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Bearly Any Ice |
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In a Nutshell:
This game is similar to tag that simulates the prey and predator
relationship between polar bears and ringed seals. It demonstrates
the drastic impact of global warming by linking the amount of
sea ice and length of season of sea ice to the survival of the
polar bear. |
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Goal:
To allow students to realize the potential impact that changes
from global warming will have on animals in the north. |
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Background Learning:
Teachers should be familiar with the basic science of climate
change and its anticipated impacts as reviewed in:
High school students should be familiar with the basic science
of climate change and anticipated impacts as reviewed in:
Intermediate level students should be familiar with the basic
science of climate change and anticipated impacts as reviewed
in:
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Learning Outcomes:
Click on the icon for your territory to review the learning outcomes that are addressed by this lesson:
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Introduction to Lesson Plan:
The polar bear is an international symbol of the Arctic and
is the largest land-based carnivore in the world. Polar bears
are culturally and economically important for northern people.
Climate change is already having an impact on polar bears. Warming
temperatures are reducing the thickness of sea ice as well as
the length of the season in which the bears can use the ice for
hunting. Bears depend almost solely on the ringed seal for their
food source and hunt them on the sea ice. Polar bears are unable
to capture and kill seals in open water.
In the western Hudson Bay, the polar bear’s hunting season
has been shortened by three weeks over the last 20 years due
to earlier ice melts. This is having a drastic impact on the
bears. Bears are showing higher cub mortality, reduced weights,
and reduced fat stores. During the summer, when food sources
are almost non-existent, bears have survived by using the fat
stores built up during the winter. Now, however, many communities
are struggling with hungry bears wandering into their towns and
creating hazards for humans. The reduction of sea ice could lead
to the extirpation of polar bears in much of their southern range
and possible extinction of the bears.
Before the lesson, download and print the Bearly
Any Ice Data Chart attached to this lesson as a student handout, and collect
the necessary materials for the game.
This lesson was adapted from Project Wild, Canadian Wildlife
Federation, Ottawa, 1992. |
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Activity:
- Identify students as either polar bears or ringed seals.
About two thirds of the students can be seals and one third
can be polar bears. Polar bears can wear gym vests or other
identifying markers.
 Each seal is given 10 food tokens to represent
the seals caught by the polar bears.- In a gymnasium or playing
field, use the traffic cones to identify the ends as safety
zones for the seals.
- Place four hula-hoops in the open area.
The hula-hoops represent areas of open water that are temporary
safety
zones for the seals.
- Record the number of seals and polar
bears at the beginning and end of each round on the data
chart.
- Begin the game with all the seals starting at one end
of the playing field and all the polar bears scattered
around the playing field. The seals will try to run to
the other
end of the playing field without being tagged by
the polar bears. The seals can use hula-hoops as temporary
safety zones
from the polar bears for a maximum of five seconds
before they need to move on. When a seal is tagged, they
must give
one of their tokens to the bear. A seal must not
be tagged twice in a row by the same bear. Once a seal
runs out of
tokens, they are considered to have lost their
life and they must move over to the side of the playing field.
After all
the living seals have made their way to the other
end of the playing field, the leader signals for the seals
to run
back to the other end using a whistle blast. One
round of the game runs six lengths of the gym or field.
That
equals
one season of hunting for the polar bears.
- At the end
of a round, the polar bears are to count the number of tokens
collected. In order for a polar
bear to survive the season, at least four tokens must have
been collected.
Deceased polar bears become seals during the
next round. Polar bears that collect seven or more tokens have
found
enough food to reproduce. Reproducing bears select
one of the dead seals (or a live seal if there are no dead
seals
to be had) to be their cub. The cubs will not
be
able to hunt during their first two seasons. They will
have to follow
close behind their mother and hope that enough
seals are caught for them both to survive. A mother will
need to catch
a total of six tokens to ensure that she and
her cub survive the season. Record the number of polar bears
and seals that
survived as well as the number of cubs born at
the end of each round or season.
- At the beginning of the
each round, replenish the seals’ tokens to a total of ten
tokens by collecting
the tokens from the polar bears. All students get back
in the game and
are involved at the beginning of each round.
- Repeat the
game again as played before. Remind the cub polar bears that
they are unable to catch seals
and must only run behind their mother polar bear. At the
end of the
round, the polar bears count to see if they
have collected enough tokens to survive – at least
four for lone polar bears
and six for both a mother polar bear and
her cub to survive. If a polar bear has collected less than
six
tokens but has
four or five, the cub has starved and will
be returned to the seal population for the next round.
If the polar bear
has collected less than four tokens, then
neither the mother nor the cub has survived. Once again, record
how
many polar
bears, cubs, and seals survive. Polar bears
that did not have a cub during this round will get a cub
if they have
seven or more tokens, just like in the first round.
- In
the next round, students are introduced to the abiotic conditions
that are changing due to climate
change. Two changes can now be applied to the game:
- Increase
the number of open water safety zones for the seals
by
increasing the number of hula-hoops on the playing field.
Try adding three more
hula-hoops to the playing area.
- Shorten
the polar bears’ length of hunting season by reducing the
number of times
the seals have to run back and forth from six to four.
- Continue
playing the game by increasing the number of hula-hoops and
reducing the number of cycles
for each season. When recording the data, be sure to also
record what changes
have occurred in the simulated ecosystem
(increased open water, shortened hunting season). Since
these changes will
result in poor hunting for the polar
bears, lower rates of polar bear reproduction and decreases
in survival
rates for
the bears will follow. The game may be
played until almost all the bears have died to show how
climate change can lead
to extinction or extirpation from a particular region.
- Return
to the class in order to analyze the data collected during
the game. Use Teacher
Handout, Bearly and Ice Question and Answer Key to review what was
learned during the game.
A comparison of seal and polar bear
populations can be achieved by graphing the data of the number
of seals
and polar bears
during each round. Using a multiple
line graph the students can see how populations vary. Indicate
events, such as shorter
rounds or the addition of hula-hoops,
in order to assist in the analysis of the results.
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Handouts:
Click on the icon for the complete set of handouts that support
this lesson:
Student Handout: Bearly Any Ice Data Chart
Teacher
Handout: Bearly Any Ice Question and Answer Key
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Student Web-Exchange:
Students can post the findings from their game on the student
exchange portion of the website.
Students could host a discussion forum encouraging other students
to try the game and to share information about their communities
related to the polar bears. Discussion questions might include:
Is there polar bear hunting near your community? Has the quota
for polar bear hunting been reduced in the past few years? Have
incidents of polar bears wandering close to town in search of
food increased over recent years? When does the ice form in your
area and when does it melt?
Click on the icon for information on how to post material. |
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Evaluation:
- Students could analyze results after playing another game
and make inferences about the changes that were made to the
game.
- Provide students with fictional data and have the students
explain possible changes that resulted in the fluctuations
of the data.
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Enrichment Ideas:
Social Studies and Northern Studies:
Ice Watch: Track the formation of ice and break up of ice near
your community. Register with http://www.naturewatch.ca/english/icewatch/ and submit your dates.
How Healthy is that Bear?: Use the Quetelet Index
to demonstrate how scientists monitor polar bears health. http://www.tv.cbc.ca/national/pgminfo/warming/
bears.html
Hunting Restrictions: Debate laws that restrict the hunting
of animals such as polar bears. Should hunting tags be issued
to local people to use or should they be sold to sport hunters?
Language Extension:
Write a letter to your future grandchild who may never see a
polar bear.
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About the Author:
My name is Peter Maguire and I live in Taloyoak, Nunavut. Taloyoak
is a community of about 750 people located on the isthmus of
the Boothia Peninsula. Taloyoak is 95% Inuit and is the most
northern community on Canada’s main land. I teach grades 6–12
(Science & Math) at Netsilik School (http://www.polarnet.ca/~netsilik).
This is my eleventh year teaching in Taloyoak. I enjoy the great
landscape and spend countless hours hiking and skiing with my
three dogs.
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