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English · Year 4e · Learning Journey 3 · Theme 2 Travel and exploration · A2+

Shackleton and the Endurance: the greatest survival story

A ship crushed by the ice, 28 men lost in Antarctica, a 1,300 km trip in a small boat… and a wreck found in 2022: I tell the adventure with the past simple and the past continuous.

A2+past simple / past continuouswhen · while
Yellow card · January → February · 6 lessons

Past simple and past continuous

The past continuous describes an action in progress; the past simple, the event that interrupts it. Tap the cards.

In January 1915, the Endurance was sailing through the Weddell Sea when the ice trapped her. For months, the ship was drifting with the ice. In November, the pressure crushed her and she sank. While the men were living on the ice, Shackleton was planning their escape. In the end, all twenty-eight men survived.
was / were + -ing
An action in progress in the past.
The ship was drifting for months.
when
when + past simple for the event that interrupts.
They were sleeping when the ice cracked.
while
while + past continuous for the long action.
While they were waiting, they sang.
irregular
Irregular past forms: sink → sank, freeze → froze, find → found.
The Endurance sank in 1915.

My words → tap a card: it turns over and I hear the word

Culture → the Endurance, from the ice to the bottom of the sea

Black and white photo: the Endurance crushed by the ice
Frank Hurley, the end of the Endurance in the ice, November 1915 · Frank Hurley, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Ernest Shackleton was born in 1874 in Ireland, in County Kildare. In 1914, he wanted to cross Antarctica on foot. But in January 1915, his ship, the Endurance, got stuck in the ice of the Weddell Sea. It drifted for months, then it was crushed and sank in November 1915.

The 28 men lived on the ice, then reached Elephant Island in small boats (April 1916). Shackleton and five men then crossed about 1,300 km of wild ocean in a small boat, the James Caird, to South Georgia, then crossed unknown mountains to find a whaling station. On 30 August 1916, the last men were rescued: nobody died.

Frank Hurley's photos made the adventure famous. In March 2022, the Endurance22 expedition found the wreck 3,008 metres deep, in very good condition: you can still read the name ENDURANCE on the back of the ship.

Did you know? → tap a card

I listen → the story of the Endurance

Listen. Write down three dates and what happened. Find two actions in progress (was / were + -ing).

I watch

Video: “Underwater robots find Shackleton's Endurance shipwreck in Antarctic” · channel BBC News · watch on YouTube. The video only loads when you tap (youtube-nocookie player).

My mission during the video
  1. Write down the depth and the date of the discovery.
  2. Write down two words that describe the state of the wreck.
  3. Write a sentence in the past simple about the discovery.

I compare with Irish news

Video: “Wreck of Shackleton's ship Endurance found off Antarctica” · channel RTÉ News (Irish public television) · watch on YouTube. The video only loads when you tap (youtube-nocookie player).

My mission during the video
  1. Write down what the Irish report says about Shackleton.
  2. Compare with the BBC: what are the differences?
The lessons in this learning journey (6)
  1. The heroic age of exploration: the race to the poles.
  2. 1914: the Endurance sails south.
  3. Trapped in the ice: past simple and past continuous.
  4. The James Caird: 1,300 km in a small boat.
  5. 2022: the wreck is found (videos).
  6. Final task: a ship's log written by a crew member.
Sentence starters → for my final task
  • “Day 1: we were sailing when…”
  • “While the men were…, …”
  • “Two days later, …”
  • “The following week, …”
  • “I hope that…”
For the teacher → goals and official curriculum
  • Theme 2 “Travel and exploration” → topic: the end of the heroic age of exploration, Ernest Shackleton and the Endurance (link with theme 6: Shackleton was born in Ireland). 2020 theme: travel and migration.
  • Understand an adventure story and a report; tell past events.
  • Grammar: past simple and past continuous (They were drifting when the ice crushed the ship); when and while; time words (two days later, the following year).
  • Final task: the ship's log of a member of the expedition.

Texts and materials: Photos by Frank Hurley (1915); BBC News and RTÉ News reports on the discovery of the wreck (2022).

Theme 2 “Travel and exploration”. Source: French national curriculum for modern languages, cycle 4, BO no. 31 of 30 July 2020 (in force in 4e in 2026-2027); matching theme of the English curriculum, BO no. 22 of 29 May 2025, which will apply in 4e from September 2027.

Worksheet to fill in (paper or ENT)

The same learning journey, to print or to put on the ENT. For a PDF, choose “Save as PDF” in the print window.