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Scholastic, 1992.
Summary: Arctic explorer Sir John Franklin set off in 1845 with a crew of 134 to find fame and glory by way of discovering the Northwest Passage. They never returned and their fate had long been an unsolved mystery. Illustrated with art work, modern photographs and maps, this book combines the excitement of Anthropologist Owen Beattie's search for an explanation of the loss of the entire crew and a fictional account of two sailors.
Level: Grades 4 - 6
Themes:
- conquering the unknown;
anthropological mystery
Activities:
1A. Compare the expedition of Sir John Franklin with that of Roald Amundsen in the early 1900's. How were they the same? Different? What do you think were the factors that most helped Amundsen meet with success and caused Franklin to fail? In a different version of the quest for the Northwest Passage read about the tiny catamaran which followed in Franklin's and Amundsen's path and make comparison charts (see Braving the Northwest Passage).
B. The comparisons of the Arctic expeditions will no doubt contain information about voyage preparations. This might include a list of supplies and a chain of events. Compare these preparations with those in Adrift, a true story of tropical survival.
2A. Is lead poisoning still a health issue today? How to people get it? What are the symptoms and treatments? Is there a segment of our population here in the United States that is more vulnerable to this disease? In the world? How can and do we protect ourselves and others from this disease?
B. Beattie and Geiger mention the dangers of scurvy. Find the minimum amount of the proper food groups which would deter this illness. Have students examine their own diets to determine whether or not this disease is a worry for them.
3. Keep a journal as if you were Luke Smith or John Torrington. Write two "letters" home to your family. Will your journal and your letters sound the same? Discuss with a partner the importance of keeping the audience in mind when you write. Do you think Sir John Franklin was justified in requesting that all logs and journals be turned over to him at the end of the voyage?
4. Watch the PBS production of "Frozen in Time." Prior to watching the film, discuss note taking with a time-based media such as video. Be prepared to rewind the video so that meaning can better be extracted. Notes may require revision immediately upon ending the film in order that "short hand" jottings may regain meaning. List the new things you learned about the Franklin expedition and the work of the investigating team. What are some advantages of telling the story through video means? What is better conveyed via book form?
5. Draw a map and chart the voyages of the Arctic explorers. Be sure to label each expedition carefully. Include explorer, country of origin, and dates in your key. Whenever possible note the explorers' motivations in a separate key. Draw some conclusions about the desire for wealth and glory. What are the frontiers of today? Who were the explorers of the late nineteenth century? Who are the explorers of the late twentieth century?
6. Do some research in the types of ships that were used by explorers. Draw or collect pictures of the various types and write a brief explanation for each ship. Make large illustrations showing cross-section views. Mark the exact dimensions of the Erebus , Amundsen's Gjoa, and MacInnis' Perception. Use lime on a playing field or tape in a gymnasium. Role play what the sailors might have been doing, feeling and seeing
7A. What clues did the anthropologists use to solve the mystery of the lost crew? Owen Beattie is a forensic anthropologist. What does that mean? What is a forensic pathologist? In what types of investigations would these people be involved?
B. Modern anthropologists and historians have a number of ultra-modern techniques that were not available five years ago. For an interesting look at photogrammetric rectification and another Arctic mystery read "New Evidence Places Peary at the Pole." Ask a math teacher for clarification or, with older students, ask them to explain this technique in their own words.
8. Icebergs are obviously enormous hazards for ships in the northern oceans. Research the dimensions of icebergs and find out why they float. Set up an experiement to prove or disprove this statement and its relationship to ice: Matter shrinks (compacts) as it gets colder.
Yet note the awe inspired by these behemoths in the art work in Buried in Ice. Discuss the colors used in the paintings and actual colors in the photographs. How does color set the mood or feeling for the region of the world?
"The largest iceberg ever measured was about two hundred miles long and sixty miles wide."
Seymour Simon: Icebergs and Glaciers
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.Write some math questions that will illustrate this statistic. To get you started: you may wish to consider the square mileage, weight or comparison size (to a state or country).
9. This book is written by Owen Beattie and John Geiger with Shelley Tanaka. What does that "with" mean? Can you think of another type of book that might be written "with" someone else? Why is that done? How can you distinguish the difference in author's writing styles in the text?
10. The Inuits do not play a high profile role in Buried in Ice. However, older interested students might be fascinated with the inside look into the Native Arctic mind provided by Kabloona. Comparisons of attitudes would certainly shed further light on the reasons that most Europeans did not survive in the frigid north. Note the caption on the picture (p. 60) in Beattie's book which describes the feelings that only British dress was "proper." Compare this with the same attitude the English had fighting the French and Indian war!
11A. The actual format of Buried in Ice is worth examining. Have students list each part of the book (for example: picture credits, glossary, endpapers). Examine the internal structure of other nonfiction books. Which ones provide the best information? What elements do students find most useful when doing research? Reading for pleasure? If students find some current nonfiction books lacking, encourage them to write to publishers requesting certain types of information be include in future titles on their lists.
B. Ask students' opinions about the fictional piece written from Luke Smith's point of view. Was it enjoyable? What information did they glean from it? How do they know whether those are facts or whether they were added for color? Compare this section with the manner of research and writing style in The Bard of Avon, another Maine Student Book Award Nominee.
Resources:
Callanhan, Steven. Adrift: Seventy-Six Days Lost at Sea. Houghton Mifflin, 1986.
A story of survival in a tropical location. See activity 1B.
Davies, Thomas D. "New Evidence Places Peary at the Pole." National Geographic, Jan. 1990.
Using a complex technique called photogrammetric analysis, shadows give clues to the sun's angle and therefore to the proximity of the North Pole.
de Poncins, Gontran. Kaloona. In collaboration with Lewis Galantiere. Time, Inc., 1941, 1965.
"Kabloona" is a derogatory Inuit term meaning "white man." The author visited the same area as Franklin's expedition in the early part of this century and wrote eloquently about the Stone Age Eskimos.
George, Jean Craighead. Julie of the Wolves. Harper and Row, 1972.
Julie, who has runaway from home, is accepted by a wolf pack and learns to survive in the Alaskan wilderness. Newbery Award winner.
MacInnis, Jeff. "Braving the Northwest Passage." National Geographic, May, 1989.
Two men in an 18 foot catamaran find the Northwest Passage using muscle and wind power alone.
Simon, Seymour. Icebergs and Glaciers. William Morrow, 1987.
An excellent introduction to these cool topics, it discusses the formation, movement and different types and their effect on the world.
Further recommending reading is listed in the back of the book.
Prepared by Linda Hazard
(with Abigail Garthwait, Asa C. Adams School, Orono)
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