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Where Do Polar Bears Live? Sarah L. Thomson, Illustrated by Jason Chin.
New York: HarperCollins, 2010. (2010) (Elementary 2-3, CCSS, Appendix B)
1
2
This island is covered with snow. No trees grow. Nothing has green leaves. The land is white as
far as you can see.
3
Then something small and round and black pokes up out of the snow.
4
5
A black nose sniffs the air. Then a smooth white head appears. A mother polar bear heaves
herself out of her den.
6
A cub scrambles after her.
7
8
9
When the cub was born four months ago, he was no bigger than a guinea pig. Blind and
helpless, he snuggled in his mother’s fur. He drank her milk and grew, safe from the long
Arctic winter.
10
11
Outside the den, on some days, it was fifty degrees below zero. From October to February, the
sun never rose.
12
13
14
Now it is spring—even though snow still covers the land. The cub is about the size of a cocker
spaniel. He’s ready to leave the den. For the first time, he sees bright sunlight and feels the
wind ruffle his fur
15
16
The cub tumbles and slides down icy hills. His play makes him strong and teaches him to walk
and run in snow.
17
18
19
20
Like his mother, he cub is built to survive in the Arctic. His white fur will grow to be six inches
thick—longer than your hand. The skin beneath the cub’s fur is black. It soaks up the heat of
the sun. Under the skin is a layer of fat. Like a snug blanket, this blubber keeps in the heat of
the bear’s body.
21
22
Polar bears get too hot more easily than they get too cold. They stretch out on the ice to cool
off.
Sample Performance Tasks for Informational Texts
Students determine the meanings of words and phrases encountered in Sarah L. Thomson’s Where Do
Polar Bears Live?, such as cub, den, blubber , and the Arctic. Determine the meaning of words and
phrases in text relevant to a grade 2 topic or subject area. [RI.2.4]
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“Where Do Polar Bears Live?” Multiple-Choice Questions
_____1. What is the main idea of this paragraph?
a. Polar bear cub’s play makes them strong.
b. Polar bears live and survive in the Arctic.
c. Sometimes it is 50 degrees below zero in the arctic.
d. There are no green trees where polar bears live in the Arctic.
_____2. Polar bears live in a place called a
a. den.
b. burrow.
c. cave.
d. nest.
_____3. When a polar bear cub play, it helps him or her
a. grow strong.
b. learn to walk in the snow.
c. learn to run in the snow.
d. all of the above.
_____4. To describe the size of a polar bear cub when it is born, the author compares it to a
a. a cocker spaniel.
b. an adult polar bear.
c. a guinea pig.
d. a brown bear.
_____5. What word in line 19 means a layer of fat?
a. skin
b. blanket
c. blubber
d. heat
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“Where Do Polar Bears Live?” Answer Key
1–b
2–a
3–d
4–c
5–c
Possible Summary:
Polar bears live in the treeless, cold Arctic. (central idea, CC2) The mother polar bear feeds her cub
and keeps it warm in their den in the winter. (detail/evidence, CC2) In the spring, leaves the den. The
cub plays in the snow to become strong. (detail/evidence, CC2) Polar Bears are built to survive in the
Arctic. (inference, CC1). Their fur is thick, their skin is black to soak up the sun, and they have a layer
of fat called blubber to keep them warm (detail/evidence, CC2)
Analysis of Craft:
This informational excerpt (genre, CC5) is organized (organization, CC5) by description: “This
island is covered with snow. No trees grow. Nothing has green leaves. The land is white as far as you
can see.” The author, Sarah Thomson, uses comparison to indicate the size and length, “…no bigger
than a guinea pig,” “…about the size of a cocker spaniel,” and “…longer than your hand.” And a
simile comparing blubber to a “…warm blanket….” (figurative meaning, CC4) The author also uses
vivid verbs, heaves, scrambles, tumbles, and slides and scrambles, as well as, descriptive detail, “A
black nose sniffs the air. Then a smooth white head appears.” (figurative meaning, CC4)The author
concludes with an interesting fact, “Polar bears get too hot more easily than they get too cold. They
stretch out on the ice to cool off.” (organization, CC5)