Using Polar Bears Past Bedtime as our motivation to study the Arctic, students can explore and then compare/contrast the Artic and Antarctic regions of the earth. This presentation uses slides from several sources which were edited and adapted to suit the educational goals of the lesson. A special thank you to the creator of the Peter Polar Bear Arctic slide presentation.

1. Magic Tree House Science:
The Arctic & Antarctica
Welcome to our
exploration of the
world’s coldest
climates with Jack
and Annie!
We will begin in the
Arctic.

2. My name is Peter and I am a Polar Bear.I
live in the Arctic where it is incredibly
cold.
I am going to tell you some things about
the Arctic and show you some pictures of
what it is like to livethere. I hope
everyone is wrapped up and ready to go
on ourArctic adventure.

3. This is a map of the world
showing the Arctic where I
live.
Why do you think the
Arctic is colored white?
What might this tell you
about the weather in the
Arctic?

4. Here are some pictures of
the Arctic to help you
imagine what it would feel
like to live here.

5. In January and February, temperatures in the Arctic can
drop to as low as 29 degrees BELOW zero. It is so cold
your spit would freeze before it hits the ground!

6. Areas of the Arctic with flat, dry land
and no trees are part of the tundra.
Tundra covers about 20% of the
world.

7. The Arctic is very dry
because cold air doesn’t
hold moisture well.
Scientists refer to it as a
“polar desert”.

8. Therearehardly any plants in the
Arctic because it is too cold for
them to grow. The ground
is permanently frozen
in places. Scientists
call this permafrost.

9. The ice floats on the water
in the ocean in the Arctic.
There is some other ice we
also see in the ocean....

10. This isaniceberg.
It isavery big pieceof icewhich
hasbrokenoffandis now
floatingin theocean. Icebergs
appearatthe surface,butthe
bottomofthe iceberg extends
much deeper intothe water
thanwhatcanbeseen.

11. I’ve takensome picturesof
someofthe otheranimalsthat
alsolive herein theArctic with
me.
Lookclosely atthe pictures
andseeif younoticeanything
thatmostoftheseanimals
havein common.

12. Doyouknowwhatanimalthis
is?
It is anArctic Fox.He hasdeep,
thickfurwhich helps tokeep
him warm.

13. Do you knowwhat
animal this is?
Shelooks a bit like a
rabbit butshe is actually
a hare. Hares are bigger
than rabbits.

14. What kind of animal do you
seehere?
This animal swims in the ice
cold ocean andalso likes to
come andlay in the snow.

15. Whales live in the icy cold
Arctic Ocean.This killer
whale is beautiful and
playful, but heis also a
fiersome predator in the
ocean.

16. Here is a picture of a polar
bearfamily.
TheArctic is a strange and
fascinating place made
mostly of ice, sometimes it
is called the polaricecap.

17. Didyounoticewhatall theseanimalshavein common?
Theyall havethickwhite fur.
Whydoyouthinkit might begood tohavethick,whitefurin theArctic?
Therearetwowaysthethick,white furhelps animalsofthe Arctic.

18. There are people who
live in the Arctic and
scientists visit, too. They
often carry their luggage
on sleds because that is
the easiest way to move
things around here!

19. Sometimes people usedogs
to pull their sleds across the
deep snow.

20. The Articis freezing cold for3 reasons:
The sun’sraystravel far.
Ice andsnowreflect heat.
Ice andsnowchill theair.