An Inuit child in Ostgronland, Greenland.

Photo courtesy of Nick Russell, Flickr.

Peoples ofthe Arctic

Highlights From Issue 16

(October 2009)

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Table of Contents

Peoples of the ArcticIssue 16 (Oct. 2009)

Science Content Knowledge Peoples Under the Arctic Sky By Mille Porsild

Literacy Content Knowledge Real Reading Begins with Metacognition By Jessica Fries-Gaither

Feature Story A House of Snow and Ice By Stephen Whitt

Across the Curriculum: Lessons and Activities Arctic Survival Skills: Traditional Inuit Games By Jessica Fries-Gaither

Science & Literacy: Lessons and Activities Lessons and Activities About Arctic Peoples By Jessica Fries-Gaither

Off the Bookshelf Peoples of the Arctic: Virtual Bookshelf By Kate Hastings

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12

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18

21

16

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Peoples Under the Arctic Sky

By Mille Porsild

It sounds a bit like the tent is going to rip apart anytime. I smile reassuringly to my tent partner, Mikkel. It is his first time - and he is appreciating firsthand the immense strength of our tunnel tents. Made in Sweden, they are constructed of four arches with buttresses at the base on the principle of the Sámi goathi, the traditional dwellings of the Arctic peoples of Scandinavia. If an arch is rotated 360 degrees in a circle, it becomes a strong, three-dimensional, symmetrical shape - a dome, like that of an igloo, the traditional dwelling of the Inuit people during winter here on Baffin Island in Nunavut, Canada, where our tent is pitched right now.

We are in the field delivering GoNorth! Nunavut 2009, the fourth annual program in the GoNorth! adventure learning series focused on the circumpolar Arctic and environmental issues of global concern. As always, our Arctic locale and its indigenous people is the springboard for the live program, and this year our focus, as well as that of the K-12 students in more than 4,500

schools, is transboundary pollution. It has once again been an incredible journey - live from the field with students in more than 30 countries worldwide. We have worked with scientists in Pangnirtung catching Greenlandic sharks to check their brains for mercury content; we have marveled at Baffin's teens who mash-up urban hip-hop with traditional Inuit dances and games; and on a rather horrifying note, we can say for the first time ever we experienced the effect of climate change firsthand as the mighty Polar Husky sled dogs miraculously pulled us across an exploding mess of gigantic boulders and raining rocks barely held together by melting permafrost through the Akshayuk Pass in the Auyuittuq National Park.

Now sitting on a hillside by the shore of the Arctic Ocean, we are maybe a day by dogsled

from Clyde River - the end of the adventures until we head for Greenland next year. Once the ground blizzard lifts, that is. We will be fine though, as long as the tent is aligned with the 40- to 50-mile-an-hour winds whipping from the south.

Mikkel is careful not to ask me any questions about the wind. I never talk about wind on the trail. I was 19 when I started traveling in the circumpolar Arctic by dog team every year. It

The GoNorth! team in Auyuittug National Park, Canada. Photo courtesy of PolarHusky.com.

[…] We can say for the first

time ever we experienced the effect of climate

change firsthand...

“

”

Science Content Knowledge

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has been 17 years learning to be utterly humble: Call me crazy, but I am not showing disrespect to the winds by talking as if I know what they are up to! The traditional belief of the Canadian Inuit people is that this wind from east-southeast direction, Nigiq, is a man. It blows steadily, creating flat, even snowscapes. Opposite him, from west-northwest, is a woman, Uangnaq. The two do not get along all that well, and are said to retaliate against each other. She blows at an uneven pace, creating strong drifts with a tip that resembles a tongue. When dog sledding, we stay oriented by looking to the shape and form of the snowdrifts created by the prevailing winds, the sastrugi. Even the lead dog uses it to keep bearing.

Of course, we are also helped by modern means, such as GPS, just like the Inuit hunters in Nunavut we meet out on the

land on their snowmobiles to hunt; but as important even today are traditional navigational tools like prevailing winds, sastrugi, landmarks, the rising and setting of the sun, animal migration patterns, constellations, and stars.

The North Star, the Pole Star, Polaris, always sits above the earth's magnetic north where it appears to be circled by all other stars and constellations - a trick of earth's rotation. The Kaalallit in Greenland have named the North Star Nuuttuittuq, which means "never moves." The Sámi people call it Davvenásti, "Pillar of the World," much like the the Chukchi of Chukotka call it Unpe'ner, "the Pole Stuck Star," both after the tether pole that reindeer circle. Seemingly attached to the North Star are the circumpolar or Arctic constellations, visible all year in the Northern Hemisphere. In western astronomy the main

circumpolar constellations are known as Ursa Major (the Great Bear), Ursa Minor (the Little Bear, the Little Dipper), Draco (the Dragon), Cepheus (the King) and Cassiopepeia (the Queen). How they are known to indigenous people in the Arctic - well, that all depends on what Arctic peoples!

ARCTIC PEOPLES: WHO ARE THEY, ANYWAY?Contrary to the widely accepted idea that Arctic peoples have strikingly similar physical characteristics and cultures, the about 400,000 indigenous people that live in the circumpolar north are of very diverse indigenous groups: The Gwich'in and Dene in North America, the Sámi in northern Fennoscandia and into the Kola Peninsula in Russia along with a dozen or so other ethnic groups in northern Russia, including the Nenets, Chukchi and Yupik. An Inuit people, the Yup'ik, are on both sides of the Bering Strait that separates Asia from North America. All once known as Eskimo, a term no longer used in most regions, Inuit is a broad label to describe the Arctic peoples that speak related languages or dialects in the Eskimo-Aleut language. Spanning from the Inupiat in northern Alaska to the Kalaallit in Greenland, Inuit total about 155,000 in Arctic Alaska, Canada, Russia and Greenland.

Science Content Knowledge

Gwich’in student. Photo courtesy of PolarHusky.com.

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THE CARIBOU PEOPLEAlaska's North Slope, encompassing the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), is one of the most extreme environments in which humans live and work. The average temperatures are too low to grow timber or food. To the Native people of the communities, the Gwich'in and the Inupiat, the means for survival have been, and to a large extent still are, hunting and gathering. Cultural knowledge and practices have been refined over many generations in an environment where one poor decision can lead to the death or starvation of an entire village.

Living on the coast, the Inupiat traditionally rely on sea mammals, whereas the Gwich'in, living in the forested areas, rely primarily on the caribou. Records indicate

caribou have been hunted in the ANWR some 30,000 years!

In their own language, Gwich'in means "people of the caribou." More than a life-sustaining resource, the animals are also an important spiritual component of Gwich'in lives. The traditional belief is that "every caribou has a bit of the human heart in him, and every human has a bit of caribou heart." Arctic peoples view themselves as part of the environment and not separate from it, and reverence for the environment and its inhabitants underlies their cultures.

Caribou is the primary food staple for the remote Arctic Gwich'in communities. Store-bought food is high-priced. The cooperative (the Co-op) in Arctic Village sells a chicken for $11.50 per pound and beef at $14.50 per pound (2006 prices). Low incomes make purchasing these protein sources difficult and

high-quality caribou meat, containing little fat and more protein per pound than beef, pork, or chicken, is highly valued. It is possible to keep a balanced diet simply by eating caribou; the meat is rich in vitamin C (caribou eat lots of lichen!) and the organs provide a range of vitamins and minerals. After a hunt, sharing the meat with other community members strengthens social ties and promotes respect and caring for Elders.

Gwich'in rely on the land and the caribou, with more than 75 percent of their resources obtained from hunting and gathering. Baseball caps and jeans are everywhere, but so are winter boots, slippers, socks, purses, bags, and shirts made from caribou skins. Based on traditional designs, clothing, footwear, bags, and wall hangings are elaborately

Science Content Knowledge

Locations of GoNorth! expeditions

and Arctic peoples.

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decorated with caribou hair tufting, and embroidery with plastic beads or porcupine quills colorfully dyed and woven into flower, animal, and geometric patterns. Much of this, as well as bone and antler carved into ornaments and jewelry, is shipped out to be sold to Alaskan tourists.

SENSE OF PLACE (IT'S ALL IN THE EYE OF THE BEHOLDER)Like the Gwich'in, to all Arctic peoples their homeland, the land and the sea and its animals, is much more than a place of resources - it defines "sense of self."

Environmental scientists have classified the various regions of the Arctic into zones, based on the climate and geology of each region. Arctic peoples have their own classifications. For example,

the Sámi notion of the reindeer forest includes what scientists would call woodlands, tundra and mountains - the term simply refers to anywhere that the work of reindeer herding takes place. Other designations for the land change seasonally. The same patch of earth might be called mustikassa during the blueberry season and lintumetsa, or bird forest, at another time of the year. Another traditional Sámi classification of the land is based upon sieidi (or seitas), sacred natural places with a ritual or even supernatural significance.

In the traditional worldview of Arctic peoples, all aspects of the natural world - animals, lakes, rivers, the sun, the moon, the winds - have souls just like humans. An Inuit hunter asks a seal's forgiveness for killing it, and by giving it water, returns its

soul safely to the spirit world and Sedna, the Sea Woman, who together with Moon Man balances the world - the cycles of the moon determine the seasons, and the seasons determine the availability of game.

Hunting seal and caribou, Inuit in Canada traditionally base their lifestyle around following the seasons and the migrations of animals, in the past moving between summer and winter camps. To the Canadian Inuit it was as late as the 1950s and 1960s that they moved - some willingly, some under compulsion - into settled communities created by the Canadian government, most often around a missionary station by the Hudson Bay trading post, first established in 1670. In much of the Arctic, prolonged contact

Science Content Knowledge

A seal to be used for the week’s school lunch is carried into the school

in Pangnirtung, Nunavut, Canada. Photo courtesy of PolarHusky.com.

An Inuit hunter returning from a successful hunt on the land.

Photo courtesy of PolarHusky.com.

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with Europeans began when whalers entered the region in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Once the whaling industry started to decline in the late 1800s it was replaced by the European and North American quest for furs. This created a shift in the seasonal use of the land; in the Russian, Canadian, and Alaskan Arctic, it put Arctic peoples in direct and continuing economic relationship with fur-trading companies. By the 1950s the Canadian government was on a mission to establish a presence throughout the Canadian Arctic and to assimilate the Inuit into the mainstream economic, social, and cultural life of Canada. The Inuit were believed to be living on the edge of starvation in a barren inhospitable wilderness. The indigenous inhabitants of the Arctic were to be become

modern Canadians, able to improve their lifestyle options and take their place in the new period of economic development on the Canadian Arctic frontier!

TRADITIONAL KNOWLEDGE - IT'S A MATTER OF SURVIVAL!Indeed, in spite of their rich cultural heritage, Arctic peoples and their culture have long been treated as inferior. Early Euro-American visitors to the Arctic were lured by the promise of riches from whale oil, ivory and baleen and by prestige in the heyday of Arctic exploration. They brought with them exotic trade items, new materials, technologies and ideas - as well as diseases, exploitation and colonial domination. Colonizing governments claimed native territories as their own, often enforcing their tenancy with

brutality and imposing new customs and religions. Children were forcibly removed from their families, forbidden to speak Native languages, and often sent to faraway boarding schools to be "reeducated" in non-Native ways.

During the 1920s Lenin and other Bolsheviks argued that the Native peoples and minorities of the Soviet empire should be assimilated into the political, cultural and economic mainstream of the country; even remote peoples, such as the Chukchi and Yup'ik living far from Moscow in Chukotka, a vast Russian territory in the far northeastern corner of Asia, did not escape the dramatic upheavals under Stalin.

During the Soviet era, Chukchi and Yup'ik were organized together in territorial

Caribou hunt. Photo courtesy of PolarHusky.com.

“ […] To all Arctic peoples their

homeland, the land and the sea

and its animals, is much more than a place of resources - it defines "sense

of self."”

Science Content Knowledge

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administrative groups known as oblasts and were settled into permanent coastal villages or collective farms. New economic activities were introduced, including factories to make pork sausages and growing cucumbers in hot spring-powered greenhouses! Traditional nomadic subsistence living - Chukchi reindeer herding, and Yu'pik maritime hunting - underwent structural collectivization. Families would no longer travel together following the seasons of the land and the migration of animals. Men and women were separated to handle different niches, while children were sent away to boarding school. The traditional social structure and family unit were lost along with the transferring of traditional knowledge and skills. Moreover, the strong Native ties across the Bering Strait were severed. The

region is separated from the United States in places by only a sliver of water less than 80 miles wide. As a result, Chukotka was a military zone packed with troops and entirely closed to outsiders (even Russians) for close to 75 years - except for Gulag prisoners who toiled in gold and lead mines.

A quagmire of environmental problems such as pollution and large-scale resource development amassed for the Native people of Chukotka to inherit as the Soviet Union dissolved. Worst, the abrupt collapse of the Soviet Union left them in a state of a humanitarian catastrophe: Still repressed by the former KGB, the Native people were now cut off from western Russia and essential supply lines. By winter of 2001, there were literally no food provisions and no oil in the

communities for heating or powering of machinery. While stripped of traditional knowledge, the Natives found themselves having to rely on traditional subsistence activities for their survival. Local hunters who had not harvested whales for years had no choice but to resume whaling, despite inadequate equipment, knowledge and skills required for safe and successful hunting. However, the Cold War coming to an end, Yu'pik were again able embrace their friends and family ties across the Strait, and hunters from Alaska's North Slope traveled to Chukotka in 2002 with motors for small boats and other supplies and, most important, shared traditional whaling skills. Today, marine mammal hunting has become vital to Yup'ik and Chukchi coastal communities again.

BREAKING THE BEAT: A BROKEN RECORDToday Chukotka's Arctic people are also reclaiming important aspects of their culture, including language and religious practices. Authorities repressed their languages and outlawed shamanism. The cultures of all Arctic people are rooted in an oral tradition: Knowledge and history survived in songs, stories and legends passed on from one generation to the next in the dark winter evenings,

Visiting reindeer herders in their yaranga camp. Photo courtesy of PolarHusky.com.

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accompanied by chants and the rhythm of the drum.

The drum holds a special role throughout the entire Arctic region. From about 3 feet in diameter in north-eastern Russia, western Canada and Alaska to the small drum of the Polar Inuit in Greenland, the round ring is covered with skin from the stomach of a bear, walrus or reindeer and fixed with a round handle often decorated with a little carved face. The availability of wood in the area determined the size of the drum. Traditionally Greenlandic Polar Inuit made the ring by joining pieces of bone or reindeer antler, while the Sámi, being in a region with plenty wood below the tree-line in Scandinavia, construct the most elaborate drums. Their Runebomme could be either an oval ring or even a wooden bowl with two or more oblong holes

as handles and beaten with a Y-shaped stick made of reindeer antler. Unlike the drums of the Inuit people, theirs were richly painted with figures, believed to be maps of the spiritual world for the noaidi—the Sámi shaman. The chant, yoiking, accompanying the drums is also quite different in sound from that of other Arctic peoples such as the throat singing of Inupiat, Yup'ik, Chukchi and Kalaallit in Greenland.

Like the shamans, the drums and the chanting were "evils" to western missionaries. In Scandinavia, by the seventeenth century, Sámi shamans were put on trial for practicing witchcraft, and a ruling of the Danish king outlawed Sámi yoiking. The voice of the Sámi was silenced and drums were gathered up and burned, leaving only 70

traditional drums known to exist today.

THE RIGHT TO BE (INDIGENOUS)The oldest inhabitants of the European continent, ancestors of Sámi, are believed to have been the first to push their way into the northern lands of Fennoscandia after the last Ice Age, 10,000 B.C., when the inland ice receded in northern Scandinavia; just as it is believed that the first immigrants came to North America from Siberia, by way of Chukotka, across the Bering land bridge, a narrow strip of land exposed by low sea levels at the same time. Some thousand years later, these ancestors of the Inuit made their way into Canada and finally onto Greenland.

From long before national boundaries, Sápmi, the natural

Science Content Knowledge

Students in Nunavut proudly hold up their Nunavut flag. Photo courtesy of PolarHusky.com.

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territory of the Sámi, overlaps within four nations: Sweden, Norway, Finland and the Kola Peninsula in Russia. The Sámi culture encompasses many lifestyles, from woodland hunter-gatherers to seafaring fishermen. Over the past 2,000 years or more, the Sámi identity became closely intertwined with the cultural practice of reindeer husbandry. The reindeer remains a potent part of the thriving Sámi identity though only a fraction of the Sámi people today (some 3,000 out of a population of 70,000 or more) depends on husbandry for their livelihood.

At various points in history, Sámi have been burned at the stake because of their religious beliefs, prohibited from speaking their own language, and stripped of their traditional garments. By the yardstick of modern notions of human rights, it is no exaggeration to say that their experience has been one of complete and total annihilation

of freedom of expression. By the last decades of the nineteenth century, policy against Sámi was influenced by racial biology: it was believed that the Sámi were born with certain characteristics that prohibited them from living as "civilized" people. In Sweden, under the Nomad School Act of 1913, Sámi children were denied admission to public schools. Instead, to limit the Sámi's education and ensure that they not become "civilized," during the summer teachers traveled to teach young students in their family's tents for a few weeks. From this time and 40-50 years forward, most Sámi pretended not to be Sámi at all.

However, for the past 30 years Sámi have been at the forefront of reclaiming their identity and rights - and that of Native people across the globe. In the Scandinavian countries, Sámi have decision-making powers on matters such as Sámi culture, language and schools. The Sámi

community and outstanding members such as Ole Henrik Magga have been instrumental in making the 2007 UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. More than 22 years in the making, it details the rights to self-determination for the Sámi and other indigenous populations. Ratified by 140-some countries, the declaration is instrumental to the progress in indigenous peoples' right to ownership of land and water and to cultural and language preservation worldwide.

OUR LANDWhile the Sámi laid the path for self-determination, the circumpolar Arctic peoples are looking to Greenland to lead. The 57,000 Greenlanders are the first Arctic peoples to achieve self-determination and self-government. Home rule was introduced in Greenland in 1979 when legislative power was transferred from the Danish parliament to the Greenlandic Home Rule parliament, and the country officially was named Kalaallit Nunaat, "the Greenlanders Land." Anxious about hunting and fishing rights, one of the Greenlanders first actions was to promptly vote to pull themselves out of the European Union (then the European Community).

At the reindeer races in Inari! Photo courtesy of PolarHusky.com.

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Three indigenous groups live in Greenland, the world's largest island: the Kalaallit, the Inughuit (Polar Inuit, the world's most northerly indigenous people), and the Iit. Greenland was regarded a part of Danish-Norwegian territory since the independent Norse medieval communities that arrived in Greenland around the tenth century had agreed to pay taxes to the king about A.D. 1260. Greenland became a Danish colony in 1775 and was made a province of Denmark in 1953. In 1979, it was made an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, with a parliament and local control of health care, schools, and social services.

On June 21, 2009, the 30th anniversary of the establishment of home rule, a new referendum on Greenland's autonomy took effect that paves the way for Greenland to eventually become independent from Denmark - maybe not in the very near future, but down the trail.

Greenlanders are now recognized as a separate group of people under international law. The referendum makes Kalaallisut (Greenlandic) the sole official language of Greenland. Greenland will manage its own police force and the criminal justice system, as well as its own financing and natural resources. It is believed that much oil and oil revenues lie in the future of Greenland. The first 75 million kroner (US $13.1 million) will go to Greenland, and the remaining revenue will be split evenly with Denmark. In return Greenlanders will receive fewer Danish subsidies, which currently are about Dkr3.4 billion ($633 million), or about $11,000 per Greenlander, and account for about 30 percent of Greenland's GDP. The primary industry in Greenland is fishing - export of shrimp in particular.

Greenlanders are now faced with the challenge of showing how to reconcile the development of the Arctic with its protection and to keep their traditional knowledge

alive while merging its use with the tools and technologies of the modern world in ways that lead to financial prosperity. A challenge indeed! But one that comes with opportunities. The Inuit have survived in the Arctic environment only because of their exceptional ability to adapt to its brutal and hostile conditions and by developing a cultural framework that makes responsible use of very limited natural resources. Traditional knowledge, today as in the past, has much to offer in terms of its approach and perspective, especially when it comes to sustainable development and understanding climate change. To the Inuit and all Arctic peoples, the need for future sustainable development of natural resources and the realities of climate change do not have to be proven; it is a matter of how to respond and adapt accordingly. And the rest of the world is watching - to learn.

Science Content Knowledge

GoNorth! is a free adventure learning series for the K-12

classroom. Each year February through May, GoNorth! goes live from a circumpolar Arctic locale on a journey anchored in a

multidisciplinary K-12 curriculum aligned with national standards.

Visit PolarHusky.com to learn more and join the team - it's free!

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Literacy Content Knowledge

Real Reading Begins

with Metacognition

By Jessica Fries-Gaither

Metacognition, or thinking about one's thinking, is the foundation for other reading comprehension strategies. Proficient readers continually monitor their own thoughts, controlling their experience with the text and enhancing their understanding. As Tanny McGregor explains in Comprehension Connections, "Text plus thinking equals real reading!" Teachers can help students develop this skill by modeling and providing concrete experiences to help students understand and apply the strategy to fiction or nonfiction text.

METACOGNITION IN ACTIONWhat does this type of thinking look like? A reader uses metacognition when she:

• Previews the text and makes predictions

• Makes connections to personal experience or other texts

• Asks clarifying questions

• Identifies difficult sentences or passages

• Restates in her own words

• Reacts to the text

TEACHING METACOGNITIONWhile some students naturally think about their own thinking, taking the time to formally name and practice metacognition is important for all types of instruction. Mini-lessons and opportunities for practice allow students to develop confidence and purposefully apply this type of reflective thinking to their reading practice.

As with any comprehension strategy, it is important to name and model metacognitive thinking. Teachers should "think aloud" as they read aloud, demonstrating the interplay between the actual text and their own thoughts. Next, teachers should provide opportunities for guided practice, and finally, independent practice. This gradual release of responsibility ensures that students are confident and successful.

In Comprehension Connections: Bridges to Strategic Reading, Tanny McGregor devotes an entire chapter to metacognition, explaining that she doesn't "know how to teach thinking strategies unless [she begins] with metacognition…. In making kids aware of how they think about their own thinking, [she opens] a channel through which purposeful conversation can flow." McGregor provides a "launching sequence" for metacognition that includes

concrete experiences, wordless picture books, a graphic organizer, and easy-to-obtain tools (in this case, free paint chips from your local home improvement store) to help students become metacognitive about their reading. She also includes "thinking stems," or sentence starters that can prompt reflective thinking such as "I'm thinking..."; "I'm wondering..."; or "I'm noticing."

When students are thoughtful, reflective readers, comprehension and motivation improve. By taking the time to name and explicitly teach metacognition, you are ensuring rich conversations around text throughout your school year!

RESOURCES

Comprehension Connections: Bridges to Strategic Reading. Tanny McGregor, Stephanie Harvey. Heinemann.http://www.heinemann.com/products/E00887.aspxThis professional book provides creative, concrete experiences to help students master reading comprehension strategies.

Best Practices in Metacognitive Strategieshttp://www.benchmarkeducation.com/educational-leader/reading/metacognitive-strategies.html

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A House ofSnow and Ice

By Stephen Whitt

You’re a traveler, a hunter on the cold arctic ice. You’ve been pursuing seals for many hours, and now you must rest.

But the ground around you is frozen. There are no trees anywhere. The wind is bitterly cold. Your survival depends on shelter. What will you do?

If you are an Inuit hunter, you might build an igloo. An igloo is a shelter built from snow and ice.

Not all the people of the Arctic built igloos. The Inuit people of Northern Canada built them. Igloos were never permanent houses for the Inuit. Instead, a large igloo might house one or more families in the cold winter months. Tent-like houses sheltered those same families in the summer.

Today the Inuit live mostly in wooden houses. But Inuit hunters, traveling far from their homes, still build igloo shelters. Igloos raise an interesting question. Why a house of ice?

There are several reasons that an ice house works surprisingly well. First of all, the ice blocks out the chilling wind. Second, ice is good at trapping heat. We say that it is a good insulator. A small igloo with a candle inside, or even just the body warmth of the inhabitants, can stay surprisingly warm.

Have you ever wondered why a blanket can keep you warm? After all, a blanket doesn’t make its own heat. By wrapping yourself in a blanket, you are capturing the heat made by your own body. That heat can keep you warm even if the air outside the blanket is very cold.

An igloo works in the same way. By trapping your own body heat, or the heat produced by even a small burning lamp, the inside of the igloo can stay much warmer than the outside. This heat starts to melt the inside of the igloo. That might seem like a bad thing. But in fact as the inside walls of the igloo start to melt, they come into contact with the snow and ice closer to the outside of the igloo. This colder

This nonfiction article is written for use with upper-

elementary students (grades

4-5). Modified versions are

available for students in

grades K-1 and grades 2-3, or any student needing a

simplified version. As always,

consider the reading level and

needs of your students when

selecting a version for classroom use.

At each grade level, the

article is available in three

forms. Printable pdf files allow

you to print this story in either text-only or a foldable book

format. A partnership with

Content Clips has allowed us

to create electronic versions

of the articles. Your students can read along as they listen

to the text - a wonderful way

to support struggling readers!

Reading comprehension

strategies and related activities provide suggestions

for integrating this story with

your science and literacy

instruction.

Stories for Students(and Teachers)!

Feature Story

Igloos trap heat, allowing people

inside to stay warm. Illustration

courtesy of Beyond Penguins

and Polar Bears.

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snow and ice cause the water to refreeze. In this way the walls of the igloo start to change from snow, which can be weak, to ice, which is much stronger. A well-built igloo is strong. A grown man can stand on top of the igloo without causing it to collapse.

So how does one build an igloo? Start with blocks of well-packed snow. The Inuit builder cuts these blocks using a sharp knife. The knife might be made of bone, stone, or metal. Next, the builder places the first circular ring of blocks on a firm, level patch of icy ground. When the first ring is complete, the builder starts on the second ring.

Now the real magic happens. The Inuit builder knows how to tilt the second row inwards, just a little, so that fewer blocks are needed for the second row than for the first. Think about a circular race track. If you race on

the inside of the track, you run a shorter distance than if you race on the outside of the track. In the same way, as the walls grow upward, and as the “circle” of the igloo gets smaller, it needs fewer blocks.

As the wall grows, the blocks begin to arch together. By carefully fitting the blocks together, the skilled Inuit builder keeps the blocks from falling in. Finally, the builder places the key block on the very top of the igloo. Into this key block the builder might cut a hole. The hole lets out smoke from a fire.

The door of the igloo is large enough to crawl through. Animal furs across the opening of the igloo keep out the cold wind. Inside the igloo, the builder and perhaps one or two other hunters may stand up. They might build a fire. The hunters place animal furs on the icy floor of the igloo to serve as beds.

They might tell stories, or plan their next day on the ice. Once the hunters have rested, they will leave their igloo behind and continue their hunt.

The Inuit have hunted with the help of igloos for thousands of years. Today, as temperatures in the Arctic go up, some groups discover that the ice is too thin and the snow is too rare to build igloo shelters. Not only that, but the animals that the Inuit have hunted for many generations are growing rare. Hunters are in danger because thinner ice can break. New animals, creatures the Inuit have never seen, are appearing. Soon the hunters may decide that their hunting trips to the ice are too risky. They may stop making these trips; they may stop building houses from snow and ice. A way of life, and a place to live, could soon disappear forever.

Feature Story

The Inuit people lived in tent-like houses

during the summer months. Photo courtesy

of O.D. Goetze, Alaska’s Digital Archives.

Inuits building an igloo. Photo courtesy of

Library of Congress Prints and Photographs,

Photograph by Frank E. Kleinschmidt.

An igloo is a shelter built from snow and

ice. Photo courtesy of Charles F. Cann,

Alaska’s Digital Archives.

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Feature StoryGLOSSARY

generations: time it takes for groups of people to grow up and have children, counted as 30-35 years

igloo: a shelter built out of snow and ice

inhabitants: people living in a place

insulator: a material that traps heat

Inuit: people that have lived in the Arctic for thousands of years

READING COMPREHENSION STRATEGIESThis month, we focus on metacognition, reflective thinking that is the foundation for all other reading comprehension strategies. Read our Literacy Content Knowledge article to learn more about metacognition and how you can use “A House of Snow and Ice” as an opportunity for students to practice metacognitive thought.

RELATED ACTIVITIESStudents may have difficulty visualizing an igloo or understanding how the melting and refreezing of the walls strengthens the structure. This science activity models the construction of an igloo fairly accurately and addresses both challenges.

Make a Model Igloohttp://www.csiro.au/resources/model-igloo-activity.htmlThe most accurate of the models highlighted here, this lesson involves building an igloo from ice cubes. Salt and a “slush” mixture are used to help cement the blocks together. Note that access to a freezer for periodic refreezing is required.

If you don’t have access to the needed equipment, you can still help your students visualize an igloo and understand its construction using one of the craft models below.

Snow Lessons and Activitieshttp://www.educationworld.com/a_lesson/lesson/lesson097.shtmlThis page from Education World includes a variety of snow-related lessons and links. See the first section (Let’s Rub Noses) for directions on building a large model igloo using 200 plastic gallon jugs. Read a short article about a first-grade teacher who built one in her classroom, at http://www.courierpress.com/news/2009/mar/01/building-an-igloo-jug-by-jug/.

How to Make a Marshmallow Igloo Crafthttp://www.ehow.com/how_4540822_make-marshmallow-igloo-craft.htmlA smaller craft project using a Styrofoam cup as a base and mini marshmallows to represent the blocks of snow.

Sugar Cube Igloohttp://familyfun.go.com/arts-and-crafts/season/feature/famf19wintercraft/famf19wintercraft4.htmlUse sugar cubes to build a small model of an igloo.

Igloohttp://www.craftsforkids.com/projects/igloo.htmDirections for building a papier-mâché igloo.

Igloo 101http://www.teachersdomain.org/resource/ipy07.sci.engin.design.igloo101/This interactive activity from NOVA challenges students' knowledge of igloo construction. The quiz format includes questions concerning where igloos were traditionally built, the best type of snow for building, and the shape on which these traditional Canadian Inuit structures were modeled. Detailed explanations provide further insight into how these ingenious snow shelters enabled entire families to survive the brutal Arctic winters.

16

Arctic Survival Skills:

Traditional Inuit Games

By Jessica Fries-Gaither

Looking to incorporate physical activity and movement into your instruction? Would you like to connect your students' physical education class with what they're learning in the classroom? Playing traditional Inuit games is an engaging way for students to consider how the Arctic environment shaped Arctic culture and how the Inuit have adapted to its harsh conditions.

INUIT GAMESInuit games played by children built the physical and mental skills needed for hunting and survival in the Arctic. The games required little or no equipment and often stressed physical strength, endurance, agility, and tolerance of pain. A few examples of traditional games include:

• One-Foot High Kick and Two-Foot High KickIn the high kick, a target (such as a bone or a piece of fur) is suspended at a given height. A player begins in a standing position, with both feet together, and jumps up to kick

the hanging target with one foot, landing on the same foot that kicked the target. The player must maintain his balance on landing. All players attempt to kick the target in the same way, completing the first round. Players who do not successfully kick the target are eliminated. For the second round, the target is raised a few inches. Rounds are continued until one player remains.

Watch video of the One-Foot High Kick on YouTube at,http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGOujomfVF0 and a 94 inch Two-Foot High Kick at, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rxgtiHgszY.

• Alaskan High KickThe Alaskan High Kick is similar to the One- and Two-Foot High Kick in that the objective is to kick a hanging target. However, in this game, the player holds one foot with one hand, balances on the other hand, and then extends the other leg up to kick the target.

Watch video of the Alaskan High Kick from the 2007 Native Youth Olympics on YouTube at, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmPuWmV_Rwk.

• Knuckle HopIn this game, the player takes a pushup position with his

hands in fists so that all upper body weight is placed on the knuckles. The player then lifts up his legs and bounces forward on his fists and toes. The player who goes the furthest distance wins.

Watch video of the Knuckle Hop event at the World Eskimo-Indian Olympics in 2006 on YouTube at, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-EgxF_5pYM.

• Ear PullThis game tests competitors' ability to endure pain. Two players sit on the floor facing each other. A loop of leather cord is strung between two of the players' ears. Players then use their ear to pull on the cord until the cord comes free or the other player quits from the pain. This event can cause bleeding and some players require stitches. Some Arctic competitions have removed this event due to safety concerns.

Watch women compete in the ear pull at the 2007 World Eskimo-Indian Olympics in Anchorage, Alaska on YouTube at, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfvpKiKgFGk.

• Blanket TossThe blanket toss originated as a way for hunters to be able to see across the horizon but is now conducted for

Across the Curriculum: LESSONS

17

Across the Curriculum: LESSONSentertainment. Thirty or more people form a circle, holding the edges of a large skin or blanket, and toss a person into the air as high as possible. The object is to maintain balance and return to the blanket without falling over.

Watch video of the blanket toss at the 2006 World Eskimo-Indian Olympics on YouTube at, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxt1NjKAx3g.

Today, Inuit children continue to learn and play these games - both for the development of needed skills and for competition. The Native Youth Olympics, a yearly competition held in Alaska for students in grades 7-12, the Arctic Winter Games, an annual circumpolar competition, and the World Eskimo-Indian Olympics are just three examples of highly visible events that include traditional Inuit games.

INCORPORATING INUIT GAMES IN YOUR CLASSROOMWhile some traditional games like the ear pull and blanket toss are not suitable for the classroom, others can easily be incorporated into a lesson or unit on Inuit culture. Stage your own competition in your classroom - or just have students try some of the games and discuss how they might build useful skills for Arctic living. You might set up

stations in your classroom or the gym or even plan a collaborative lesson with your school's physical education teacher. Providing reflection questions and following the games with a class discussion or writing prompt will help students get the most out of the activity.

Traditional Inuit Gameshttp://www.athropolis.com/news-upload/master/11-frames.htmThe web site includes instructions and pictures of eight traditional games.

Traditional Inuit Games Lesson Planhttp://www.sila.nu/pub/lessons/SILA_InuitGamesLesson.htmlA lesson plan that incorporates eight traditional games.

One World Classrooms: Inuit Gameshttp://www.ccproject.org/travel/arctic/games/index.htmlBrowse descriptions and view pictures of students playing traditional games.

Inuit Gameshttp://www.virtualmuseum.ca/Exhibitions/Traditions/English/inuit_games.htmlInformation, illustrations, and photographs of artifacts used in traditional Inuit games.

Inuit Gameshttp://www.gamesmuseum.uwaterloo.ca/VirtualExhibits/Inuit/english/index.html

•

High Kick. Photo courtesy of Ansgar Walk, Wikimedia Commons.

Ear Pull. Photo courtesy of Andrew Otto, Wikimedia Commons.

Knuckle Hop. Photo courtesy of Discoparka, Flickr.

18

Lessons and Activities

about Arctic Peoples

By Jessica Fries-Gaither

Teaching about indigenous peoples and cultures in elementary school is vitally important, yet challenging. How do you ensure that your lessons are accurate and avoid stereotypes and misconceptions? How can you help your students understand

that the indigenous cultures of the Arctic - like other cultures of the world - change over time, incorporating modern technology while retaining traditional values and activities? In this article, we've highlighted resources that can help you design a lesson or unit about Arctic cultures. The informative books from this month's virtual bookshelf will greatly enhance any of the resources listed below.

We've divided this month's lessons into those about the Inupiat of Alaska and the Inuit of the Canadian Arctic.

Because the interdisciplinary nature of all the lessons below means that literacy skills (reading, writing, and discussion) are often fully incorporated, we've chosen to not include a separate literacy section. We have indicated standards alignment as appropriate for science and English language arts. All lessons align with the People, Places, and Environments and Global Connections social studies thematic strands.

INUPIAT (ALASKAN NATIVE) LESSONS

Alaska Native Ways of Knowing (Grade 3 and up)http://www.teachersdomain.org/resource/ean08.sci.ess.earthsys.lpnativeways/Students learn about Alaska Native ways of knowing (“reading” the land, knowing the local language, learning from Elders, and living in harmony with nature). They will watch videos and interviews that will help them prepare for their primary assignment: completing a science fair project that demonstrates the application of traditional knowledge to a scientific topic.

This lesson meets the following National Science Education Standards Science Content Standards for grades K-4 and 5-8: Science as Inquiry, Life Science, Earth and Space Science, Science and Technology, Science in Personal and Social Perspectives, and History and Nature of Science.

Alaska Native Stories: Using Narrative to Introduce Expository Text (Grades 3-5)http://www.readwritethink.org/classroom-resources/lesson-plans/alaska-native-stories-using-129.htmlThis lesson uses traditional stories of the Native peoples (i.e., narrative text) to introduce students to the study of animals in Alaska (i.e., expository text). Students use the Internet to listen to a Yu'pik tale told by John Active, a Native person living in Alaska. They also use online resources to find facts about animals in Alaska. Students compare and contrast the two types of text in terms of fiction and nonfiction.

This lesson meets the following NCTE/IRA Standards: 1, 2, 4, 7, 8, 9.

Science & Literacy: Lessons

19

INUIT LESSONS

Mama, Do You Love Me? An Introduction to Inuit Culture for Primary Grade Students (Grades K-2)http://www.k12studycanada.org/files/scsi2004/CShoemaker.pdfThis lesson plan uses the picture book Mama, Do You Love Me? by Barbara M. Joosse and illustrated by Barbara Lavallee. By reading and discussing this book, students will learn about traditional Inuit culture. The lesson plan includes background information on the Inuit and a pattern for making an Inuit puppet.

This lesson meets the Life Science content standard of the National Science Education Standards for grades K-4 and 5-8. It also meets the following NCTE/IRA Standards: 1, 2, 9.

Exploring Inuit Culture Online (Grade 4 and up)http://www.isuma.tv/exploring-inuit-culture-online/A collection of multimedia lesson plans designed to teach students about the Inuit people and Nunavut.

Lessons from this collection meet the following NCTE/IRA Standards: 1, 5, 7, 8, 9, 11, 12. Some also meet the Life Science and Science in Social and Personal Perspectives content standards of the National Science Education Standards for grades K-5 and 5-8.

Inuit Peoples (Grade 4 and up)http://www.thirteen.org/edonline/concept2class/coopcollab/lp_inuit1.htmlThis lesson plan describes a cooperative learning project where students select tasks that reflect multiple intelligences and learning interests.

Biomes: Land of the Inuit (Grades 6-8; modify for elementary students)http://school.discoveryeducation.com/lessonplans/programs/biomes_inuit/Students view a Discovery Education video, compare present-day Inuit to their ancestors, explore the Inuit's relationship with the environment, and create a classroom gallery of Inuit art.

This lesson meets the Science in Personal and Social Perspectives content standard of the National Science Education Standards for grades 5-8.

Science & Literacy: Lessons

Dog Sledding. Photo courtesy of EclecticBlogs, Flickr.

20

Peoples of the Arctic: Virtual

Bookshelf

By Kate Hastings

A number of diverse cultures have lived above the Arctic Circle for thousands of years. The people survived in regions where temperatures fall to minus 90 degrees Fahrenheit and there’s little to no sunlight for half of the year. The Inuit of Canada, the Inupiat (Inuit people of the Alaskan Arctic), and the Sami of

the European Arctic (Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Russia) built shelters in the shallow earth, hunted and fished through snow and ice, domesticated reindeer, and designed tools and devices for coping with their surroundings, including snow goggles (similar to sunglasses) and skis.

Even though Arctic cultures have changed in response to the technology, materials, and lifestyles of outside cultures, many people still rely on traditional skills and ways of knowing. But, as climate change causes the Arctic to warm,

permafrost to thaw, and sea ice to decline, these traditional ways of life are at increasing risk.

We’ve divided this month’s bookshelf into five categories: general books about Arctic peoples, Inuit, Inupiat, Sami, and of course, Penguins and Polar Bears. You’ll find plenty of nonfiction as well as selected fiction and craft books that can greatly enhance a unit about the native peoples of the Arctic region.

Off The Bookshelf

Living in the Arctic. Allan Fowler. 2000. Nonfiction. Grades K-2.This early reader explains the climate of the Arctic and gives a few facts about the Inuit who

live there. Children will learn that Inuit families lived in homes made of earth, stone, and animal skins and igloos made of hard snow. Readers are also introduced to the Sami of northern Europe.

Native American Crafts of the Northwest Coast, the Arctic and the Subarctic. Judith Hoffman Corwin. 2002. Nonfiction. Grades K-5.

Teachers and students will find craft ideas inspired by traditional artwork of the Inuit, Inupiat, and Yup’ik people. Make a “sealskin” bracelet from chamois cloth, a record stick from balsa wood, ivory carvings from soap, and much more.

INDIGENOUS PEOPLES OF THE ARCTIC

21

The Year of Miss Agnes. Kirkpatrick Hill. 2000. Fiction. Grades 2-5.An Athabascan village can’t seem to keep a mainland teacher because of the cultural

differences. But this year is different—Miss Agnes comes. She respects the children’s roots and encourages the children and their parents to value learning about people and things outside their town. Although the Athabascan people live below the Arctic Circle, their story illustrates the realities of life in an isolated rural village and the cultural differences between traditional and modern cultures. Questions for a book discussion are also available.

The Kids Book of the Far North. Ann Love and Jane Drake. 2000. Nonfiction. Grades 3-5.The indigenous people of the Arctic are the subjects of the last

half of this book. From the Sami people of Scandinavia to the Nenet, Evenki, and Nganasan of Sibera, ancient people adapted shelter and clothing for the harsh winters—and even domesticated reindeer! Inuit and Inupiat peoples are discussed as well, including the effects of modern conveniences on their lifestyles. Traditional art and the future of indigenous people are also discussed. In 1999, Canada created a new territory that will be governed by the Inuit people who live there.

Ituko: An Inuit Child. Children of the World, Blackbirch Press. 2000. Nonfiction. Grades K-5.Ituko lives in Greenland. Photographs show a modern

village of wooden homes with electricity. He goes to school, rides a bike, visits the library, and even goes swimming. During the summer, his family goes camping, hunting and fishing.

Living In the Arctic. Neil Morris. 2008. Nonfiction. Grades 1-4.Students will get a well-rounded picture of Inuit life, from their communities to their clothing,

school, food, beliefs, art, and entertainment. Photographs show children and their families at work and play.

Inuit: Ivory Carvers of the North. Rachel Koestler-Grack. 2004. Nonfiction. Grades 2-5.

Learn how the Inuit lived before modern household conveniences became available. Discover why

the term “Eskimo” is inappropriate and learn about the diet and clothing that allowed the early Inuit to survive in harsh conditions. A number of illustrations showing an igloo give the false impression that Inuit spent a lot of time in these structures, but the text explains that igloos were used for winter camp and the people spent most of their time in dugout structures and tents. The book includes activities: ivory-like soap carving, a blueberry treat, and a game called Bilboquet.

INUIT

Off The Bookshelf

22

The Inuit. Andrew Santella. 2001. Nonfiction. Grades 2-5.Learn about the Inuit people: their origins, hunting traditions, artwork, clothing, and shelter. The last two chapters discuss

the Canadian government’s agreement to establish a self-governed territory for the Inuit called Nunavut, meaning “our land.”

Inuit. Indigenous Peoples. Leslie Strudwick. 2004. Nonfiction. Grades 4-5.A comprehensive overview of Inuit culture, including stories and legends, social structures,

communication, law and order, art, holidays, food, and issues facing the Inuit. Best for advanced readers.

Kumak’s Fish: A Tall Tale of the North. Michael Bania. 2004. Picture Book. Grades K-2.A fun story of a village coming together to pull out a big fish

from a frozen lake is based on the author’s observation of an Inupiat village bringing in a whale from the ocean. Though the story is fictional, children will learn that many of today’s Inupiat live in homes that look like ours. They will also learn that fishing and whaling are still traditions many families enjoy and depend upon.

Kumak’s House: A Tale of the Far North. Michael Bania. 2002. Picture Book. Grades K-2.This folktale shares a humorous lesson while introducing

students to traditional Inupiat activities and animals of the Arctic. An author’s note details the wealth of information that can be learned from the book’s rich illustrations.

The Lamp, The Ice and the Boat Called Fish. Jacqueline Briggs Martin. 2001. Nonfiction Picture Book. Grades 2-5.In 1913, the Canadian Arctic

Expedition set out to explore the Arctic Ocean. In addition to the ship Karluk’s crew, many scientists were on board—but none of them had the expertise to survive barren ice. Knowing that the ship would eventually become frozen in the ice, they hired an Inupiat family to guide them, to sew warm clothes, and to hunt for food. Without the Inupiat family’s help, nobody would have survived to witness the miracle of a rescue mission that came to save them the following spring.

Arctic Hunter. Diane Hoyt-Goldsmith. 1992. Nonfiction. Grades 3-5.Reggie, an Inupiat boy, shares his experience hunting and fishing after the winter ice sheets begin

to break away from the shoreline. Reggie talks about life in his home, the games he enjoys, and what he learns at school. Students may identify with a child much like themselves portrayed in the book.

INUPIAT

Off The Bookshelf

23

The Sami of Northern Europe. Deborah Robinson. 2002. Nonfiction. Grades 4-5.The Sami people live in the northern portions of Norway, Sweden, Finland and Russia.

They adapted to the harsh climate by fishing, hunting and gathering. Later they were able to catch and tame reindeer and became herders. They are also considered to be the inventors of skiing. Today less than 10 percent of Sami herd reindeer for a living. The Sami still enjoy culturally unique traditions in games, art and languages.

Penguin and the Cupcake.

Ashley Spires. 2008. Picture Book. Grades K-2.

A penguin decides to take a trip

to the North Pole to search for

cupcakes. The penguin makes

many factual errors about the Arctic that the author

has to correct, making students laugh as they read

about the penguin taking a plane because he can’t

fly and meeting a polar bear who thinks about

eating him (which would never happen because

they don’t live in the same hemisphere).

Polar Bear, Why Is Your World

Melting? Robert E. Wells. 2008. Nonfiction Picture Book.

Grades K-4.

Earth’s climate has been warming

each year, and the biggest impact

can be seen in the poles. Summers are lasting

longer and the ice is melting more quickly. Perhaps

no other animal is quite as affected as the polar

bear; it depends on ice to hunt seals. Children will

learn how humans’ energy use contributes to

global warming and climate change all over the world.

PENGUINS AND POLAR BEARS

Off The Bookshelf

SAMI

About Us

Beyond Penguins and Polar Bears is an online professional development magazine for elementary

teachers. It prepares teachers to integrate high-quality science instruction with literacy teaching. The

magazine is available for free at http://beyondpenguins.nsdl.org.

Twenty thematic issues link polar science concepts to the scope and sequence of elementary science

curricula. The result is a resource that includes issues devoted to day and night, seasons, plants and

mammals, erosion, and other physical, earth and space, and life science concepts. Some issues are

also interdisciplinary, focusing on polar explorers, the indigenous people of the Arctic, and the

challenges of doing science in the polar regions. To browse the complete archive of issues, visit

http://beyondpenguins.nsdl.org/archive.php.

Other project features include a companion blog (http://expertvoices.nsdl.org/polar) about polar news

and research, a polar photo gallery (http://beyondpenguins.nsdl.org/photogallery/index.php) and a

podcast series (http://beyondpenguins.nsdl.org/podcast/index.php).

Beyond Penguins and Polar Bears is funded by the National Science Foundation under Grant No.

0733024 and is produced by an interdisciplinary team from Ohio State University (OSU), College of

Education and Human Ecology; the Ohio Resource Center (ORC) for Mathematics, Science, and

Reading; the Byrd Polar Research Center; COSI (Center for Science and Industry) Columbus; the

Upper Arlington Public Library (UAPL); and the National Science Digital Library (NSDL) Core

Integration team at Cornell University and University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR).

Copyright October 2010. Beyond Penguins and Polar Bears is produced by an interdisciplinary team from Ohio State

University (OSU), College of Education and Human Ecology; the Ohio Resource Center (ORC) for Mathematics, Science, and

Reading; the Byrd Polar Research Center; COSI (Center for Science and Industry) Columbus; the Upper Arlington Public

Library (UAPL); and the National Science Digital Library (NSDL). This material is based upon work supported by the National

Science Foundation under Grant No. 0733024. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in

this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation. Content

in this document is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. Printed version layout

and design by Margaux Baldridge, Office of Technology and Enhanced Learning, College of Education and Human Ecology,

The Ohio State University. For more information email: beyondpenguins@msteacher.org.