A guide for using our resources

Children will meet a bear scientist and explain how she performs a bear-cub checkup.

Vocabulary: checkup, cubs, den, hibernate, measures, scientist, weighs

Science Focus: scientific inquiry, hibernation

Simple, spectacular ideas to boost your lessons.

• Mama bear is fast asleep for the winter. But baby bear Elliott just can’t seem to drop off!
• Will Elliott find a way to fall asleep?

• Use pages 2-3 of the issue to do this scavenger hunt as a group.

1. Find the heading. Underline it.

2. Find the picture where Rae is weighing the cub. Put a ✓ on it.

3. In the blue box, fi nd the word that means “a bear’s home.” Circle it.

4. Look at the bottom bar. Find five animals that are hibernating. Circle them.

Q: Have you studied any animals other than bears?

A: Yes. I have studied zebras and lions.

Q: What is the scariest thing that ever happened to you?

A: I was in a tent in Africa. It was the middle of the night. I woke up. I turned on my flashlight and saw a lion outside my tent. I thought the lion was going to eat me!

Q: Why is it important to studybears?

A: There are more and more people. We cut down forests. That leaves less room for bears. It’s important to know how we can set aside land for bears and help them.

Skills: oral language, sequencing

Materials: Retell a Bear Cub Checkup skill sheet, crayons, shoe box “den,” counting bears (or pom-poms), measuring tape or ruler

• Set up this activity for center time. First, cut out the cards from the printable. (Kids can color the pictures if they like.) Add the props listed above.
• Have kids put the cards in order and use them for reference as they act out the steps of the checkup with the props.
• Encourage children to retell what they learned by narrating their actions aloud—for example, “First, I’m crawling into the den to give the mama a shot so she stays asleep.”