Unit

3 T h eE mpe ro r of A n t a rctic a

n 1
Theme
Lesso e
Part On
Ice
Kingdom

The Big Idea

What are some interesting facts about

penguins?
Where do emperor and king penguins keep
their eggs?
A. On their feet
B. Under their wings
C. In a nest
Words to Know Advanced
Unit3 Lesson1 2/11

n. one of the large adj. unpleasantly stern

landmasses of the earth
continent harsh

n. someone from whom you are

adj. native to or inhabiting descended (but usually more remote
the sea than a grandparent)
marine ancestor

v. 1. journey on foot,
especially in the mountains adj. marked by extreme and violent
2. make a long and difficult energy
journey
trek fierce
2
Words Practice Advanced
Unit3 Lesson1 3/11

Complete the sentences with the correct words.

trek marine continent harsh ancestor fierce

1 The ____ dog flew at the stranger.

2 I'd like to ____ through the jungle, because I like exciting vacations.
3 I can see your point but I feel the law is too ____.
4 Whales and seals are ____ animals.
5 Africa is maybe the most beautiful ____ in the world.

6 What he did say was that we, and apes, and chimpanzees for that matter,
had a common ____ , once, a long, long time ago.
3
Ready to Read Advanced
Unit3 Lesson1 4/11

The Emperor of Antarctica

Part One
Genre:
Nonfiction/Creative

4
Let's Read Advanced
Unit3 Lesson1 5/11

Our world has seven continents.

Six of the continents are covered with countries.
Each country has its own leader.

The seventh continent, Antarctica, is owned by no

one. Many countries share the continent and have
science research stations there. But Antarctica is
not a country and has no leader.

But it has an Emperor.

5
 Let's Read Advanced
Unit3 Lesson1 6/11

Antarctica's Emperor
I am the Emperor of Antarctica. I am the Emperor Penguin.
My land, Antarctica, is a place where millions of animals
live but most you would rarely see. The animals of my land
are marine animals. My continent has the harshest weather
on earth, so harsh, that almost every animal here only lives
in the ocean. Except for me.

I am the Emperor of Antarctica. I too, am a marine animal

but spend much of my life on the land as well. Unlike the
humans whose explore came and discovered Antarctica,
my ancestors have always lived here. So, as the king of the
animals, the only ones strong and able to live much of our
I am preparing to lead the others to the colony.
lives on the land, I claim the title as The Emperor of
Antarctica.

6
 Let's Read Advanced
Unit3 Lesson1 7/11

My Antarctic Life
As the Emperor, I have a lot of important duties. But, much of it
involves standing around just trying to stay warm. My land has
fierce winds, extreme temperatures, and no food. My only source
of food is in the ocean.

So you might be wondering, an Emperor of a land should be smart, I am leading the others back to the colony grounds.
and brave, and wise, as well as, a good leader. Actually, as the
Emperor, I am all those things and I’ll explain how.

First I’ll explain our colony. I lead large groups of penguins up to

75 miles (120 km) from the ocean after I spend much of the summer,
November to February, feeding in the ocean. I am a flightless bird
and my wings have adapted to be more like flippers which help me
swim well in the ocean. As I trek back to the colony grounds, I walk
or toboggan on my chest to slide along more quickly on the ice. I toboggan to move quicker along the snow.

7
 Let's Read Advanced
Unit3 Lesson1 8/11

I return to the place where I was hatched from an egg,

and the place of our ancestors. All over coastal parts
of my continent, other Emperor Penguins like me do
the same. A colony like mine has a few thousand
penguins, but in all of Antarctica, I am the Emperor.
My colony. I am in the middle. Can you spot me, The Emperor
In the colony, my partner, the female Emperor Penguin, of Antarctica?
and I are reunited. I whistle and she whistles a special
shrill sound that we both remember. It’s the only way
to recognize one another again because even as the
Emperor, I look the same as the rest.

In my colony it's mostly ice, there is no material for

making nests. In March or April, my partner will lay
her egg.
Reuniting with my partner. I am on the right.

8
 Let's Read Advanced
Unit3 Lesson1 9/11

Time of Endurance
My partner has laid her egg and is very hungry, but so am I. But here
on the land with no trees, no plants, no materials for a nest, the egg
cannot survive and the chick cannot hatch without protection and
warmth. My partner carefully transfers the egg onto my feet. As the
Emperor it might seem silly to have to hold the egg on my feet, but
it’s required to protect my future offspring.

This is the time when being a leader is most important. Now I must
endure two months during the dark, cold, harsh Antarctic winter
protecting the egg.

In The Emperor of Antarctica Part Two, I will tell you about

enduring two months in the colony without food and more about my
life as the Emperor of Antarctica. I am holding the egg to protect it from the cold
ground.

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 Genre Advanced
Compr ehension Skill
Unit3 Lesson1 10/11

Creative Nonfiction
Creative nonfiction is a type of writing that
shares facts in a creative way. Creative nonfiction
is different than other types of nonfiction writing,
such as informational text and journalism.
Other forms of nonfiction writing are written to
share facts. Creative nonfiction is written to
share facts, but does so using an entertaining
style of writing.

Your Turn
Use your own words to share examples of creative nonfiction. Talk about how the factual information is being
presented in a creative way.

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 Compr ehension Skill Advanced
Unit3 Lesson1 11/11

Summarize
When you summarize, you retell the most important details in a text or a section of the text.
This is a good way to help you understand what you read.

Your Turn
Use your own words to summarize The Emperor of
Antarctica Part One. Share three interesting facts you
learned about Emperor Penguins.

Fact 1: ___________________________________

Fact 2: ___________________________________

Fact 3: ___________________________________

(Lesson continues with The Emperor of Antarctica Part Two) 11