Did you know that some bears go into deep sleep during winters? Sometimes they sleep for months and months!

Watch this video to learn all about hibernation.

Then try this simple experiment which explores how bears keep warm during hibernation using hot water bottles.

Hibernating Bears- Science Experiment

Good morning year 1, 

Here is you last ‘bear’ themed literacy task. I hope you have enjoyed doing them. 🐻

Talk about how some bears are nocturnal so they sleep during the day and how some bears hibernate which means that they sleep through the winter.

Read the story of The Bear Snores On by Karma Wilson. Keep pausing the video to orally retell what happens throughout the story.

Write a diary as if you were the mouse, retelling the events of the day.

Remember to write using the word ‘I’ and to include capital letters, full stops. Also, try to extend your sentences using the words ‘and’ and ‘but’.

Here is an example of a diary…

This morning I crawled into a cave from the cold snow. It was too damp and dark so I lit a fire. The coals popped but it didn’t wake the big bear who was sleeping in there. Then…

Can you continue the diary entry? Use these time conjunctions to help you sequence your work in the correct order.

• Next…
• Later…
• Finally…

Today we are going to investigate what Polar Bears eat by looking at food chains.

A food chain is the order in which animals, including humans, eat other animals and plants.  Watch this video on BBC Bite size to learn more.

So what do polar bears eat? Use this picture to learn about a polar bear’s food chain.

Now have a go at creating your own food chain collage like the one below. If you don’t fancy cutting out each individual animal, you could always do a drawing instead.

For the rest of the week we will be looking at our number bonds.

Number bonds are pairs of numbers which add up to a certain number. Listen to the song to recap your number bonds to 10.

Practice making number bonds to 10 practically using a hanger and 10 clothes pegs. Start with the pegs all to one side. Split them into 2 groups systematically by moving over 1 peg at a time and record the number sentence. E.g. 1 + 9 =10.

At the end, look through all of the number bonds to 10. Do you notice anything? Explain that some number bonds are repeated but the digits have been swapped around. This is because addition can be done in any order. 

What do you know about real bears?

Talk to an adult about what you already know about bears and then think about what you would like to know. Discuss some questions you could ask. E.g. How many types of bear are there? Where do they live? What do they eat?

Watch the video below to see if you can find out some of the answers to your questions. Discuss anything else you found out too.

Write an information poster using some of the information you have found out. This could include:

• Title
• Different types of bears
• Where they live
• What they look like
• What they eat
• Did you know question (Interesting fact box)

Use this template if you would like some structure to your poster.

Animal Fact-file Template

You could add illustrations or pictures to your poster to make it colourful and interesting!

Calm Exercises for children

Try these calming exercises at home – Just watch the monkey and copy his movements.

The video includes some simple breathing exercises and stretches to help kids release tension and calm down when they are feeling stressed, frustrated or anxious.

Imagine what is would be like to live in a really cold place like the Arctic? 🥶 

How would you keep yourself warm? There are animals like polar bears that live in places like this. They can’t wear warm clothes so they grow a thick layer of fat, or blubber, to keep out the cold.

Your mission

Pretend to be an animal in the arctic and find out whether a layer of fat can really to help to keep out the cold.

Good morning year 1,

I hope you have enjoyed the literacy tasks about bears so far…

Start today’s session by listening to the Teddy Bears’ Picnic song and join in with the words if you can!

With an adult, read the section on ‘Real Bears Picnic’ from this web page to find out what happens at a real Teddy Bears’ Picnic.

Totally Teddy Bears

Pretend to hold your own Teddy Bears’ Picnic and write a list of the things you will need (a picnic rug, sandwiches, crisp, juice etc). Then write an invitation inviting your own teddy bears/ soft toys or your family and friends to your Teddy Bears’ Picnic. I have included a template below.

Make sure you include these details on your invitation:

To:
Time:
Date:
Place:
From:

Teddy Bears Invitation Template

Send or post your invitations and host your own teddy bears picnic with your guests!