Family Polar Fun Day

Overview

Plan and run a family fun afternoon or evening with several hands-on activities. Students help run the activity stations and share what they have learned about the Polar Regions. A great culminating activity for a unit on the Arctic, Antarctica, or both, and a fun way to involve families in the learning experience.

Objectives

The students will be able to identify adaptations that help animals survive in polar habitats. The students will know the key differences between the Arctic and Antarctica.

Lesson Preparation

For the 8 activity stations, I did all the activities except Game Table and Snow Cones with my 4th grade students in the days before our Family Polar Fun Day. We sent out parent letters requesting donations of the necessary items. I made sign-up sheets and asked my students to sign-up for a time to run the different stations. We sent home letters inviting the parents and families to attend our early evening (5:30-7:30 pm) event. We made large posters to identify each station and printed direction sheets for each activity (see attached), as well as recording sheets for Deep Freeze.

Procedure

Arctic Animal Match Up – Can you match the fur to the animal?

1. Observe the animal fur. Notice how thick it is.
2. Look at the fur with a hand lens. Notice the different types of hairs. Why is this important?
3. Match the fur with the animal it came from.

Feel The Chill – Test the effectiveness of different forms of insulation.

1. Cover your hand with one of the gloves or fur provided.
2. Place your covered hand against the block of ice.
3. See how long you can hold your hand on the block of ice (use the sand timer).
4. Which type of protection insulated your hand the best? Why?

Vocabulary Words: Effectiveness- producing the intended or expected result. Insulation- material used to stop heat from escaping.

Deep Freeze – How do seals and whales survive the frigid waters of the Polar Regions?

1. Hold the thermometer in your right hand and place in ice water for 30 seconds. Record temperature on record sheet.
2. Now hold the thermometer in your left hand, place hand inside the blubber mitt. Carefully place the mitt in the ice water, but don't let water get inside the mitt! Hold it there for 30 seconds. Record the temperature.
3. Was there a difference in temperature? Why?

Build an Ice Shelter or Igloo – Students use sugar cubes and white glue to build ice structures or Ice sculptures. As a math extension they calculate the area and perimeter of outer walls, as well as complete paper worksheets which reinforce these concepts.

Polar Opposites – How well do you know the Arctic and Antarctica? Discuss each Polar Picture Card and decide where it belongs on the Venn Diagram. Check your answers on the answer key.

Seal Snacks – Students make an edible Seal Snack – see the attached picture. Our Nutrition Network club ran this table.

Game Table – Students play Break the Ice – a commercially available game

Snow Cone machine – Parent volunteers make snow cones for everyone – donations are accepted to defray the cost of supplies

Other polar related art, maps, and projects on display in and around the classrooms.

Extension

Students can research their favorite polar animal and create a written, oral, or PowerPoint presentation about the animal.

Resources

Materials for each activity:

• Arctic Animal Match Up - Different types of Arctic animal furs (I got mine from a leather and fur shop in Alaska), pictures of the same arctic animals, hand lens
• Feel The Chill – rubber glove, wool glove, fleece glove, block of ice, minute timer
• Deep Freeze - plastic Ziploc bags (sandwich size), vegetable shortening, duct tape, thermometers, plastic storage containers or buckets, lots of ice cubes, water
• Build an Ice Shelter or Igloo - sugar cubes, white glue, paper plates, pictures of igloos and ice structures
• Polar Opposites – cards with features found in the Arctic, Antarctica, or both (I used the cards available from the Andrill Antarctica's Climate Secrets curriculum - available at www.andrill.org
• Seal Snacks – wheat bread, cream cheese spread, thin carrot sticks, bell pepper slices, olive slices, sunflower seeds (unshelled), diagram for students to follow
• Game Table – Break the Ice children's game, available at most toy stores
• Snow Cone machine – available for rent (we got ours donated and had parent volunteers make the snow cones)

Assessment

Students were assessed in the classroom lessons by their written work for Deep Freeze and the math worksheets that accompanied Build an Igloo, their oral responses to discussions about Arctic Animal Match Up, Feel the Chill, and Polar Opposites. They were also assessed by observing their participation and knowledge exhibited as they ran the activity stations.

Credit

Anne Marie Wotkyns, Academic Coordinator Internationella Engelska Skolan, Huskvarna, Sweden, amwotkyns [at] aol.com