Many students come to school with a fascination for the polar regions. One reason for this might be related to their associating the North Pole with Santa Claus. Another might be the images they have encountered in the media, especially in movies such as March of the Penguins and 8 Below. Thus, student interest may already be there, and capitalizing on it to enhance understanding of any of the content domains of the National Science Education Standards is an easy transition.

Students often have misconceptions regarding which polar animals live where, and they sometimes perceive the poles as lifeless, desolate places. The following resources will help you turn your students on to the amazing biology and ecology of the polar regions.

Life in the Cold and Dark: Penguin Adaptation
This lesson contains two activities, The Blubber Glove and Create a New “Antarctic Adaptable.”

Blue Planet: Frozen Seas
This activity has students research a poster presentation regarding either an Arctic or Antarctic organism. The lesson includes whole-class discussion as well as individual student research. Web sites are provided for student research.

Build an Arctic Tern
Though intended for upper elementary, this activity can be adapted to the middle school level. It is a modeling activity; however, the emphasis is not on re-creating a lifelike image, but on conveying the various adaptations. Take an inquiry approach by making assessment of the student-built models focus on how students represented the various tern adaptations. They could be required to have a written report or an oral presentation that explains how and why their choices of materials are good representations of the tern’s adaptations.

Polar-palooza: Background Soundscapes
Toward the bottom of the page, click on the link of your choice: Adelie Penguins, Calving Glacier Ice, Elephant Seals, Emperor Penguins, Weddell Seals.

Polar Bears International
Here you will find intriguing interviews with researchers regarding the life and times of polar bears. Consider previewing an interview and developing a couple of questions for your students, which you can present as a hook before playing the interview segment. Alternatively, students could be assigned to listen to a given interview and report what they learned, what was most surprising, and what they want to know more about and why.

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