A guide for using our resources

Children will identify the needs of polar bear cubs and discover how polar bear parents meet their needs.

Vocabulary: Arctic, cubs, sea ice, habitat

Science Focus: baby and adult animals

CCSS (and states that have similar standards): RI.1.1 ask and answer questions; RI.1.2 key details; RI.1.4 determine meaning of words; RF.1.2 short vowels; RF.1.3 digraphs; RF.1.4 read grade-level text; W.1.2 write informative texts; SL.1.1 participate in collaborative conversations; L.1.1 use verbs and adjectives

Simple, spectacular ideas to boost your lessons.

• Extend your lesson on habitats with this sweet story about a grumpy polar bear looking for his place in the world. Your students will love to follow George to the jungle, desert, ocean and more as he finds a home that is just right for a polar bear.

• Assign students or small groups a colored box in the article. Have each group make a list of all the words in their section that have the short a sound.
• Have students repeat the hunt for short vowels e, i, and o. How many of each one can they find?

Skills: writing, fine-motor

Materials: Be the Bears templates, scissors, glue, pencils, crayons, cotton balls, construction paper (blue, white, and gray)

• Students will create a scene in the Arctic, illustrating something Mama polar bear does to help her cub.
• Give each student a Be the Bears template. Have students cut out the polar bear cub and mom on their sheet. They can glue their bears onto construction paper. Tell students to make sure the bears are facing each other and have a lot of space between them.
• Read the small speech bubbles. Ask students to choose one problem their cub needs help with. They can pick one to cut out and glue it next to their cub.
• Next, have students think about the problem they picked for their cub. Kids can work in small groups or have a larger class discussion. How can their polar bear mom help their cub? Remind students to revisit their issue for help.
• Students can write their solution by filling out the sentence on the bigger speech bubble, cutting it out, and gluing it next to their polar bear mom.
• Allow students to decorate their sheet to show where the polar bears live. They can use cotton balls to add snowy elements to their art.
• Last, students can present their craft to the class and act it out with a teacher or volunteer reading the part of the cub.