The Mighty Polar Bear
Learning Sequence
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Introduction
During this short course, our students are going to focus their research on the mighty polar bear.
Allow students to watch the video in length describing exactly how the polar bear lives, acts and survives in the Arctic region.
Following this, students will do an extended study on the polar bear via a comprehension task card. This will lead the students into a research project where they will not only understand more about the polar bear but will then focus their attention on an animal which resides in their own country.
Each and every child in your class will select a different animal, and at the end of this course, children will come together to create a class booklet based on the animals of their choice.
This booklet will be used as a valuable resource within your class, within the wider school community, or within the library.
Students will also practice active listening and understand that every animal is important, regardless of location.
During this course, we are going to be inspired by studying the mighty polar bear.
The polar bear is the largest land predator on Earth, and during this course we will experience one up-close on location at the Arctic Circle.
We will meet with an amazing marine biologist called Danielle, who will tell us all about the polar bear and how it survives in this cold Arctic region.
You will then be able to research an animal of your choice, one that lives in your very own country, and collate the information. Once your information is collected, you will create a fact file based on this creature and when your class has finished, this will become a class booklet on the animals in your country.
We want you to understand that each and every animal on the planet is just as important as the next. We want you to realise that the 10 actions that you are following to save the world will help to protect all of the animals on the entire planet.
Enjoy learning about the mighty polar bear!
Keywords
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Introduce the spelling word list and choose from this list of tasks that can be repeated and expanded upon if necessary.
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Copy the words into a spelling list/vocabulary book for later reference.
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Put each of the new words into a sentence and underline the new vocabulary in red pencil
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Place the words in alphabetical order in a list.
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Use a dictionary to define each of the words and place them into a vocabulary book.
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Try to represent each of the words using a picture or a symbol and play the guessing game. (which image is matched to which word)
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Write a paragraph containing all of the new vocabulary.
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Make a vocabulary wall containing all of the new words.
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Use a thesaurus to find synonyms for the words and create a synonym list.
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These words will help you during this short course. You may already know some of these words however practice makes perfect!
First, read the words and then try to define them as simply as possible.
An example has been completed for you. You can write these into your books, and draw a picture to match or simply complete the task card.
Watch and Learn - Note Taking
During this ten-minute video, it is a great time for your children to practice taking notes as they listen. The teacher may wish to allow the children to pause the video independently as they listen to maximise the learning and retention of information for further learning to take place.
Watch this amazing video with Danielle, who is a professional marine biologist! She helps explain how the polar bear lives and survives in the Arctic region.
Make sure that you take notes along the way, as this will help you with the questions below!
Remember – you can pause the video and jot down notes along the way if you wish.
Read and Discuss: Warm-Up Activity
During this comprehension task, children will be required to read the task card and watch the video with myself and Danielle.
During this task, we want children to be in awe of the beauty of the polar bear and understand what an important creature it is in the food chain of the Arctic.
This task should inspire the children to want to know more about the mighty beast!
Listen to the video with Danielle and read the following document and try to answer the following questions.
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Which five countries are home to the mighty polar bear?
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What three special features do they have to help them survive in the Arctic area?
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Name three other marine animals that live in the Arctic.
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How big was the largest polar bear ever recorded?
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How do polar bears greet each other?
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How many babies does a mother polar bear generally have?
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What does it mean if a polar bear is wagging its head from side to side
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What does the word ‘marine mammal’ mean?
Creating an Animal Fact File
During this session, we want the children to understand that it is not only the polar bear which is in danger of extinction on planet Earth.
To make the connection real and bring home the importance of the preservation and the conservation of habitats around the world, we would also like your students to choose an animal which resides within your country.
Once your students have selected their chosen animal, it is then time for them to conduct some serious research on this creature and understand more about the way that it lives.
Students can use the research questions to guide them whilst investigating their creature. Students can also use the task card as an example. However, they can create their own fact file in whichever way they choose.
NB- Make sure that your children are aware of the ‘Safe Zone’ areas for their text. Any text that is included in the red area may be cut off when the book is printed.
During this part of the course, we would like you to choose an interesting animal which lives and resides in your country. Once you have chosen an interesting animal, we want you to conduct some research on this particular creature.
Make sure that you choose an animal which you find interesting and one which you will be passionate about researching.
Take a look at the task card on polar bears and use the research questions to help you conduct serious research around the animal of your choice. Once you have conducted your research, we want you to create your very own fact file around your chosen animal.
When you have gathered all of the information, we would like you to create a one-page A4 (portrait) document based on the animal of your choice, containing all of the facts about this creature, including how we can help protect it for the future.
Remember that you can work in pairs and when conducting your research, make sure you gather information from various sources such as the Internet, books, and other people around you.
Important – Please read all pages of the task card which provides you with research questions and the rules around laying out your page. Keep your text in the safe zone!
Sharing Your New Knowledge - Active Listening
Once students have conducted their research and have gathered all of their knowledge. It is very important that they share this knowledge with the people around them.
Allow the students to get into groups of three or four, making sure that children with different animals are sitting at the same table.
Once the children are together, it is then time for them to share their new knowledge and discuss the dangers that this animal is currently in, to build awareness of the issues facing polar bears and to consider ways of protecting them.
Communication collaboration, active listening and confidence are key components of this part of the lesson.
With your newfound knowledge, it is very important that you share this with the people around you. This is called collaboration and communication.
Get together with a group of students in your class and talk about the animal you have researched and some of the interesting facts that you have learned.
Make sure that you discuss the dangers that this animal and its habitat are currently facing, and what we can do in our lives to help preserve and sustain the area in which this creature lives.
Remember that active listening means listening to what somebody has to say and allowing them to finish before starting to talk yourself or respond.
Creating a Class Animal Information Book
Once the children in your class have gathered their information and created their beautiful and unique fact files, it is now time for them to collaborate and collect all the information to create a class booklet on the animals within your country.
This will develop leadership and negotiation skills within your class as they attempt to put this booklet together. The book can also be printed or purchased and used as a resource in your class or within the wider school community as a valuable resource.
Read the example book above and point out the different aspects of the book which will need to be created before the book can be uploaded to the Upschool Library. In next week’s activity, we will assign each of the tasks to various children in the classroom.
Over the next few weeks you are going to work together as a class to produce your very own non-fiction book on the different animals that live in your country.
Once the members of your class have all completed the fact file on their chosen animal, it’s time for one member of your class to put all of these together to create a class booklet. You may want to call your book something like ‘Amazing Animals of India’.
This booklet will contain crucial information about the animals which reside in your country, but also give advice to people about how they can change the way they live to help protect them for the future.
Before your book can be uploaded and distributed to the world on the Upschool Library there are some things you will need to prepare to make your book complete.
Take a look at the example booklet opposite to give you some ideas of how your book may look and feel. Once you’ve decided on what part you will contribute to, please get into groups and make sure that all of the features of the class book are complete.
Ongoing Follow-Up Activities
Extension Activity #1 - Leadership Program
We request that older students over the age of eight buddy up, or partner up, with a younger child in their school, and pass on the knowledge they have gained from this lesson and take it to the younger cohorts within your school and develop their own leadership skills
Please take a look at the very simple and child-friendly lesson plan. This should be read and understood by the students before they prepare their lesson and their learning for a younger child.
The reasoning behind this methodology is to develop leadership, confidence, responsibility and communication skills between the older and younger students within your school. This will bring the cohort closer together and build a sense of community throughout your entire educational establishment.
Charles S. Lauer said ‘Leaders don’t force people to follow—they invite them on a journey.’ It is now time for you to invite a younger child to take a journey with you. A journey of discovery!
We ask you, as an older student, to buddy up with a younger student in your school
We want you to pass on the knowledge you have gained in this course to a younger student whilst developing leadership mentorship and with the responsibility of working with the youngest student in the school.
You may think that this is a task which has no meaning. However, to the younger child in the school, it will have a huge influence on the way that they approach education and the way they feel within school.
You will be a continuous safety net, almost like a big brother or sister to a younger student in the school whilst also developing leadership communication and the confidence to be able to lead into the future.
Use this template to help you plan your lesson and gather your resources before you head down to the younger children’s classroom to reteach what you have just learned.
Extension Activity #2 - Creating a Stop Motion Animation
By using a simple cardboard box, some plasticine and a camera, students can create a very special stop-motion animation which will allow their animal to move around in their habitat doing the things that they have just researched.
Ask the students to watch the video attached and, if required, collect all of the materials together and start creating their very own film on the animal of their choice.
Once they have finished, they may wish to show this film to the rest of their class or share it with other people.
Now that you have a great deal of knowledge about your chosen animal, it is time for you to get creative and represent the things that you now know in a wonderfully creative way that you can use to help teach other people.
By using a simple cardboard box, some plasticine and a camera, you can create a very special stop-motion animation which will allow your animal to move around in their habitat doing the things that you had just researched.
Watch the video attached and if required, collect all of the materials together and start creating your very own film on the animal of your choice. Once you have finished, you may wish to show this film to the rest of your class or share it with other people.
Watch the video attached to help you create your very own stop-motion animation.
You’ll need some clay, a camera and lots of patience!