KS2 - Ice Trap by Meredith Hooper - 3 Week Writing Unit

Key Details:
Focus Text: Ice Trap! By Meredit Hooper

• 3 Week writing unit
• Includes plans, slides, resources.

ICE TRAP! Shackleton’s Incredible Expedition by Meredith Hooper
illustrated by M.P Robertson
This picture book tells the true story of the expedition led by Ernest Shackleton which aimed to traverse the
Antarctic. Although unsuccessful in his aim, and frequently overshadowed by the exploits of Scott and
Amundsen, Shackleton’s adventure is remarkable for the story it tells of bravery, endurance, loyalty and
leadership. Despite incredible challenges he managed to ensure all 27 of his men survived being trapped in
the ice and marooned on an uninhabited island.
Overall aims of this teaching sequence.
• To appreciate why stories are memorable and characters exciting
• To consider how particular situations make individuals behave as they do
• To explore dilemmas, empathising with characters
• To learn about the differences between information and fiction texts.
• To produce a range of writing to respond to text through role play and dramatisation.

This teaching sequence is approximately 3 weeks long if spread out over 15 sessions.
The book supports teachers to teach about character development, emotional response and changes
of setting in a narrative which references a true historic event. The narrative structure is carefully
crafted and the characters and settings are well drawn, offering young readers a good model for their
own story planning and descriptive writing. The historical time frame and reports of events are
factually accurate offering an exciting true story of rescue and survival.
Before beginning this sequence it would be useful to collect globes, world maps, a map of the
Antarctic and books about the area, its geography and wild life and books about other Antarctic
expeditions.
Prepare an A3 class journal to use to make notes in during this sequence
Also give each child a notebook or use the mini journal provided as Shackleton’s log. The mini journal
also provides some additional related activities which could be used during guided reading or for
home learning tasks.