United States
Animals of the Arctic Mini-Lesson
Objective: Students will learn about the interesting adaptations that help some Arctic animals survive.
Suggested Time: 15 minutes
Reading Level: Upper Elementary
Teacher Background
The two polar regions at the very ends of the Earth are among the coldest, windiest, and most remote places on the planet. A huge, frozen MORE
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Print or Project
- A Visual Overview: Show the slideshow of photos to your class. Each has a descriptive caption and kid-friendly copy for your students to read. (Please note that there is also more extensive teacher note copy just for you.)
- Creative Caption Review: Once you've been through the slideshow for an overview, go back through it again. This time ask students to explain why the captions do (or do not!) work. (Example: Do you think the caption "The Top of the Top" is a good one for the first slide? Why or why not?)
Click the thumbnail slides below to see the captions and kid-friendly copy up close.
- Continue the Conversation: Ask students to speculate why it's often difficult to gather detailed information on Arctic animals. (Harsh climate makes observation difficult, long migrations make animals hard to track, etc.)
- Write about it: Ask students to pretend they are writing a travel brochure for the Arctic region. Have them use persuasive writing to try to convince potential travelers why they should visit such a cold environment.
Extension Activities
Reinforcements: These worksheets will be useful as you further develop your teaching unit. The Word Power worksheet will give your students vocabulary practice with key terms from this mini-lesson and the related activity will help reinforce key concepts on the Arctic and Antarctic.
 | Animals of the Arctic Word Power |  | The Arctic |
Excerpted from:
Eyewitness: Arctic & Antarctic
Discover the icy wastes of the polar regions and the remarkable plants and animals that survive in such hostile conditions.
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