Study Guides

Unit Summary

This unit explores the North and South Poles through their locations, climates, landscapes, wildlife and ways of life. Pupils learn to compare the Arctic and Antarctic using maps, images and geographical vocabulary to describe features of cold environments.

Lesson Summary

You will learn to identify some of the wildlife found in the Arctic and explain how it is affected by seasonal change.

Key Notes

• Animals like polar bears live within the Arctic Circle and have special features to live in this environment.
• Polar bears hibernate during the harsh Arctic winter and emerge during the summer months to hunt seals from the ice.
• Changing ice cover due to climate change means that some polar bear habitats are under threat.
• The Arctic ice is usually greatest in March after winter and least in September after the summer.

Vocabulary To Learn

• polar bear: A polar bear is a large, white bear found in the Arctic and nearby areas.
• reindeer: A reindeer is a type of deer that lives in the northern parts of Europe, Asia and North America.
• walrus: A walrus is a large marine mammal that lives in Arctic seas.
• Arctic fox: The Arctic fox is a small white fox that lives in the Arctic regions of the Northern Hemisphere.
• climate change: Climate change is a large-scale and long-term change in the planet's climate, including weather patterns and average temperatures.

Common Mistakes To Avoid

• Polar bears hunt penguins to eat.

3 Quick Questions (With Answers)

More Lessons In This Unit

• Antarctic wildlife Study Guide
• Living in the Antarctic Study Guide
• Living in the Arctic Study Guide
• Locating the North and South Poles Study Guide
• The North Pole and the Arctic Study Guide
• The South Pole and the Antarctic Study Guide
• The world's cold places Study Guide