You can help your preschoolers learn about polar bears by sharing some basic facts about them. Use a globe to show your students the areas where polar bears live, such as Canada, Russia, Greenland, Norway and Alaska. Use a tape measure to illustrate how tall polar bears grow. Explain to the students how polar bears are able to survive in the extreme cold due to the way their bodies are made. Make sure that they know polar bears are only found in the northern areas of the globe and never in the southern climates.
You can encourage interactive learning about polar bears by inviting your class to participate in the lesson plan. Ask the children what they know about polar bears. Most likely, they will have some misconceptions. Use this opportunity to correct their knowledge without discouraging their enthusiasm. Ask your students whether they've had an opportunity to see a polar bear, either in a zoo or on a vacation. Ask how they'd feel if they found themselves face-to-face with a bear as large as a polar bear, and allow them to express their excited thoughts as to what the experience would be like.
When teaching a new topic to preschool students, teaching tools and materials often help you effectively share information. Read age-appropriate books to your students such as "Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear?" by Bill Martin or "The Polar Bear Son: An Inuit Tale" by Lydia Dabcovich. You can also show your preschoolers movies that are about polar bears, such as "The Great Polar Bear Adventure" or "The Little Polar Bear" as a reward for their enthusiastic class participation.
Hands-on crafts that your students can participate in during or after the polar bear lesson lend an air of excitement to the learning process. Have your students glue cotton balls onto a paper plate to create a polar bear head. Have them glue ears and facial features that have been cut from construction paper onto the bear to complete the project. You can also give the children pieces of construction paper in black, blue or purple. Distribute a white piece of chalk to each student, and let them create a polar bear portrait of their own.