Arctic Research Unit

02 January 2020 - Leave a Comment
If you use Reading Street in your kindergarten classroom then you are familiar with the story If You Could Go to Antarctica by Fay Robinson. It is one of my favorite stories to teach during the winter months. We explore penguins, how animals stay warm, and answer the ever popular question, "Do polar bears live in Antarctica?" Spoiler alert. No. No they don't.

I blogged about how I teach that unit HERE and you can see the centers I use with the book HERE.

This year I want to expand on that unit and follow up with some learning about the Arctic. This comes along in our curriculum at the end of January/early February so it is a perfect time for some research and writing. Research? Yes! Research in kindergarten is a real thing!

Here is a quick run down of the unit:

KWL Chart
I always start with a KWL chart however I have made a few adjustments to the prompts over the years.
Traditional:
K-What do we know?
W-What do we want to know?
L-What did we learn?
My intention was to change the traditional KWL to be a little more student led. I like it better this way....
K-What do we know?
W-What are we curious about?
L-How can we show what we learned?
Learning ALL ABOUT the ARCTIC will be a student favorite in your kindergarten, first grade, or preschool classroom. As part of our unit studies these lesson plans guide you through science experiments, book connections, animal research activities, and writing prompts to make the most of your investigations into the arctic region, polar bears, snowy owls, walruses and more!

Animal Classification Activity
We use this as a small group sorting activity.  Students are given cards with different arctic animals on them. They sort them however they would like. This leads us to discussions about where animals live, what they eat, and how they live. My students love working in groups to sort the animals and then on their own to complete the cut and glue page.

Learning ALL ABOUT the ARCTIC will be a student favorite in your kindergarten, first grade, or preschool classroom. As part of our unit studies these lesson plans guide you through science experiments, book connections, animal research activities, and writing prompts to make the most of your investigations into the arctic region, polar bears, snowy owls, walruses and more!

Learning ALL ABOUT the ARCTIC will be a student favorite in your kindergarten, first grade, or preschool classroom. As part of our unit studies these lesson plans guide you through science experiments, book connections, animal research activities, and writing prompts to make the most of your investigations into the arctic region, polar bears, snowy owls, walruses and more!Learning ALL ABOUT the ARCTIC will be a student favorite in your kindergarten, first grade, or preschool classroom. As part of our unit studies these lesson plans guide you through science experiments, book connections, animal research activities, and writing prompts to make the most of your investigations into the arctic region, polar bears, snowy owls, walruses and more!


Animal Research
I focused in on 3 animals for this unit but you could really use the outline to research any animal your students find interesting. That's the great thing about inquiry, you can go where your students lead you!

Learning ALL ABOUT the ARCTIC will be a student favorite in your kindergarten, first grade, or preschool classroom. As part of our unit studies these lesson plans guide you through science experiments, book connections, animal research activities, and writing prompts to make the most of your investigations into the arctic region, polar bears, snowy owls, walruses and more!


Learning ALL ABOUT the ARCTIC will be a student favorite in your kindergarten, first grade, or preschool classroom. As part of our unit studies these lesson plans guide you through science experiments, book connections, animal research activities, and writing prompts to make the most of your investigations into the arctic region, polar bears, snowy owls, walruses and more!


Learning ALL ABOUT the ARCTIC will be a student favorite in your kindergarten, first grade, or preschool classroom. As part of our unit studies these lesson plans guide you through science experiments, book connections, animal research activities, and writing prompts to make the most of your investigations into the arctic region, polar bears, snowy owls, walruses and more!

We use this 4 square model for organizing our research to keep students focused. It also helps them to understand that they don't have to be able to read a lot of text in order to research these facts.
Students can flip through a picture book (if it is a good one!) and tell you what an animal eats, where it lives (in the snow, in a tree, in a nest, in the water) or what it looks like. This is an important first step to research, using our observations to make connections.
Students use the four square to write down what they discovered about the animal. This can be a daily activity with a new animal each day throughout the length of the unit.

Books
Here are some of the books that are super helpful when teaching about arctic animals. These are affiliate links meaning I get a small amount of money if you buy through the link at no additional cost to you. This helps keep my blog up and running!

     

Photographs
Before starting a unit I always gather as many real life photographs as I can so I have them handy to show students up close some of the details we are discussing. Like the large paws of a polar bear, the coloration of the snowy owl, or the long tusks of a walrus. These are available to print or to show on a PowerPoint presentation. I prefer using our Proxima to show them on the big screen but pictures work in a pinch!

Learning ALL ABOUT the ARCTIC will be a student favorite in your kindergarten, first grade, or preschool classroom. As part of our unit studies these lesson plans guide you through science experiments, book connections, animal research activities, and writing prompts to make the most of your investigations into the arctic region, polar bears, snowy owls, walruses and more!

Videos
When pictures just don't tell the whole story there are some great videos to show too! Here are a list of some of our favorites.

Exploring the Arctic for Kids
Types of Arctic Animals
Polar Bears
Walruses
Snowy Owls
Arctic Fox

Want to learn all about polar bears, snowy owls, and walruses with your class too? Here is a link to the full product in my TPT store and a little free file for you to try out too! Click on the picture to check that out!


Thank you for stopping by today! If you would like to pin this for later you can pin it HERE:
Learning ALL ABOUT the ARCTIC will be a student favorite in your kindergarten, first grade, or preschool classroom. As part of our unit studies these lesson plans guide you through science experiments, book connections, animal research activities, and writing prompts to make the most of your investigations into the arctic region, polar bears, snowy owls, walruses and more!






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