| To begin the Arctic unit have the students locate Alaska using a large map of the U.S. Explain to the children that in the winter in Alaska there is little sunlight and it is dark for most of the time. In the summer the days are long and around June 21, the sun does not set and there are several days with continuous sunlight. This would be a good time to discuss the seasons and activities of each season. Explain to the children that a part of Alaska is called the Tundra. This land has temperatures below freezing for almost half of the year. During the short summer, the temperatures are warm enough for plants to grow . A 100 year old tree may only be one foot tall! The soil just a few inches below the surface never thaws and it is called permafrost. |
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| Background information to help you teach the Unit. |
| Arctic/Antarctic Unit |
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| Activity #1 - Build a classroom Igloo see winter unit |
| Have a discussion with the children about the Inuit or the Eskimo people that lived in small villages along the Tundra coast of the Bering Sea and the Arctic Ocean. Explain how they were mainly sea hunters and used harpoons to kill seals, walruses and whales. The whole village shared in the meat when a large animal such as a whale was killed. In the past they changed their home dwellings to meet different needs. During the summer they useds animal skins to make tents similar to teepees. During the Fall and Spring they built sod houses known as qarmat. The were oval or rectangular houses about five to six feet tall. Igloos were temporary shelters for about half the year from about October until April. Talk with the children about the fact that most Eskimos now do NOT live in igloos anymore. But, at one time they did. |
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| Activity #2 - Write Eskimo Stories |
| Take a picture of each of the students and put their faces inside of cupcake liners. (hood of coat) Add construction paper coat, pants, and boots and have each child write an eskimo story to go along with their pictures. |
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| Activity #3 - Polar Bear Blubber Experiment |
| Discuss how polar bears have a layer of blubber under their fur to keep them warm. The experiment below is a great experiment to help the children understand how a polar bear can swim and stay warm in the icy cold arctic ocean. Science Experiment: Take a baggy and fill it with shortening. Have the children place their right hand in a bucket of ice cold water. Have them put their left hand in the baggy filled with shortening. I have them put their left hand in an empty baggy first and then into the baggy filled with the shortening. They then place their left hand (their polar bear hand) into the ice cold water. Have them discuss and fill out a form explaining with pictures and/or words and sentences the difference of temperature between their hand and their polar bear hand.Discuss how polar bears have a layer of blubber under their fur to keep them warm. The experiment below is a great experiment to help the children understand how a polar bear can swim and stay warm in the icy cold arctic ocean. |
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| Activity #4 - Penquin Fun Antarctica - Penquin Crafts - coming soon |
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| Mrs. Lynch's First Grade Classroom |