Wondering Wednesday and Thinking Thursday - From polar bears to measurement

By Anonymous -


Why are polar bears eating birds eggs?   This was the question that sparked our thinking on Wednesday .  Oh my goodness the places this sent us.  Through this question we explored math connections, science connections and the global goals (social studies).  We read the following article that explained that polar bears are having to adapt to the loss of the ice in the arctic and this effects their ability to hunt so they are poaching birds eggs to feed themselves.

"The researchers found polar bears have to travel much farther during the summer and autumn to reach the sea ice where the seals congregate, making the apex predators less likely to encounter their primary food sources, forcing them to look for alternatives."

This information made us ask how much nutrition is in one egg and then we researched the protein content of an egg compared to a seal.  We were able to use our measurement and multiplication skills to understand the seriousness of this problem.

We also understand that this behaviour effects the food chain in this ecosystem.  Here is a link to the article we read together:  https://www.theweathernetwork.com/news/articles/starving-polar-bears-have-started-eating-birds-eggs/82341


We have been combining our multiplication skills and strategies to learn about perimeter.  Here are some photos of our calculations in our math journals:  



On Thursday we made all kinds of connections to animal life cycles and stages when we used the puppets to practice our fluency reading with a puppet and a partner. We have been discussing the threats to these species.   Do you know how many of these animals are on the endangered list?  





Check it out on the WWF website:  https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/directory





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