Name Class

Target Lesson: Identifying Main Ideas with “What is Antarctica”

PART 1: Warm-Up: Picture Study
Directions: Look at the pictures of Antarctica and answer the warm-up questions.

Penguins on Ice ● What do you see in each picture?

● What do you wonder about the pictures?

Take three minutes to jot down your ideas.

"Group of Penguins on Ice" by Pixabay; licensed under the CC0 license.

Iceberg During the Daytime

"Iceberg during Daytime” by Pixabay; licensed under the CC0 license.

Identifying Main Ideas: What is Antarctica? 1

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Name Class

Target Lesson: Identifying Main Ideas with “What is Antarctica?”

PART 2: Video to Introduce Main Idea

Directions: Watch the video to learn how to identify main ideas.

Optional Note-taking Space

Identifying Main Ideas: What is Antarctica? 2

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PART 3: Today’s Target - Identifying Main Ideas

Identifying Main Ideas: What is Antarctica? 3

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PART 4: Reading and Questions
Directions: Read the text and answer the questions.

What is Antarctica?
by NASA
[1] Antarctica is a continent.1 It is Earth’s fifth largest continent. Paragraph 1
1. MAIN IDEA: Antarctica is…
Antarctica is covered in ice. Antarctica covers Earth’s South Pole.
A. a continent made of ice
What Is Antarctica Like? where people study penguins
and whales.
[2] Antarctica is the coldest place on Earth. The temperature in the B. a large continent that’s
covered in ice at the South
winter is cold enough to freeze water all the time. The temperature in Pole.
the middle of Antarctica is much colder than the temperature on the C. the fifth continent formed on
Earth, made of the South Pole
coasts.2
D. the fifth smallest continent on
[3] Antarctica has two seasons: summer and winter. Earth is tilted in Earth, made of ice.

space and the direction of tilt never changes. During summer,

Paragraph 2:
Antarctica is on the side of Earth tilted toward the sun. It is always
2. KEY DETAIL: Antarctica is so cold
sunny. In winter, Antarctica is on the side of Earth tilted away from the that...

sun. Then, the continent is always dark. ________________________________

________________________________
[4] Antarctica is a desert. It does not rain or snow a lot there. When it ________________________________
snows, the snow does not melt and builds up over many years to make ________________________________

large, thick sheets of ice, called ice sheets. Antarctica is made up of Paragraph 2-5:
lots of ice in the form of glaciers, ice shelves and icebergs. 3. MAIN IDEA: What is Antarctica
like?
[5] Antarctica has no trees or bushes. The only plants that can live in a
Hint: Remember to have a key detail
place that cold are moss and algae. from each paragraph of the section
in your answer.
________________________________
________________________________
________________________________
________________________________

1
one of the seven main landmasses on Earth
2
the area where land meets the sea or ocean

Identifying Main Ideas: What is Antarctica? 4

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Who Lives in Antarctica?
Paragraphs 6
[6] Antarctica is too cold for people to live there for a long time.
4. MAIN IDEA: In your own words,
Scientists take turns going there to study the ice. Tourists visit who lives in Antarctica?
Antarctica in the summers. The oceans around Antarctica are home to ________________________________
many types of whales. Antarctica is also home to seals and penguins. ________________________________
________________________________
What Can NASA Learn about Earth from Studying Antarctica?
________________________________
________________________________
[7] NASA uses satellites3 to study Antarctica. NASA wants to know how
________________________________
Antarctica is changing. Scientists want to know what the changes in
Earth’s climate are doing to Antarctica’s ice sheets. They also want to
Paragraphs 7-9
know what changes in Antarctica’s ice might do to Earth’s climate.
5. MAIN IDEA: What can NASA
[8] One tool that NASA uses is ICESat. That stands for the Ice, Cloud learn about Earth from studying
Antarctica?
and land Elevation Satellite. Using ICESat, NASA can measure changes
________________________________
in the size of Antarctica’s ice sheets. ICESat also helps NASA
________________________________
understand how changing polar ice may affect the rest of the planet.
________________________________
Melting ice sheets in Antarctica may change sea levels all over the ________________________________
world. ________________________________
________________________________
[9] NASA instruments have also helped scientists create detailed maps
of Antarctica. The maps help researchers when planning trips to
Antarctica. They also give people a clearer view of the continent

What Can NASA Learn about Space from Studying Antarctica?

[10] Antarctica is a good place to find meteorites, or rocks that fall

from space to Earth. Scientists find more meteorites in Antarctica than
any other place in the world. Meteorites are easier to see on the white
ice. Also, meteorites that fall to Antarctica are protected by the ice for
a long time.

3
a man-made object that travels in space and gathers information

Identifying Main Ideas: What is Antarctica? 5

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[11] NASA sends teams to Antarctica to learn more about the planet Paragraphs 10-12

Mars. Antarctica and Mars have a lot in common. Both places are cold. 6. MAIN IDEA: What can NASA
learn about space from studying
Both places are dry like a desert. NASA tested robots in Antarctica that
Antarctica?
later landed on Mars. ________________________________
________________________________
[12] NASA also goes to Antarctica to study astronaut nutrition. Like
________________________________
people that are in Antarctica in the winter, astronauts in space are not
________________________________
in the sunlight. The sun helps the human body make vitamins. ________________________________
Scientists study people that visit Antarctica to learn how to help ________________________________

astronauts in space get enough vitamins.

"What Is Antarctica?" from NASA Knows (2010) is in the public domain.

Identifying Main Ideas: What is Antarctica? 6

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Name Class

PART 5: Assessment
Directions: Answer the questions.

1. What is the overall main idea of the article “What is Antarctica”?

A. Antarctica is a dangerous place humans should not visit.

B. Antarctica is an icy continent that scientists are studying.
C. Antarctica is always dark because it faces away from the sun.
D. Antarctica is a training spot for astronauts before they visit space.

2. Antarctica is very different from other continents, like North America. Explain three ways Antarctica is different
from where you live.

Identifying Main Ideas: What is Antarctica? 7

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