Polar Regions Introduction

 Throughout our Ohio wild animal study students learned how Ohio's wild animals prepared themselves for winters.  At the completion of this study, students became even more interested in polar animals, so we decided to focus our next study on these animals.  We started by making a list of all the animals we could think of that live in polar regions.  Then we found the polar regions on a globe in the classroom.  We began researching why the polar regions are so cold and introduced the differences in the vocabulary, words such as: arctic circle/north pole and Antarctic/south pole and where they are located on a map/globe.  

Together we labeled this map on our Promethean board. 

Students later came up with the idea of making  a large map to teach all our friends around the school where these regions can be found.  Students also had the idea of researching the polar animals that reside at the north pole and the polar animals that reside at the south pole.  We plan on adding these animals to our map, and turning it into a collaborative project.  

Below you can see students beginning to tear white paper that will soon represent the polar regions on their map.  This map will be displayed in the hallway just outside our classroom. 

 We have also begun researching a few animals from the polar regions.  A few of the polar animals our friends have become interested in include: polar bears, sea lions, narwhal whales, penguins, and wild dog/sled dogs.  Keep checking back in the upcoming weeks to see the progress of our map, research about polar regions landscapes, and their wild animals.  

I hope you had a great weekend!

Mrs. Julie Atkin