Around the World: 13 Stunning Books about the Arctic

We might be past our last blast of winter, but I know many of you are still in the thick of it. I bet your kids will enjoy these wonderful books we recently read about the Arctic. I choose January to study the Arctic and Antarctica (which I'll post next), because it's probably our best shot of getting any snow down here in North Carolina.

Luckily for us, we did have two beautiful snow storms during this unit. What does a snow day look like in our homeschool? Plenty of sledding, hot chocolate, reading and art projects. It's not much different from our usual, casual approach to learning. The books below were a perfect addition to our cozy winter.

The Arctic

• North: The Amazing Story of Arctic Migration by Dowson
• Akiak: A Tale from the Iditarod by Blake
• The Bravest Dog Ever: The True Story of Balto by Standiford
• Big Enough Anna: The Little Sled Dog Who Braved the Arctic by Flowers
• Kumak’s Fish by Bania
• Over in the Arctic: Where the Cold Winds Blow by Berkes
• The Polar Bear Son: An Inuit Tale by Dabcovich
• Building an Igloo by Steltzer
• Baby Polar Bears by Bobbie Kalman
• Icebergs, Ice Caps, and Glaciers by Fowler (not Arctic specific)
• The Reason for Seasons by Gibbons (not Arctic specific)
• What Makes Day and Night by Branley (not Arctic specific)
• Endangered Arctic by Carson-Dellosa Publishing Company, Inc.

Activities
Identified and labeled the Arctic region on maps. Studied resident and migrant animals, migration, and adaptations to the extreme climate. Lots of snow play, sledding, snowball fights and building snow forts. Learned about snowflake formation, icebergs, ice caps and glaciers. Read about building an igloo. Wrote stories about Arctic animals. Made clay igloos, polar bears and arctic foxes. Studied "What Makes Night and Day" (and why nights and days have different lengths in the Arctic than where we live). Made sun and earth models out of clay to demonstrate rotating and revolving. Read about what why we have different seasons, and how those seasons vary from our own in the Arctic. Field trip: NC Zoo to visit the polar bears and arctic foxes.

Learn about my intro photography curriculum
Documenting Your World Through Photography: An Introductory Course for Elementary and Middle Schoolers

More Around the World Book Lists
East Africa (Part I)
East Africa (Part II) and Central Africa
North Africa (Egypt)
Southern Africa
West Africa
The Arctic
​Antarctica

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