“Trapped by the Ice!” by Michael McCurdy Theme 5

Awards American Bookseller “Pick of the Lists”

Genre: Narrative Nonfiction A narrative nonfiction story is about real people, things, and events. A series of actual events comes to life in this telling of a true story.

Summary During Sir Ernest Shackleton’s Antarctic expedition, his ship was trapped and crushed in the frozen Weddell Sea. Shackelton and his men made a long and perilous journey across ice and stormy seas to reach inhabited land. Not one man was lost.

Background Information Shackleton, Sir Ernest Henry ( ), British explorer of Antarctica. Shackleton led three expeditions to the Antarctic, on one of them coming within 179 km (111 mi) of reaching the South Pole— the closest anyone had come at that time. Shackleton is most remembered for leading the fabled Endurance expedition, in which his men survived for ten months on ice floes and on a barren uninhabited island after their ship was crushed by pack ice in the Weddell Sea.

Key Concept Sir Ernest Shackelton’s historic Antarctic journey

Key Vocabulary barren crevasse deserted floes grueling impassable perilous terrain

barren having little plant or animal life

crevasse deep hole or crack

deserted empty; not lived in, or having few or no people

floes large sheets of floating ice

grueling very tiring

impassable not able to be crossed or traveled through

perilous very dangerous

terrain land, ground, or earth

Strategy Focus: Monitor/Clarify You will use this strategy while you are reading to make sure you are understanding what you read. If something doesn’t make sense: –look back –reread –read ahead

Strategy Focus: Clarify Look at page 179. Clarify what that illustration is showing. Let’s try it! ~or~ The picture on page 197 is confusing-is he going up or coming down? How do you know?

Comprehension Skill Focus: Organizing Text When you organize text, you use: headings photographs, illustrations, and graphics captions definitions dates These help to make the text logical and easier to understand and process.

Fill in the organizer with details from the story. Graphic Organizer Text Organizer: Purpose: heading pictures dates captions definitions ____________________

Meet the Author When he was a boy, Michael McCurdy loved printing. "I wanted above all to print things," he says. "I wanted to set type, smell printers' ink, hear the clank of presses, and produce little newspapers. I wanted to put words together in a way that would please the eye." Later, after studying art and then teaching it, his dream finally came true. He started his own press, where he made fine books by hand. Today, Michael McCurdy still loves working on printed things. He designs and illustrates both his own books and books written by others. Some are children's books, and some are books for adults. He has designed cover and jacket art for books and magazines and made posters and prints. His art has also been shown in one-person and group shows. (from

Link to Houghton Mifflin If you enjoyed reading “Trapped by the Ice” and would like to check out some more information and activities, click below to go to Houghton Mifflin’s web site. Click Here!