals such as crustaceans. Students use actions or picture responses to identify each food and compare the two penguins.

3. 9–13 min · Model the hunting game. Teacher displays the hunting game instructions and places food tokens around the room or on the mat. In groups of four or five, students take turns being a penguin, a food finder, a counter and a recorder; the teacher models moving safely, collecting one token at a time, and returning when the signal sounds.

4. 13–22 min · Penguin hunting game. Teacher runs two short rounds, first as Emperor penguins and then as Magellanic penguins, changing the food tokens available in each round and pausing to ask, “What did your penguin find?” Students hunt safely, collect picture tokens, sort them into fish, krill or squid, and explain which food they found. The teacher reinforces that the game represents searching in the ocean, not eating every item in the sea.

5. 22–27 min · Show the evidence. Teacher distributes the penguin diet picture-and-key worksheet and uses the sorting and map-key example to model recording findings with simple symbols or colours. Students complete a picture sort for the two penguins, add a small ocean-and-ice map or habitat picture, and create a key such as a blue fish symbol for fish and a pink spiral for krill.

6. 27–30 min · Share and check. Teacher returns to the final discussion and exit prompt and invites several students to complete the sentence, “A penguin hunts near the sea for …”. Students show one worksheet answer, then draw or circle two foods a penguin eats and tell a partner one thing they learned.

Resources

• the penguin hook and teaching deck
• the penguin diet picture-and-key worksheet
• Penguin, fish, krill and squid picture tokens
• Two hoops, trays or floor spaces labelled “Emperor” and “Magellanic”
• Ocean and sea-ice images or a simple world map
• Blu-tack, pencils, crayons and coloured markers
• Safe movement space and a timer or signal

Assessment

• During discussion, listen for students naming fish, krill or squid and linking penguins with ocean or coastal habitats.
• During the game and worksheet task, check whether students can sort food pictures and use a symbol or colour key.
• Use the final prompt to identify students who can name two foods and explain that penguins hunt in the sea; provide a quick verbal re-teach for students needing support.

Differentiation

• Provide picture cards, gestures and the sentence frames “A penguin eats ___” and “It hunts in the ___” for students needing language support or English-language learners.
• Pre-teach and repeat the words fish, krill, squid, ocean, hunt and food; pair students strategically and accept pointing, drawing or oral responses.
• For students with sensory, mobility or attention needs, offer a seated token hunt at a table, reduce the number of tokens, and give a clear visual turn-taking routine.
• Extend confident students by asking them to compare the two penguins: “What food is the same? What might be different about hunting under Antarctic ice and along another coast?”