Arctic Region Unit Study: Arctic Language Arts Lessons
Discover the rich stories from the Arctic region and get Arctic language arts lessons in grammar, phonics, handwriting, reading, and more with this Language Arts Lessons for a Family-Style Arctic Unit Study
These Arctic Language Arts lessons use Living Books, Read-alouds, Independent Readers, Poetry, Vocabulary, Grammar, Phonics, and Spelling.
The Arctic Unit Study family-style lessons have 3 main levels of difficulty to help you meet your child at the level they are currently working, instead of some arbitrary grade level.
The Early Learners lessons are generally for learners working at a Preschool, Kindergarten, or 1st & 2nd-grade level.
The Upper Elementary lessons are generally for learners working at 3rd to 5th-grade levels.
The Middle to High School lessons are generally for learners working at 6th to 12-grade levels.
Feel free to mix and match the lessons and activities for the three different levels to find activities that best suit your children and their individual learning styles.
Be sure to check out the other parts of this Arctic Region Unit Study:
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Arctic Language Arts: Living Books & Readers
Living Picture Books
Nutik, the Wolf Pup by Jean Craighead George, illustrated by Ten Rand An Eskimo boy nurses a sick wolf pup back to health.
Puffin Peter by Petr Horacek A whale helps Peter, a puffin, find his friend, Paul.
Over in the Arctic: Where the Cold Winds Blow by Marianne Berkes and illustrated by Jill Dubin. This book is being released in 2021 as a counting book. Be sure to find the one with this exact same title released in 2008.
Arctic White by Danna Smith and illustrated by Lee White. At first, it seems like everything in the Arctic is white, but a girl learns to see the many shades of white when her grandfather takes her on a walk.
Aurora: A Tale of the Northern Lights by Mindy Dwyer An origin story of the Aurora Borealis, Northern Lights. Amazing artwork! (Plus, check out the companion book, Northern Lights A to Z, by the same author explores both the science and legends behind aurora borealis.
The Three Snow Bears by Jan Brett. Jan Brett’s illustrations are always amazing and this story about an Inuit girl and a family of polar bears makes this a fun fractured fairy tale take on the classic Goldilocks.
Independent Readers for Lower Elementary
The Bravest Dog Ever: The True Story of Balto by Natalie Standiford A Step into Reading book, Level 3. Probably best for 1st to 2nd graders.
Silver by Gloria Whelan A Stepping Stone book. Gloria Whelan is a great author of living books! This one is about a girl who dreams of owning her own sled dog team someday. Her first puppy is the runt of the litter and is named Silver.
Polars Bears Past Bedtime (Magic Tree House #12) by Mary Pope Osborn If your family is into the Magic Tree House book, this is a good one for your readers at a 2nd-grade level. Personally, I don’t like the Morgan le Fay and Merlin storylines in this series, but otherwise, they are full of information at an easy reader level.
Independent Readers for Upper Elementary
Trapped in Ice by Eric Walters. Story of a widowed mom who takes a job working on a ship as a seamstress and takes her children along for the trip. The ship becomes stranded in the ice and they must cross the ice to get to land.
Ice Whale by Jean Craighead George. This book alternates between the voice of a bowhead whale and a Yupik Eskimo boy (and his descendants) who witnessed the whale’s birth. FYI: Mrs. George’s children finished this novel for her after her death, so it’s not her strongest, but animal lovers will still enjoy it.
Dog Diaries #4: Togo by Kate Klimo and illustrated by Tim Jessell
Independent Readers for Middle & High School
Ice by Sarah Beth Durst. A fairy tale for teens set at an Arctic research station, based upon the tale East of the Sun, West of the Moon. Part adventure, part fantasy, part romance. One of my oldest daughter’s all-time favorites!
Frozen Fire: A Tale of Courage by James Houston. A great adventure story of modern traditional Eskimo life and survival skills.
If you can’t get your hands on either of those books, Call of the Wild by Jack London would be a good substitute for an independent reader, or substitute the read-aloud book, Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George.
Read Aloud Living Book
Julie of the Wolves by Jean Craighead George. This Newberry medal winner is the story of an Eskimo girl who gets lost on the harsh tundra. An absolute classic that kids and parents both will love! This story is filled with facts about life and the animals in the far north. You may want to have a non-fiction book of Arctic wildlife on hand as a reference to give your kids a mental picture of the animals in the story. Also available on Kindle and Audible.
If you have very young listeners, you may want to edit this section while you’re reading. In Part 2, Miyax the Girl, in the section that begins with “During the winter Julie came to understand Naka.” In my copy on page 102, Daniel’s husband assaults Julie. It’s not especially graphic, so it may just go over your little ones’ heads. But I wanted to warn you that it’s there.
If you want to continue the story after you finish Julie of the Wolves, read the next 2 books of the trilogy:
Julie by Jean Craighead George Book 2
Julie’s Wolf Pack by Jean Craighead George Book 3
Arctic Language Arts: Grammar and Writing
Writing
Use the Arctic Expedition Journal Writing packet from the Free Resource Library. There are 3 levels of the Arctic Expedition Journal, so pick the one that matches your student’s ability: either Early Learners for early elementary students, Upper Elementary Learners, or Middle/High School Learners.
Grammar
Copywork and narration are real-life ways to work on grammar skills. Use the Arctic Unit Study Copywork and Narration pages from the Free Resource Library.
After your student has written the sentence from dictation, let her see the original to check it with her work. Have her correct her work, so that she knows how it should look.
Spelling
Use a tray of Epson salt or fake powdered snow to practice writing your spelling words. Or, you could even use sugar or regular table salt. A cookie sheet with a rim around it (like a jellyroll pan) works really well. Just use your finger to write the letters in the salt. Lightly shake the pan between words to “erase” what you wrote.
Vocabulary
Use the Arctic Unit Study Vocabulary Cards from the Free Resource Library. There are 3 different levels (Easy, Intermediate, and Advanced) of vocabulary cards so you can select which ones are best for your learner.
Typically, the Easy vocabulary would be for preschool to second or third grade. Intermediate vocabulary is designed for upper elementary students. And the Advanced vocabulary is for middle & high schoolers.
Here’s a great video from Socratica Kids for early learners to watch as an introduction to some of the animals that live in the Arctic.
Arctic Language Arts: Poetry and Analysis
Poetry
Welcome to the Ice House by Jane Yolen. This poem has been made into a picture book, but the level of the language makes it best for 4th grade up to high school. Younger kids will love the illustrations, but probably won’t be able to sit and listen. If you can’t find it on Amazon, check Thriftbooks.com.
Literary Analysis
Julie of the Wolves, the read-aloud book, uses color to set many of the scenes in the book. Read the excerpt to your children. Then let them paint a picture of the scene described in the passage as a literary analysis of the story.
Use the Arctic Unit Study Literary Analysis packet in the Free Resource Library to get the passage and worksheets.
I recommend printing the worksheets on white cardstock, which will hold up better for the artwork. Pastels or watercolors would be perfect for this project.
For your younger kids, read the book, Dogteam, by Gary Paulsen, illustrated by Ruth Wright Paulsen. It’s another beautiful picture book set to a poem about a team of sled dogs.
More Ideas for Your Arctic Language Arts Unit Study:
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