Open-and-go lessons that inspire kids to love science.

Sign up now for tons of free lessons like this one!

Back > Share
How do polar animals survive the cold?

How do polar animals survive the cold?

Lesson narration:
Scroll for prep
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen

DISCUSS:

How do you think polar animals stay warm?

Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Slide Image
Step
01/23
Get your supplies.
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Step
02/23
Take a sheet of paper and fold it in half the short way. Then fold it in
half again. Unfold it. You’ve made 4 boxes where you can draw.
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Step
03/23
Number the boxes, like this. In boxes 1, 2, and 3, you’ll draw ideas you
get from each sister. In box 4, you’ll think about all the possibilities
and draw your final idea.
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Step
04/23
The first sister shows you pictures of triangular cabins, round
domes, tiny houses on stilts, and more. Look at her pictures.
Draw or write down an idea you really like in box 1.
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Step
05/23
From above, you just see a hole going into the snow. Think about
building a house under the snow, like these lemmings, foxes, and
squirrels. Draw or write your ideas in box 2.
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Step
06/23
Sister #3 shows you materials they have lots of. Think about using
cardboard, blankets, bubble wrap, or snow to keep your home warm.
Draw or write your ideas in box 3.
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Step
07/23
In box 4, draw your plan for your perfect winter home. Give your
home a name if you like.
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Slide Image
Step
08/23
Discuss:
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Slide Image
Step
09/23
If you’d like, make a big picture of your winter home. Write a sentence
that tells people why this home is a great home to stay in when it’s
cold outside.
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Slide Image
Step
10/23
We suggest that younger students stop here. Older students can
extend this activity by thinking about how to test their ideas by
experimenting.
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Step
11/23
You don’t know if the home that you drew will keep you warm!
You could build it in a very cold place and then test it. Discuss:
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Step
12/23
We’d have one person spend the night in the house and another
spend the night outside. Then they can compare the temperatures
inside and outside. Discuss:
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Step
13/23
When engineers want to test their ideas, they make a small copy of
the big thing they want to build. Then they test the copy to see if it
works! Discuss:
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Step
14/23
Here’s what we thought. Our freezer gets freezing cold. We could fit
a small model of our winter home in there—between the ice cream
and the ice cubes.
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Step
15/23
Here’s a drawing of our winter home: the Bubble House. We built a
model using cardboard, waterproof tape, a wool sock, and bubble
wrap. Discuss:
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Step
16/23
If we had a full-sized Bubble House, people could do our testing. The
people are warm, and we want the Bubble House to keep them warm.
Discuss:
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Step
17/23
We made two tiny people: Zippy 1 and Zippy 2. Each one is a ziplock
bag filled with warm water. Zippy 1 will stay in the Bubble House.
Zippy 2 will sleep outside.
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Step
18/23
We filled Zippy 1 and 2 with water at 100° F (38° C), as warm as a
person. We put Zippy 1 in the Bubble House and Zippy 2 in the freezer
with no protection. Discuss:
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Step
19/23
First, we checked Zippy 2, who was not in the Bubble House. We
opened the bag and found that Zippy 2 was frozen! Instead of water,
there was ice! Poor Zippy 2!
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Step
20/23
Zippy 1 got chilly—but did not freeze. The temperature had fallen
some but was nowhere near freezing. The Bubble House helped
Zippy 1 stay warmer!
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Slide Image
Step
21/23
Discuss:
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Step
22/23
Here are some things we thought a person could do to stay warmer
in the Bubble House.
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Slide Image
Step
23/23
Do you want to test the winter home you drew? If you have space in
your freezer and a thermometer, you could build a model and try
what we did.
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
🎉 That’s it for this lesson! How did it go?
Sign up now for more great lessons!
Full Screen
Controls Icon Exit Full Screen
Lesson narration:

Grades K-5

Current Events And Trending Topics

Adaptations & Habitats

2388 reviews

Activity Prep

Print Prep

This mini-lesson explores how polar animals keep warm in the coldest regions on Earth. In the no-prep activity, My Tiny Winter Home, students use ideas from the mini-lesson to design a house that will keep them warm in a very cold climate. Older students also think about how they could test their design, as we walk them through an experimental design process.

Preview activity

Grades K-5

Current Events And Trending Topics

Adaptations & Habitats

2388 reviews

Extend this lesson

Slow internet or video problems?