They started their polar animals unit with the building of an igloo, right in the classroom. This helped to get them in the spirit of learning about the similarities and differences in the North and South poles. They learned that the North Pole is in the Arctic and is mostly water, while the South Pole, Antarctica, is mostly comprised of land. They learned that both places get very, very cold, and rarely does the sun shine directly down on them. They learned that polar bears and penguins do not live in the same place. Polar bears live in the Arctic while penguins live in Antarctica; so while they definitely like to eat other animals, they don’t eat each other.

Cookish read Eric Carle’s book, Polar Bear Polar Bear What Do You Hear, and invited her students to write a story of their own in the style of Carle. Students were also encouraged to experience what walking is like when your legs are very short. With rubber bands attached to their ankles, students were able to explore walking the room in a very humorous penguin-like gait.

The room, with stations for reading books about polar animals, drawing pictures, playing games, and even pretending to be a polar bear or penguin swimming in the frigid ocean (while dining on fish), invited further discovery and exploration of the exciting, cold, curious world of the polar opposites, the Arctic and Antarctica.

February 2, 2006