Learning Outcomes

Students will be able to:

1. Identify three species of bears and their habitats.
2. Generalize that animals are adapted in order to live where they do.

Method

Construct posters of three different bear habitats.

Teacher Planning

Subjects: Science, Art
Skills:analysis, application, classification, comparing similarities and differences, description, discussion, generalization, listing, media construction, observation, psychomotor development, synthesis
Duration: 30 minutes
Group size:three groups of three to six students each increase groups as necessary for class size
Setting: indoors
Conceptual Framework Reference:lIl.A., Ill.A.1.,. III.A.3.,. lII.D.. Ill.D.1., lll,D,2., l.C.1., l.C.2.
Key Vocabulary:, different, adapt, survive, habitat
Materials: Pictures of the three bear species: three sheets of butcher paper with the outline of one bear species on each, labeled; construction paper; pencils: scissors: glue

Background

Polar bears have long necks, slender heads, and white fur. They live along the Arctic coasts, mostly on the polar ice They feed mainly on fish and seals. Their thick fur keeps them warm, and the webbing between their toes makes them good swimmers. Grizzly bears dig up most of their food, so they have long claws. They also have a distinctive hump between their shoulders. They eat roots, tubers, gophers, marmots, and smaller rodents as well as carrion. They occasionally kill a larger animal for food.

Grizzlies tend to live in the edges of forests, but feed mostly in mountain meadows. They have wide heads and a “dished’ face. Black bears are quiet, shy animals that live in a variety of habitats from forests to brush or chaparral. They eat mostly nuts, berries, and fruit. They also eat rodents, insects, and occasionally kill larger animals for food. The black bear may be black, auburn, or cinnamon. Black bears are smaller than grizzlies or polar bears and have more pointed heads.

The major purpose of this activity is for students to recognize that animals are adapted to live in different environments, based on the example of three different kinds of bears.

Activities

1. Show the students pictures of the three different kinds (species) of bears. Ask them to talk about the things that are alike and are different about the bears.
2. Ask the students to imagine the place where each bear lives. Talk about what is alike and what is different about where the bears live. Think about how each bear looks and whether that helps it to live where it lives. Talk about adaptation.' Animals are "adapted" to survive.
3. Take out three large sheets of paper on which you have drawn the outline of one species of bear in the center of each sheet and labeled it accordingly. (A photo of each bear will serve just as well.)
4. Divide the students into three groups. Give each group one of the sheets of paper with the outline of a bear species and a supply of construction paper, pencils, and scissors.
5. Have each group draw and cut out elements of the habitat of their bear (trees, grassy meadows, and rocks for the grizzly; blocks of ice, snow, fish, and seals for the polar bear; forest trees, bushes, nuts, fruits, and berries for the black bear) and glue these elements around the picture of their bear. (Make sure that examples of all major habitat needs are included: food. water, shelter, and space in which to live.)
6. Display the finished posters and ask the students what they have learned about bears and where they live. Discuss how each environment has characteristic life forms, adapted to its climate. kinds of available food, etc. Emphasize that all animals adapt to survive.

Evaluation

Describe three kinds of bears, what they need for food, where they live, and how they took.

If someone took polar bears to Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming, and took grizzly bears to the Arctic coast—do you think the bears would be able to live in their new homes if everyone left them alone? Why?