An Overview

This worksheet is designed for students in Grades 4, 5, and 6 to build understanding of Earth’s ocean systems through an informational reading about the Southern Ocean. Students read about cold temperatures, strong winds, powerful waves, unique wildlife, and the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, then answer comprehension questions in complete sentences to demonstrate recall, explanation, and scientific understanding.

Learning Goals

• Earth’s Oceans (Grades 4-6): Identify key characteristics of the Southern Ocean, including temperature, waves, winds, and location.
• Climate & Environmental Systems: Understand how the Southern Ocean helps regulate Earth’s climate by absorbing heat and carbon.
• Scientific Reading Comprehension: Recall important facts and explain scientific ideas from an informational text.
• Constructed Responses: Practice answering questions using clear, complete sentences and accurate details.

Instructional Benefits

• Teacher-Created Resource: Designed to align with upper elementary science and ELA standards.
• Content-Rich Passage: Introduces complex ocean and climate concepts in an accessible, student-friendly way.
• Flexible Classroom Use: Ideal for science units, homework, assessments, guided reading, or independent practice.
• Supports Diverse Learners: Structured questions help students organize thinking and responses.

This printable worksheet helps students strengthen reading comprehension and scientific literacy while learning about one of Earth’s most important oceans. By explaining concepts such as ocean currents, climate regulation, and polar wildlife, learners build content knowledge alongside writing clarity. It’s a practical, no-prep resource that works well in both classroom instruction and homeschool learning, supporting meaningful engagement with Earth and environmental science.

This worksheet is part of our Southern Ocean Worksheets collection.