Arctic Tale: A Companion to the Major Motion Picture

This is a great book to use for a guided reading group. We used a KWL chart. The children couldn't wait to share facts they learned from each chapter. It is well written, clear. It is primarily non-fiction, though the story itself is fiction as the footage used in the Arctic Tale movie (phenomenal footage) was taken over a period of 15 years (by a husband and wife team) following a variety of animals. The dvd (check your local library) is also worth seeing (narrated by Queen Latifah). I showed the first 10 minutes to my students so they could get a feel for the Arctic setting (wow) and be introduced to the polar bear cubs and walrus calf. Spoiler alert: There are harsh elements when one of the polar bear cubs dies, and the "auntie" protecting a baby walrus is killed by a polar bear. There are funny parts too, to balance out the sad parts. Some students may be uncomfortable with the terminology used in describing how the cubs and walrus calf nurse. I think the information my students gained from reading this book, fascinating facts about polar bears, walruses, the Arctic setting, and other Arctic animals, will stay with them for a long time. I recommend this book and will use it again with my students. It is 118 pages, but an easy read as there is a lot of white space on the pages. There is a healthy dose of new vocabulary, and this book opens the door for a variety of activities and discussions: Venn diagram comparing and contrasting walruses and polar bears, the Arctic (North Pole) versus the Antarctic (South Pole, where penguins live), the Arctic winter and summer phenomenon, the aurora borealis, how one death can preserve the lives of many, interdependency of animals (i.e. Arctic foxes shadowing polar bears in hopes of scraps), characteristics of mammals, concerns over global warming and how it might affect animals living in the Arctic, etc... After reading, the students wrote a summary of what they learned (focusing on either the polar bear or the walrus) and found a pictue online (wow, some amazing pictures, especially through National Geographic) for their title page. This is definitely a book worth delving into.