Polar Bear Polar Bear Lesson Plan

This polar bear lesson plan will work wonderfully in many different units. You can use it in a unit on bears, winter, or even in a unit on Eric Carle books. It can also be used on its own. After teaching Eric Carle lessons for Polar Bear Polar Bear, your class will be able to identify a polar bear, where it lives, and what it eats.

Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear? by Bill Martin Jr and Eric Carle

Pictures of bears, including a polar bear

Blue construction paper

Outline of a polar bear—one per student plus one for you

White yarn

Glue

Scissors

White crayons or white paint

Pictures of small animals, including fish

Show students the pictures of the bears you brought in. See if they can identify the picture of the polar bear.

Show students the cover of Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear? Have students make a prediction about the book based on the cover. Read the story to your students, stopping to ask questions about what is happening in the story. You can also let students practice making some of the sounds in the story. When you have finished reading, talk about all the animals the polar bear hears. Then, talk about the polar bear. Talk about where the polar bear lives and what it eats.

Before you do this part of the Eric Carle lessons, you will need to cut and unravel the yarn to make the polar bear. Unravel long strips of yarn first, and then cut it into small pieces. Your students will be using this as fur for their polar bears. You can also let your students unravel their own yarn, and then you can cut it.

Pass out the polar bear outlines, glue, and the unraveled yarn. Have students place glue on a small section of the polar bear. Then, have them place the unraveled yarn on the glue. It is a good idea to have an extra one for you to use as an example. Have them continue to do this until the polar bear is covered with fur. Then, pass out scissors and have students cut out their polar bears.

Next, pass out the blue construction paper and the white crayons or paint. Since you have talked about a polar bear’s habitat, have students decorate the construction paper to look like a polar bear’s habitat. Have them use the white crayons or white paint to make snow and ice. Then, have students glue their polar bear pictures onto the paper.

Pass out the pictures of the small animals that you have printed out to each table. Make sure to include lots of fish. You will need to include at least one fish per student. Students will need their polar bear pictures for this. Have students find what a polar bear eats and glue it to their picture.

Teach about other animals in the book. You can also teach about other arctic animals; such as caribou, killer whales, and seals.

Use Eric Carle lessons. Find some right here at Bright Hub!