Background Vocabulary

Trapped by the Ice!, is a true story about a dangerous voyage to Antarctica Let’s find Antarctica on the map! If you traveled to Antarctica, what are some things you might see? Let’s Discuss: How can a voyage to Antarctica be dangerous?

Sir Ernest Shackleton In our story we will meet Sir Ernest Shackleton. Shackleton explored Antarctica in the early 1900’s. Traveling to Antarctica 100 years ago was more difficult then traveling now. Why do think that is?

The Dangers During Shackleton’s voyage, his boat The Endurance was trapped. Shackleton and his crew were stuck on the frozen sea and had to find ways to survive. Let’s view short video clip: ackleton/popup.html ackleton/popup.html Now, are you ready to read our story to find out more?!

Vocabulary

Barren When I walked in the desert, I saw that it was barren. Barren means having little plant or animal life. Besides a desert, name another place that is barren.

Crevasse We came to a crevasse in the ice and had to find a safe way around. A crevasse is a deep hole or crack.

Deserted The playground was deserted. Deserted means empty; not lived in, or having few or no people. Raise your hand if you’ve ever seen a deserted house.

Floes We paddled our kayaks between ice floes. Floes are large sheets of floating ice.

Grueling Biking up mountains can be very grueling. Grueling means very tiring. Name something else that can be grueling.

Impassable The mountains look impassable. Hint: Think of what the prefix im- tells you. Impassable means not able to be crossed or traveled through.

Perilous Climbing mountains can be very perilous. Perilous means very dangerous. Can you think of a time you did something perilous?

Terrain The terrain was very rough and dangerous. Terrain means land, ground, or earth. Bonus: What kind of words do you see on the sign? STRONG VERBS!!

Put on your thinking caps! It’s time to practice!

Word Bank barrendesertedgruelingperilous crevasse floes impassableterrain 1.Sara hadn’t seen any animals or plants on the camping trip. “What a _________ land!” she thought. 2.As he hiked along. Patrick stooped to pick up trash from a previous hiker’s __________ camp. 1.It was ____________ to hike while carrying heavy backpacks. 2.The beautiful _________, which sparkled as sunlight hit the snow, made the challenge worthwhile. 3.Patrick faced a ________ situation when strong winds blew away his tent. 4.“It could have been worse,” Patrick said. “Remember last year’s hike, when I fell waist-deep into a hidden _____________?” 1.The hikers watched penguins sitting on the ice ________ floating in the frozen bay. 2.Sara said, “The mountain will become ____________ if these winds keep up. We’ll have to turn around and go back.” barren deserted grueling terrain perilous crevasse floes impassable