Polar Bears Unit Study

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POLAR BEARS are often associated with winter because of their beautiful white coats and the fact that they seem to live in a perpetual winter-wonderland way up north. But, did you know that they actually have black skin and their coats are not really white? Use this UNIT STUDY to teach your kiddos all about the largest land carnivore on earth!

If you find it handy to have a simplified printable version of these suggestions, you can find one, along with several free printables, in the Polar Bears Unit Study Printable Pack.

{Note: The links are pink! Just think, “pink link” if you are wanting to follow a link.}

Polar Bears Unit Study

READ

If you use any of my other UNIT STUDIES, you’ll know that I am a total fan of Jan Brett. There’s just something about her Nordic-inspired artwork that I adore and the way she shares hints from one page to the next is so clever! And there is usually enough factual information mixed in that it opens up several teaching avenues.

The Three Snow Bears by Jan Brett is no exception. It is modeled after the classic Goldilocks and the Three Bears but it adds a POLAR BEAR twist. It also incorporates sled dogs and igloos so is a great segue for THE IDITAROD and ARCTIC UNIT STUDIES. It’s a sweet piece of literature and if you utilize the FREE Polar Bears Unit Study Printable Pack, your child can work on comprehension and sequencing skills too.

Polar Bear Unit Study Polar Bears The Three Snow Bears book worksheets

For a closer, yet still fictional, look at the lives of POLAR BEARS and the Inuit people, The Polar Bear Son is a sweet tale for all ages. And, A Polar Bear in the Snow by Marc Barnett is a great choice for those who like fewer words and interesting illustrations. It’s beautifully done!

Another cute fiction option is Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear by Eric Carle. Though it does not offer much in the way of POLAR BEAR information, with its classic repetitive Brown Bear, Brown Bear style, it is a great option for the littlest listeners. It also lends itself easily to practicing sentence structure and selecting interesting word choices such as fluting, braying, bellowing, and trumpeting.

There are several great options for non-fiction books about POLAR BEARS but I chose Polar Bears Are Awesome by Jacylyn Jaycox because it’s an easy read, was available at my library, and only cost a wee bit on Amazon {if you’re lazy like me and prefer to shop Prime instead of heading downtown!} And, of course, there are three helpful pages in the FREE Polar Bears Unit Study Printable Pack. The three pages include multiple-choice, true/false, and short answer questions to check for comprehension. NOTE: Those three pages could likely be used with several other non-fiction books about polar bears.

Polar Bear Unit Study Polar Bears are awesome book worksheets

WRITE

In addition to a writing prompt, the FREE Polar Bears Unit Study Printable Pack includes two writing activities. One is this simple labeling activity.

polar bears unit study writing activity label the polar bear body parts worksheet

And the other is this more involved activity where the student is asked to draw a picture of what the POLAR BEAR is waiting to eat and then write about it too. It can be realistic {seal} or silly {hamburger}!

polar bears unit study writing activity feed the polar bear worksheet

CREATE

There are so many cute POLAR BEAR crafts! So, stock up on white paint and blue/black/white cardstock {or construction paper} and check out these cute ideas!

I’m not sure if painting with plastic forks is new or if I just somehow missed the trend until now, but I keep finding these super cute ideas that use paint and forks! And, this FORK-PAINTED POLAR BEAR is one of them! All it takes is a fork, some white paint, colored paper {blue, black, white, grey} and googly eyes {optional}. With its simplicity and basic supply list, it’s my kind of craft!

As cute as the Fork-Painted Polar Bear is, I think this NEWSPAPER POLAR BEAR is even cuter! Plus, the fact that it highlights the fact that POLAR BEARS do not have pure white bodies by using black and white newspaper print just makes it extra! All you need is newspaper, blue/white/black paper, googly eyes {optional}, hole punch, scissors, and glue. Now, I gotta confess…I HATE HATE HATE newspaper print on my hands, clothes, table…anywhere but I think this craft would be worth the inky mess!

Another craft that shows off the realistic fact that POLAR BEARS have black skin is this COTTON BALL POLAR BEAR! This guy is not only realistic and cute, but he’s also fuzzy too! For this, you’ll need blue/black/white paper, white paint, cotton balls, glue, and googly eyes.

I also love this 3D POLAR BEAR! The video instructions at that link make it look super simple but it’s unique because the POLAR BEAR’S face actually pops out of the page! It’s cute but also stylish enough to hang up as decor! And, all it takes is some blue/white paper, white paint, a cotton swab, a glue stick, and scissors.

ENJOY

This super simple and crazy cute Blueberry and Banana Polar Bear Yogurt Snack would be a great way to start the day AND your POLAR BEAR UNIT STUDY. All you need is van,illa yogurt, a banana and a few blueberries. That’s it! Seriously, go look at how cute it is!

And for a fun afternoon snack, check out this uberly adorable Edible Polar Bear Marshmallow Snack {from Darcy and Brian}. It just takes two sizes of mar,shmallows, a few toothpicks and a teeny bit of blue food coloring. They look super quick and easy to make…and yummy too!

EXPLORE

Here is a cool four-minute video of POLAR BEARS hunting seals. It does a great job of showing their immense size and incredible patience. And, don’t worry…..it doesn’t show any cute and chubby seals dying.

And, here is a trailer for a 40-minute documentary about a mama and her two cubs, To the Arctic. It is rated G but does cover “real life” amongst the animals in the changing climate of the earth. So, it’s not all warm and fuzzy {or cold and fuzzy, haha!}

For a funny future-length movie, you might want to consider Norm of the North. It’s rated PG so please bear that in mind when deciding whether it’s appropriate for your kids. You can watch the trailer at that link to get a pretty good idea of the content.

LEARN

In the Polar Bears Unit Study Printable Pack, you’ll find an informational reading passage that will serve as an easy-to-implement way to teach the basics of POLAR BEARS. There is also a series of questions to check for comprehension too!