Antarctica Storytime Elementary Lesson

This Antarctica Storytime introduces your students to the frozen continent of Antarctica! Includes information on the 7 continents, Antarctica animals, the South Pole, winter weather idioms, the Mount Erebus volcano, and more!

Please note that this presentation is designed to complement a read-aloud. The actual read-aloud story comes from you! Due to copyright laws, read-aloud videos of the books are NOT included.

This lesson has 56 total pages and slides, and it includes:

• 40-slide Lesson Presentation in Microsoft PowerPoint + Google Slides
  • All body text is editable; you choose which slides you want to use.
  • 16 slides are for the read-aloud and/or guided lesson that walks you through the storytime lesson.
  • 23 slides are “scrolling presentation” slides that are great for extending storytime lessons or scrolling in the library during checkout and downtimes.
• Two (2) editable, differentiated scavenger hunts (3 pages, PowerPoint and PDF)
  • Students “hunt” for images and information in the Part 2 scrolling slides part of the presentation. This gives students something to focus on during library checkout and downtime.
  • “Easier” version – Students color the objects as they find them.
  • “Harder” version – Students answer questions about the information in the slides, plus find smaller images.
  • Answer key is included.
• List of 20 recommended books to accompany this lesson (1 page, PowerPoint and PDF)
  • The list is editable and great to hand out to parents, teachers, and students looking for related books.
• Take-Home Extension Activities (2 pages, PowerPoint, Google Slides, and PDF)
  • Text is editable, and includes several ways for students to share what they learned during the lesson.
• Detailed, pre-filled Library Lesson Plan in editable PDF and PowerPoint formats (2 pages), aligned to:
  • AASL National School Library Standards for Learners,
  • National Common Core ELA Standards, and
  • Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS).
• Lesson tips and tricks for librarians on a “specials rotation” (6 pages, PDF)
• Instructions on how to set up PowerPoint slide timings for scrolling slides (2 pages, PDF)

16 Storytime Slides:

Part 1 is a guided whole-class discussion and read-aloud. The slides walk you through the entire class discussion, from start to finish.

• Original storytime song about Antarctica
• ASL sign language for “penguin” — includes video links and step-by-step directions for making the signs
• Antarctica is one of seven continents, is covered in ice, has land under the ice.
• summer and winter in Antarctica
• Antarctica animals – orcas, seals, blue whales, penguins, sea spiders
• Do people live in Antarctica?
• Slide for your read-aloud (paste the book cover on the slide).

23 Scrolling Slides:

Part 2 is the scrolling slides. Set them on a timer to scroll on a screen during library checkout. Students can use the scrolling slides to complete one of the two Scavenger Hunts.

• Vocabulary Word of the Week: “ice shelf” and “continent”
• cold weather idiom — “dead of winter”
• Antarctica idiom — “penguin suit”
• The South Pole
• Why polar bears will never eat penguins in nature
• Mount Erebus (active volcano in Antarctica)
• 1 Would-You-Rather

Take Home Extension Activities:

Students love sharing their knowledge! With the editable 2-page take-home activities, students can:

• quiz siblings, friends, and family members about some of the Antarctica facts they learned in the scrolling slides (Part 2);
• prepare an Antarctica-style icy pop snack;
• read some recommended Antarctica picture books;
• review Antarctica vocabulary words from the lesson;
• learn to draw a cute whale using simple, step-by-step directions;
• remember how to sign “penguin” in American Sign Language; and
• complete a penguin maze.

Standards Addressed:

AASL National School Library Standards – See the AASL Standards Framework for Learners to view full text.

• Inquire –  D.3.
• Explore – A.1. – C.1.

Common Core English Language Arts Standards –
© Copyright 2010 National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and Council of Chief State School Officers. All rights reserved.

• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.K.10
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.L.1.6
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.SL.2.1

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