Arctic wildlife
Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can identify some of the wildlife found in the Arctic and explain how it is affected by seasonal change.
Key learning points
- Animals like polar bears live within the Arctic Circle and have special features to live in this environment.
- Polar bears hibernate during the harsh Arctic winter and emerge during the summer months to hunt seals from the ice.
- Changing ice cover due to climate change means that some polar bear habitats are under threat.
- The Arctic ice is usually greatest in March after winter and least in September after the summer.
Keywords
Polar bear - A polar bear is a large, white bear found in the Arctic and nearby areas.
Reindeer - A reindeer is a type of deer that lives in the northern parts of Europe, Asia and North America.
Walrus - A walrus is a large marine mammal that lives in Arctic seas.
Arctic fox - The Arctic fox is a small white fox that lives in the Arctic regions of the Northern Hemisphere.
Climate change - Climate change is a large-scale and long-term change in the planet’s climate, including weather patterns and average temperatures.
Common misconception
Polar bears hunt penguins to eat.
Penguins live in Antarctica, where there are no polar bears, not in the Arctic.
Licence
Lesson video
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Prior knowledge starter quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Where is the Arctic Circle?
Q2.What is the Arctic?
Q3.Why can you walk on the Arctic Ocean?
Q4.When is the Arctic summer?
Q5.What happens to the frozen sea ice in summer?
Q6.What is an ice cap?
Assessment exit quiz
6 Questions
Q1.Which of these would you not find in the Arctic?
Q2.Which of these does not help animals survive in cold places?
Q3.Which of these is not a polar bear feature?
Q4.How do polar bears use the sea ice?
Q5.Why are polar bears under threat?
Q6.What is climate change?
To help you plan your 2 geography lesson on: Arctic wildlife, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...
To help you plan your 2 geography lesson on: Arctic wildlife, download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs.
The starter quiz will activate and check your pupils' prior knowledge, with versions available both with and without answers in PDF format.
We use learning cycles to break down learning into key concepts or ideas linked to the learning outcome. Each learning cycle features explanations with checks for understanding and practice tasks with feedback. All of this is found in our slide decks, ready for you to download and edit. The practice tasks are also available as printable worksheets and some lessons have additional materials with extra material you might need for teaching the lesson.
The assessment exit quiz will test your pupils' understanding of the key learning points.
Our video is a tool for planning, showing how other teachers might teach the lesson, offering helpful tips, modelled explanations and inspiration for your own delivery in the classroom. Plus, you can set it as homework or revision for pupils and keep their learning on track by sharing an online pupil version of this lesson.
Explore more key stage 1 geography lessons from the Cold places: what is it like at the North and South Poles? unit, dive into the full primary geography curriculum, or learn more about lesson planning.