Polar Bear Adaptations

Positives

• The speaker is very engaging and uses props like a fur sample, skull, and model paw.
• Difficult vocabulary words appear on the screen with illustrations.
  

Additional Prerequisites

• The descriptions of hunting and the skull, teeth, and claws may be frightening or sad for very young children.
  

Differentiation

• Teachers can expand on this video by helping students identify ways climate change impacts polar bears and their environment.
• Students can research conservation efforts aimed at preserving sea ice and polar bear populations.
• As an extension activity, students could research and present the adaptations of a different arctic animal that is threatened by sea ice melt.
• High school science classes could incorporate this video into lessons about genetics, phylogeny, evolution, or natural selection.
  
• Other resources that would pair well with this video include this lesson on polar climates, this polar bear fact sheet, and this interactive polar bear tracker.