Science // Polar Regions

Where Are the Poles?

Know that Earth has a North Pole and a South Pole — the two coldest places on the planet — and be able to find them on a globe, understanding that they are at the very top and very bottom of the Earth, as far from the Equator as possible

Ages: 5 to 7
Type: Concept
Builds on: 0 topics
Leads to: 5 topics

Quick check

If you hand the learner a globe, can they point to the North Pole and the South Pole and tell you they're the coldest places on Earth?

Ask this to see whether the topic is secure.

Topic // Mastery

What mastery looks like

What a learner can do once this topic is secure.

Point to the North Pole and South Pole on a globe or world map
Explain that the poles are the coldest places on Earth because they are farthest from the Equator
State that the North Pole is at the top and the South Pole is at the bottom of the Earth

Topic // Map

Where this fits

What to learn first and what this topic opens up, with the reason for each link. Required links come first.

RequiredMust come first
HelpfulHelps, but not essential

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0 topics

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Where Are the Poles?

Ages 5 to 7 // Concept

Leads to

5 topics

Arctic vs AntarcticRequired
Polar Regions // Ages 5 to 7
Must know where the poles are before comparing Arctic vs Antarctic
Ice & SnowRequired
Polar Regions // Ages 5 to 7
Must know about polar regions before learning about ice and snow there
Brave Polar ExplorersRequired
Polar Regions // Ages 5 to 7
Must know where the poles are before learning about explorers who went there
Midnight Sun & Polar NightRequired
Polar Regions // Ages 5 to 7
Must know about the poles before understanding extreme day/night cycles there
Habitats & Basic NeedsHelpful
Ecosystems & Habitats // Ages 6 to 8
Polar regions enrich the curriculum habitats topic (exploratory age 5 -> curriculum age 6)

Topic // Research-informed

Teaching notes

From the Marble Skill Taxonomy. These notes have not been validated in classrooms, so treat them as a starting point for your own judgement.

The approach

For ages 5–7: Earth has a North Pole (top) and a South Pole (bottom), among the coldest places on the planet, sitting as far as possible from the warm Equator that belts the middle. The core spatial pattern is 'middle = hot, top and bottom = cold' (in general), and the simple cause children should hold is that the Sun's warmth is strongest around the middle and weakest at the top and bottom, where the poles are furthest from the warm middle. Use a turnable globe or ball so top and bottom are physical and spatial, always pairing each pole with the Equator so the hot-middle/cold-ends contrast is built rather than two isolated dots.

Common misconceptions

The poles are two objects/sticks you could touch — they are just the top and bottom points of the spinning Earth
The North Pole is a country or a piece of land — it sits on a frozen ocean, not solid ground
On a flat map the poles are long strips along the top and bottom — on a globe each pole is a single point
It's cold everywhere far from home — the SPECIFIC reason the poles are coldest is that they are furthest from the warm Equator
North Pole and South Pole are the same place — they are opposite ends of the Earth

Useful representations

Turnable globe with North Pole (top), South Pole (bottom), and Equator (middle) clearly marked
Hot-middle / cold-ends colour band from red Equator to blue poles
Flat-map-vs-globe comparison to correct the smeared-poles distortion
Simple 'how far from the middle?' arrow from Equator up to a pole

Teaching practices

Use a real, turnable globe or ball so 'top' and 'bottom' are physical and spatial, not just words on a flat map
Pair every 'pole' with the Equator so children build the middle-hot / ends-cold contrast, not just two dots
Beware the flat-map distortion — on many wall maps the poles are smeared along the top and bottom edges; a globe shows them as single points
Give the coldness a cause children can hold: the poles are the furthest places from the warm middle of the Earth
Connect to the animals topics — the North Pole end is where polar bears live, the South Pole end is penguins — so location links to life

Activities to try

1
Find the poles on a turnable globe
Why it works: The poles are the top and bottom points of the Earth, and the Equator is the warm belt around the middle — a single spatial frame, not three unrelated facts.
1. Hold and turn a real globe or ball; point to the very top and say 'North Pole', then the very bottom and say 'South Pole'.
2. Run a finger around the middle band (the Equator) and say 'warm here'.
3. Say the simple rule out loud: 'middle is hot, top and bottom are cold.'
2
Why are the poles so cold?
Why it works: The poles are so cold because the Sun's warmth is weakest at the top and bottom of the Earth, as far as possible from the Equator, where it is strongest. They are not random cold spots, and they are not cold because of being nearer to or further from the Sun.
1. With a finger on the warm Equator, trace an arrow outward to a pole and say the pole is the furthest place from the warm middle.
2. Answer: 'Are the poles the hottest or the coldest places on Earth?' and explain why in your own words.
3. Move a finger from the North Pole down towards the Equator and say whether it gets warmer or colder along the way.
3
Drag-to-spin exploration (optional interactive scaffold)
Why it works: Actively rotating to find and tap each pole, with live colour feedback from hot middle to cold ends, reinforces where the poles are and why they are cold.
1. Drag to spin a globe, stopping to tap the top, the bottom, and the middle band.
2. Watch a hot-to-cold colour band shift from red at the Equator to blue at the caps as you look from middle to ends.
3. Lift a flap or reveal panel asking 'Why are the poles so cold?' and read the arrow tracing from warm middle out to a pole.

Science // Polar Regions