Mrs. Bradley's Grade 2
One of the objectives in our Hot and Cold Science unit is to describe ways in which temperature changes affect us in our daily lives. (A very relevant topic during this cold spell!) We've extended this objective and tied it into our Social Studies topics to include the ways temperature changes affect polar bears in the arctic.
Students were given 9 facts about Polar Bears and how the melting of sea ice is affecting their habitat. Students read the facts and were asked to record their response to the facts. Some of the facts included: Did you know that the Polar Bear is at risk because its habitat is melting beneath its paws? Did you know that at least 2/3 of the world’s Polar Bears live in Canada? Sea ice is also the habitat for their main food, ringed seals. Polar Bears hunt seals that are resting on the ice. Sea ice is also used for mating and raising their cubs. Can you believe that most Polar Bears spend their whole lives on the sea ice? Sadly, Polar Bears now have to spend more time on land because the ice is melting earlier in the spring. This means they find very few seals to eat. Without sea ice and seals, polar bears are left to search for other food sources. This can lead them into communities where they eat from garbage dumps and human food sources. Can you believe that the sea ice is breaking up about 3 weeks earlier in the spring than it used to? That means Polar Bears have 3 weeks less to hunt for seals. Shockingly, Polar Bears are on the “threatened” list, which means they are at risk and have been disappearing. Students had many different emotional responses to these facts. Now that we know Polar Bears are on the threatened list, our next step will be to decide what we can do to help!
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AuthorMrs. Bradley's class is made up of 24 students from Dr. Roberta Bondar School. Archives
June 2018
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