This Polar Bear Unit Study has all you need to learn about Polar Bears with your students in a fun way with videos, crafts, printables, recipes and even an interactive quiz!
The most enjoyable way to learn about something is to explore it from every angle and in every way possible. With this Polar Bear Unit Study, your children AND you will enjoy learning about Polar Bears as you watch videos, read books, do crafts and printables and even make food together.
Have fun!
In the printables section there is no end to keep everyone busy; find word scrambles, word searches, I spy, how many words can you find and templates so you can make anything you would like.
There are also educational videos to watch, new books to check out, jokes to enjoy together and songs to learn.
Follow my Polar Bear Pinterest Board for dozens of ideas from all around the web! I am constantly finding new things to add so there will be new things all the time!
When is International Polar Bear Day?
International Polar Bear Day is February 27th.
There is also an entire Polar Bear Week during the first full week of November.
This Unit Study is the perfect thing to do leading up to that day. Of course, any time is a great time to learn about Polar Bears.
Other Unit Studies
Seasons and Holidays
Animals
Facts about Polar Bears
They live in the US (Alaska), Canada, Russia, Greenland and Norway. Sixty percent live in Canada.
Penguins and polar bears actually do NOT live near each other. Penguins live in Antarctica and polar bears live in the Arctic regions.
Polar bears are mammals.
The lifespan of a polar bear in the wild is 25-35 years.
A group of polar bears is called a pack or a sleuth.
Brown and black bears hibernate but polar bears do not. Female bears will spend the winter in a den if they have cubs. They prepare by storing extra fat so they don’t have to eat or drink and they mostly sleep but she will wake easily. This is called a winter sleep.
Females usually have 2 babies at a time but they could have 1-4.
Baby polar bears are called cubs. Adult males are boars and adult females are sows.
A cub is only 12-14 inches long and weighs about a pound when born.
The cubs stay with their mother for about 2 ½ years. They live in a den together and she teaches them to hunt and survive.
Polar bears are the largest land carnivore.
They are carnivores, which means they eat meat.
They mostly eat seals but also eat walruses and beached whales. Those are their favorite because they have a lot of fat. Sometimes they are stranded on land and can’t get their favorite meal so they will eat grass, seaweed, bird eggs, geese or even caribou.
Polar Bears can sometimes go 7-10 days without food.
They usually hunt by waiting at the opening in the ice for a seal to come by for a breath of air. They can wait for hours or even days! Talk about patience!
They may also swim under the ice to catch their dinner.
An adult male weighs 775-1,200 pounds and a female weighs 330-650 pounds. The males can weigh as much as a car! (Remember they started at about a pound!)
Polar bears can be 10 feet tall!
They can run 25 mph (40 kph)
Polar bears are in fact black! Their fur looks white because it is clear and translucent so light passes through it and the fur reflects the light. That makes it look white. But their skin is actually black.
They clean their fur by rolling in the snow.
They have a layer of fat about 4 ½ inches thick! This fat keeps them warm.
Their paws are up to 12 inches wide and are slightly webbed to help them swim. They also have fur on the bottoms to keep them warm.
Polar bears have 42 teeth.
They can smell a seal that is 20 miles away! That is some excellent smelling!
They also have very good sight and hearing and are very smart.
Polar bears communicate with swaying or lowered heads, laying back their ears and chuffs, roars, hisses or growls and even touching noses.
Some nicknames for polar bears are sea bears, white bears, Lord of the Arctic and Ice bear.
At present, there are only about 26,000 polar bears in the wild. That may seem like a big number but the population of polar bears is declining. That puts them on the vulnerable list of endangered species.
Humans are polar bears only predators.
**When you think you know the facts, take the interactive quiz at the bottom of the post! 😊
Videos about Polar Bears
Polar Bear Facts for Kids by Homeschool Pop 9:11 Narration with images. Lots of facts.
Polar Bears! Learn Fun Polar Bear Facts for Children 1:54 Narration with video. A good synopsis
Polar Bears For Kids | Facts About Polar Bears 10:23 Narrated by 2 girls and a sock puppet with video clips
All About Polar Bears for Kids: Free School 4:18 Narration with video. Good views of their feet and how they walk on ice.
Cool Cute Cubs! | Amazing Animal Babies: Polar Bears | Earth Unplugged 2:38 Words narrating over video of adorable cubs and mother polar bears
Hungry Polar Bear Ambushes Seal | The Hunt | BBC Earth 3:41 Hard to think about the seal but if you want to show your students the hunt of the polar bear, this is a good one. It doesn’t drag it out and doesn’t show the seal suffering. This is a major part of the polar bear’s life.
Polar Bears for Kids | Wild Animals | Arctic Animals 7:54 Another good video with narration.
Polar Bear Cams by Polar Bears International There are 2 livestream cams at the top of the page that are not currently working but below those are 3 videos that are over an hour long each. If you want to just sit and watch polar bears for hours, these are for you! 😊 And maybe the live stream cameras will be back at some point, I don’t know.
San Diego Zoo Polar Bear Live Cams Watch the polar bears at the San Diego Zoo!
Songs
The Polar Bear Song – Polar Bears International 4:21 Cute song with polar bear facts with video of polar bears
Paw Paw Polar Bear | Pinkfong Songs for Children 1:35 Good action song singing parts of the polar bear and spelling polar.
Books
*As an Amazon Associate, I would earn a small percentage of any purchase you make through my site at no extra cost to you.
Some Jokes
Kids love jokes so I had to include some good ones here for them!
Printables
Polar Bear I Spy Printables (2 levels)
Polar Bear Word Search Printables (2 levels)
Polar Bear Word Scramble Printables (2 levels)
Crafts and Activities
Arctic Ice Sensory Play for Toddlers and Preschoolers
Polar Bear Handprint Winter Craft
Free Polar Bear Printable with Craft Idea
Polar Bear Life Cycle Worksheet
Winter Polar Bear Blubber Science Experiment
Recipes
Super sparkly fake snow recipe (not edible but very fun!)
How to Draw Polar Bears
Here is some instruction on how to draw Polar Bears. They are both a little bit different and the outcome of what the bear looks like is a bit different so you can choose which you like.
How to draw a Polar Bear Step by Step | Polar Bear Drawing Lesson on YouTube video 2:24
How to draw a polar bear by how to draw for kids; a step by step article, no video
How to draw a polar bear for kids by We Draw Animals; step by step tutorial with different options
I found the facts for this post from the following sources
It is always good to cite your sources and if you would like to read more details, there is much more information at the links.
Kids Britannica This one has several video clips at the top of the article that are very good.
Polar Bear Quiz
Be Sure to Pin so you can find it easily later!
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Cindy
Welcome! I am a wife, mother, mother-in-law, Grammy, daughter, sister and retired homeschooler. I enjoy writing about things I have learned over the years, sharing recipes and tips with others and making free printables for parents and teachers.
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