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Lesson Plan

By: Emily Reavie


Title: Brown Bears and Polar Bears: Habitats and Fur Differences
Grade: Kindergarten
Frame: Problem Solving and Innovating
Time: 20 minutes
Lesson Description
Students will be introduced to the differences between brown bears and polar bears including their habitats and the difference in
their fur coats. The book, The Very Hungry Bear will be read to the students. After reading the book, students will be able to
engage in experiential-based learning in order to determine the difference between having an extra fat layer and not in cold
environments. The cold environment theme was specifically important to the students and added to their inquiry-based learning
unit about the Arctic.
Stage 1: Desired Results
Big Ideas/Essential Question
What does fat / blubber do to assist animals in cold conditions?
Ontario Curricular Overall Expectation
4.6 Problem Solving and Innovating
- 13. use the processes and skills of an inquiry stance (i.e., questioning, planning, predicting, observing, and communicating)
- 14. demonstrate an awareness of the natural and built environment through hands-on investigations, observations, questions,
and representations of their findings

Ontario Curricular Specific Expectation


4.6 Problem Solving and Innovating
- 13.1 state problems and pose questions in different contexts and for different reasons (e.g., before, during, and after inquiries)
- 13.2 make predictions and observations before and during investigations
- 14.2 sort and classify groups of living and nonliving things in their own way (e.g., using sorting tools such as hula hoops,
sorting circles, paper plates, T-charts, Venn diagrams)
Lesson Goals
- Students will be able to distinguish between a brown bear and a polar bear.
- Students will be able to explain why polar bears have extra fat on their body.
- Students will be able to feel the difference of having extra fat vs. not through experimental-based learning
Key concepts and/or skills to be learned/applied Background Knowledge

- Polar bears live in the North Pole (Arctic) - Students have already begun an inquiry-based unit about the
live in the cold all year long Arctic
- Brown bears live in North America live in - Animals that live there (polar bears)
warm for part of the year - Structures that exist in this area (igloos)
- Polar bears have a layer of fat on them to
keep them warm in icy waters
- Polar bears have the thickest fur out of all
the bears
Stage 2: Planning learning experience and instruction
Student Groupings Instructional Strategies
- Book reading: students will be in one group at - Modelling
the carpet while listening to the book - Broadcasting (saying what youre doing)
- Snow activity: students will be divided into 4 - Explaining before handing out materials
table groups - Questions / prompts
- Guided discovery within tactile examples
- Inquiry-based learning and experiential-based learning approaches
Materials Safety/Considerations
- Crisco - Ensure that students are keeping the snow on the plate
- Sand timers (4) - Timers will be provided to each group in order to encourage
- Ziploc bags (4 per group x 4 groups = 16 self-regulation as opposed to the teacher telling the students
bags) when to pass the plate to the next student
- Plates (4)
- Snow (4 handfuls)
- Book, The Very Hungry Bear
Accommodations
- Students who are unable to work within the group setting may complete the activity at a separate table
- Students may receive extra time if needed
Stage 3: Learning experience and instruction
Motivational Hook
First we will be ready a book about a brown bear and a polar bear! Once we are done reading the book, we will be completing a
fun activity!
Open
- Read, The Very Hungry Bear
Teacher prompts:
- Why is the polar bear carrying ice?
(they live in the cold)
- Why does the brown bear have a
hot cave and not carry ice? (they do
not live in the cold)
- Does anyone know what they mean
when they say, all the way up to
the snow? (going to the North Pole
where it is all snow)
- What is the home with the icy white
dome called? (igloo) knowledge
check
- After the book explain that we are going to be doing a fun
activity that requires everyone to be patient (ask students what this means) and share
- It is also important that we dont play with the snow (what happens if we touch the snow too much with our hands? it
melts)
Body
*Teacher will be modelling what will be happening at each table and how to properly put on the Ziploc bags*
- Students will be instructed to go to a table where they will be in 4 separate groups
- Students at each table will take turns putting their hand in plastic bags. One of the bags will have Crisco in it and the
other will not. The Crisco will act as a layer of fat on your hand, similar to how polar bears have a layer of fat on their
body. This will simulate that the extra fact keeps your hand warmer than not having the extra fat.
- Students will use sand timers so that everyone has a fair amount of time with the bags and snow.
Teacher prompts:
Predictions (at carpet):
- What do bears have on their bodies to keep them
warm in the cold? (fat) then explain that the
Crisco (white stuff) in the bags is just like fat.
Were going to find out how!
- What do you think will happen? What hand do you
think will be warmer?
During / After Activity:
- What hand was warmer?

Close
- There will be a discussion as a group after the activity about what hand was warmer and why.
- What do we do as humans in order to keep warm like the polar bears?
Link to Future Lessons
- Depending on where students take this activity, this could be linked to further discussion about different types of bear
and / or the characteristics that they have
- This could also be linked to a lesson about hibernation.
Assessment
Assessment for learning: Students will be assessed via an exit chart. As students are called one-by-one to go to the next
activity (activity stations), they will be asked to sign their name under a chart where they think is appropriate. The chart will
look like this:
Does fat keep polar bears warm in cold weather?
Yes No

Assessment as & of learning: N/A at this time.

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