Still Waiting Read Aloud [English]

• This poignant story tells the tale of a polar bear cub and its mother in the Arctic, describing the hardships and ultimate sacrifice the mother makes to search for food in a melting Arctic.
• Students will learn about the causes of climate change and the impacts that these changes are having on polar bears and their habitat.

Positives

• This fictitious story is engaging to young learners, as it includes talking animals and other imaginative elements.
• The book has English and Spanish text on each page and is also available in Spanish.

Additional Prerequisites

• Students should have background information on the basics of climate change.
• This book may be emotional and difficult for some students, as it deals with themes of hunger, parental loss, and suffering animals, so prepare for how to provide support for students' questions and emotions.

Differentiation

• Consider providing students with a T-chart of fiction and nonfiction themes and ask them to write or draw pictures of what is make-believe, such as a polar bear watching television, and what is true, such as polar bears hunting seals to survive.
• Pause the video on the page that explains the increased distance between icebergs and ask students to explain what the diagram is showing and why this is a problem for polar bears.
• The last page of the book asks students to draw their own sunset, so either print the page or give students a blank page to prepare for this activity.
• As the book's ending doesn't give an explicit explanation for what happens to the mother, provide students with the opportunity to discuss what they believe happened and why.
• Provide students with the opportunity to write an alternate ending to the book using words or pictures, in which people take immediate action to reverse climate change and Ollie and his mother are given a better chance of survival.
• Pair this book with some of the resources from Polar Bears International, such as this coloring sheet asking students to write a message from a polar bear.
• Since the book gives a very simple explanation for climate change, provide other opportunities for students to learn more about causes and effects of climate change and receive a basic introduction to climate change.

This resource addresses the listed standards. To fully meet standards, search for more related resources.