PBI believes busy teachers need all the help they can get. That's why we're happy to provide access to free unit plans and lessons created by teachers and zoo educators on a range of topics that support national literacy standards and learning outcomes for specific school districts.
Unit Plans
- Polar Bear Tracker invites students into the world of polar bear field research. It's designed to complement our Bear Tracker webcast.
- Livin' Large Like a Polar Bear delves into how polar bears are adapted for a life in the Arctic. It supports our webcast on the same topic.
- Extreme Ecosystems investigates the arctic food web and the inter-relationships of species in the Arctic. Individual studies of the plants and animals will enhance understanding of arctic biodiversity and our role in protecting these unique species.
- Top of the World explores the fascinating physical and cultural geography of the Arctic—a diverse region of land and sea ice—and includes related classroom activities.
- The Climate Connection empowers you and your students to become part of the momentum to make a low-carbon lifestyle the norm, not the exception.
- Rolling on the Tundra is an interdisciplinary unit of study that focuses on polar bear information and facts. It includes resources and lesson ideas that integrate technology.
- Polar Bears in a Changing Climate is an integrated unit that focuses on the effects of climate change on polar bears and their habitat as well as the topic of climate change, in general.
Lessons
- Mom and Me: A Polar Bear Survival Story is a lesson plan for grades 4-8 that explores the connection between polar bear mothers and cubs. It also explores the link between polar bear survival and sea ice. It includes several activities, including a PowerPoint, crossword puzzle, and graph analysis.
- Extreme Ecosystems - A Biodiversity Lesson - The arctic food web is made up of fewer species and is more fragile than those in other regions of the world. This lesson plan explores the biodiversity of this extreme ecosystem.
- Top of the World, a lesson plan for grades 4-8, is a perfect introduction to a unit study on the Arctic. It focuses on the geography of the Arctic Circle, as well as the human and environmental characteristics of the arctic region. It includes a Pre-Lesson: The Arctic vs. Antarctica, a map of the Arctic Circle, and a 66 Degrees and Me! Table.
- Taking Action! Lesson Plan. Students will gain an understanding of the impact of greenhouse gases on the environment. With that knowledge, they'll implement an action plan of conservation behaviors.
