Who Lives in the Arctic? Lesson Plan

Academic Standards

Children will identify animals that live in the Arctic and examine their adaptations.

animal habitats and adaptations

reading a chart

Arctic, fox, furry, fuzzy, hare, paws, polar bear, seal, slippery

RI.K.1, SL.K.2

Play our video A Walk in the Arctic.
After watching, ask “If you went to the Arctic, what are some things you would need to bring with you? What are some thing you might see there?”

Read the issue together.
Then move along with polar bears in our Dance Break video.
Use the Show What You Know printable to boost comprehension and early literacy skills.

Build matching and memory skills with our digital game Arctic Animal Concentration.
Reinforce numerical order with our Dot-to-Dot Arctic Animal skill sheet.

Materials: white construction paper, masking tape

Tell children that to get around in the Arctic, sometimes polar bears leap over water from one piece of ice to the next. Then let children pretend to be polar bears! In advance, tape white construction paper to the f loor in a zigzag pattern. Space the sheets so kids can get from one to the next with a small stretch. Have kids take off their shoes and socks.
Now have kids line up behind the first “ice floe” and, one by one, jump from floe to floe without falling in the “water.”
Kids waiting in line can encourage their classmates by singing a chant:
Polar bear, polar bear, jumping on ice! Polar bear, polar bear, ice is nice!