Reading about the Arctic and Antarctica is a worthwhile activity to include in your school’s polar festival. Fiction, nonfiction, and poetry will help students develop content knowledge and can complement hands-on investigations.
In this article, we’ve included links to the Feature Stories from the past seven issues of Beyond Penguins and Polar Bears. Our stories are available at K-1, 2-3, and 4-5 grade levels in three formats:
- Text only: A pdf file that includes only the text and a glossary. This prints as an 8.5″ by 11″ handout and is 2-4 pages in length.
- Illustrated book: A full-color pdf file that can be printed, cut, and folded to form a 2 1/8″ by 2 3/4″ book. Each book contains color photographs and illustrations; some books contain activity pages.
- Electronic book: Onscreen versions of the books contain recorded narration that lets students listen to the story as they read along on the screen. Many of the e-books have highlighted vocabulary words so that students can hear definitions with a single click. The e-books are available in Articulate version and Flash version.
For each story, we’ve included an overview of the content and a link to the original article and its related activities. We’ve also included direct links to all grade levels and formats.
Read about: polar geography, polar dinosaurs, the aurora, Antarctica’s weather and climate, ice, polar geology, and solar energy.
Polar Geography
The Top (and Bottom) of the World
by Stephen Whitt
In this story, students explore the geographic uniqueness of the North and South Poles. This story is available for grades 4-5 only. The original magazine article includes related activities.
| Grades 4-5 Text Only | Grades 4-5 Illustrated Book | Grades 4-5 Electronic Book |
The Arctic and Antarctica: Are They the Same, or Different?
by Jessica Fries-Gaither
In these stories, students compare and contrast the polar regions. Available for grades 1-2 and 3-5.
| Grades 1-2 Text Only | Grades 1-2 Illustrated Book | Grades 1-2 Electronic Book |
| Grades 3-5 Text Only | Grades 3-5 Illustrated Book | Grades 3-5 Electronic Book |
Polar Dinosaurs
Dinos in the Dark
by Stephen Whitt, Jessica Fries-Gaither
These stories introduce students to the dinosaurs found near the polar regions and discuss the adaptations that allowed these dinosaurs to survive in a dark and cold environment. The original magazine article includes related activities.
Aurora
The Aurora: Fire in the Sky
by Stephen Whitt
Colors in the Night Sky: The Aurora
by Jessica Fries-Gaither
These stories introduce students to the colorful phenomenon known as the northern lights (aurora borealis) and the southern lights (aurora australis). In Fire in the Sky, students in grades 4-5 explore the cause of the aurora. Colors in the Night Sky, written for students in grades K-1 and 2-3, introduces the aurora in a simplified manner. The original magazine article includes related activities.
Antarctica’s Weather and Climate
Antarctica: King of Cold
by Stephen Whitt, Jessica Fries-Gaither, Nancy Brannon
These stories explain that while both the Arctic and Antarctica are cold, Antarctica is much colder and drier – a polar desert. The original magazine article includes related activities.
Ice
Growing Floaters and Shrinking Sinkers
by Stephen Whitt
Floating Ice
by Jessica Fries-Gaither
These stories discuss the unique property of ice – that it floats in liquid water. Students in grades 4-5 learn why this occurs; younger students focus on real-world examples and how ice is necessary for life in the polar regions. The original magazine article includes related activities.
Polar Geology
Reader of the Rocks
by Stephen Whitt, Jessica Fries-Gaither
Rocks Can Tell A Story
by Jessica Fries-Gaither
These stories introduce students to the discipline of geology, and specifically polar geology. Students in grades 2-3 and 4-5 meet Julie Codispoti, assistant curator of the U.S. Polar Rock Repository, and learn how she overcame an initial dislike of science to become a geologist. Students in grades K-1 learn that rocks, like books, can teach us about the world long ago. The original magazine article includes related activities and graphic organizers that help students master the strategy of determining importance in nonfiction text.
Solar Energy
The Shiniest Moon
by Stephen Whitt
Getting Warmer
by Jessica Fries-Gaither
These stories introduce students to solar energy’s role in warming the Earth’s land and water and to the fact that dark-colored surfaces absorb more of the Sun’s energy than do light-colored ones. Students in grades 4-5 also read about how the decline in Arctic sea ice is changing Earth’s energy balance. The original magazine article includes related activities and a graphic organizer that can help students take notes while reading.
This article was written by Jessica Fries-Gaither. For more information, see the Contributors page. Email Kimberly Lightle, Principal Investigator, with any questions about the content of this site.
Copyright November 2008 – The Ohio State University. This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant No. 0733024. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation. This work is licensed under an Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported Creative Commons license.
