About Polar Bears in a Climate of Change

The Arctic is a vast world endowed with immeasurable natural and cultural wealth. It also has its own deep-rooted environmental and economic problems, many of which – like climate change – arise from faraway parts of the globe. Set against this complex backdrop, the focus of Polar Bears in a Climate of Change is on Arctic climate change and its influence on Inuit people and polar bears. A priority throughout Polar Bears in a Climate of Change is to encourage students to draw relevant connections to their own world and experience, whether they live on Baffin Island, Vancouver Island, or beyond.

Educational Objectives

Polar Bears in a Climate of Change fosters student development in language arts while simultaneously building skills and knowledge in other subject areas, including science, social studies, and the arts. Regional differences in curricular outcomes make it difficult to provide specific curricular references. That said, Polar Bears in a Climate of Change is intended to provide teachers with a study tool to develop a well-rounded literacy program, one which incorporates the elements of language arts (reading, writing, listening, speaking, viewing and representing). Polar Bears in a Climate of Change is written for a wide audience and hopes to provide students from the north and beyond a chance to consider climate change from a variety of perspectives.

Target Audience

The novel On Thin Ice is aimed primarily at young adult readers aged 10 to 16 years old; Ashley, the main character of the novel, is 16 years old. It is, however written in a mature enough style to be very much a “family” book. Polar Bears in a Climate of Change aims at a similar age span that would include middle school and high school readers.

Using Polar Bears in a Climate of Change

The activities in Polar Bears in a Climate of Change are based on real life stories (news articles, radio shows and reference material). The novel is purely fiction; however it is based on events occurring in our world. The real life stories will highlight these connections for the students through a variety of assignments, discussions and projects. Polar Bears in a Climate of Change contains several components:

Pre-Reading Activities: The activities in this section are designed to be done before the student begins reading the novel. These activities are intended to help build and access student background knowledge so that they are better able to connect to the topics raised in the novel. Teachers may wish to have the students revisit these activities after finishing the novel. For example, revisiting the anticipation guide at the end of the novel will provide an opportunity for teachers to discuss how reading a text can change initial opinions and reactions.

Chapter Lessons: The chapter lessons refer to topics raised throughout the novel but specific to a particular chapter. The lessons make reference to real life stories as well as to the novel itself. The lessons provide a large variety of opportunities for the student to explore the concepts raised in the novel. The lessons will foster skills in language arts while simultaneously develop strengths in other areas such as science, social studies, and the arts. Each lesson is written independently of other lessons for greatest flexibility in delivery. Many of the lessons contain student handouts as well as teacher’s notes. In addition, a selection of suggested extension activities are provided to allow teachers to provide additional learning opportunities and enrichment based on the chapter lesson themes.

Post-Reading Activities: The post reading activities include suggestions for additional activities based on various themes presented in the novel.