Polar Animals Unit

We recently wrapped up our unit on Polar Animals and Opposites.  The lessons started with this adorable book about a loud, big white polar bear named Alex, and his small, quiet best friend Zina.  Alex and Zina live on opposite sides of the world, but they travel to meet each other in the middle.

This is the perfect book for introducing both concepts!

After we read the book, we played a matching game.  Each child received a card with either a penguin or a polar bear on it.  We worked together to find the opposite pairs (above & below, day & night, open & closed, etc.).

During another circle time lesson, we read the book  Penguins, Penguins, Everywhere! by Bob Barner.  We learned that there are at least 17 different types of penguins.  The students were so interested in all of their names.  They returned to the book during centers to look more closely at the pictures.

To follow up with the book, we talked about 4 of the most distinct species: Emperor penguins, Chinstrap penguins, Adelie penguins, and Rockhopper penguins.  We noticed the differences in their coloring and features.

I printed photographs of the 4 different species, and the students worked to sort them on the pocket chart.  They loved this.  It was another activity that they wanted to repeat over and over again during centers.

In the art center, some of the students made pictures of penguins by ripping paper and designing it around a white oval.

Even though the unit was cut short by a few snow days, our study of polar animals and opposites was a hit!

All of the circle time lessons (7 total) and center activities are included in this Polar Animals pack:

Have fun playing and learning with your children today!

Here are some handy affiliate links to the resources we use during the unit.