“Trapped by the Ice!” by Michael McCurdy

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

2. Awards • American Bookseller “Pick of the Lists”

3. 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.

4. Summary During Sir Ernest Shackleton’s 1914-1916 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.

5. Background Information Shackleton, Sir Ernest Henry (1874-1922), 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.

6. Key Concept Sir Ernest Shackelton’s historic Antarctic journey

7. Key Vocabulary • barren • crevasse • deserted • floes • grueling • impassable • perilous • terrain

8. barren having little plant or animal life

9. crevasse deep hole or crack

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

11. floes large sheets of floating ice

12. grueling very tiring

13. impassable not able to be crossed or traveled through

14. perilous very dangerous

15. terrain land, ground, or earth

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

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

18. 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.

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

20. 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 www.eduplace.com)

21. 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 www.eduplace.com, Houghton Mifflin’s web site. Click Here!