We did a fun Arctic Region Salt Dough Map to learn about the Arctic region. Also, look at my pages Arctic Region and Arctic and Inuit Unit Study Free Lapbook & Hands-On Ideas for more fun.
The Arctic Ocean is about 5.5 million square miles of water and sea ice floats on top of the ocean.
Sea ice or the polar ice cap covers most of the ocean and some of the ice is perennial meaning it is frozen year around.
The Arctic is surrounded by land in Greenland, Canada, Russia and parts of these countries as well as part of Alaska is in the Arctic Circle.
So, I thought making a salt dough map would be the perfect way to show the geography of the land and polar ice cap.
Salt dough maps are not only appealing to all ages, but they are just plain fun to do.
We had a bit of controversy in our house before we started this because the Arctic region covers land and the polar ice cap.
According to my boys the polar ice cap is like “frozen land” that is moving. So they wanted to be sure it showed up that way on the map.
They decided to give it “texture and form” by using the dough to show that portion.
BOOKS ABOUT THE ARCTIC FOR KIDS
First, look at some of these books about the Arctic.
I prefer living books when I can find them.
11 Books about Life in the Arctic and Animals of the Arctic
Studying about the region of the Arctic is a fascinating topic. Grab some of these books about life in the Arctic and animals of the Arctic.
How do snow crystals form? What shapes can they take? Are no two snow crystals alike? These questions and more are answered inside this exploration of the science of snow, featuring photos of real snow crystals in all their beautiful diversity. Perfect for reading on winter days, this book by a nature photographer and a snow scientist will inspire wonder and curiosity about the marvels of snow. Snowflake-catching instructions are also included for aspiring young snow scientists!
This arctic adaptation of “This is the House that Jack Built” follows polar bears, walruses, seals, narwhals and beluga whales as they chase each other around “the ice that floats in the Arctic waters.” Not only is the rhythmic, cumulative prose good for early readers; it is a pure delight to read aloud. The “For Creative Minds” section helps children learn how these animals live in the cold, icy arctic region.
This Incredible Planet series provides young readers with interesting information about the Earth’s most fascinating creatures.
Beautiful color photography makes each animal come to life. Learn about the Arctic fox’s habitat, diet, breeding, lifespan, behavior, threats, and so much more!
A wonderful winter book for kids from the author and illustrator of the beloved Over and Under series, now in paperback! Part of the acclaimed nature book series that includes Over and Under the Pond, Over and Under the Rainforest, and Up in the Garden and Down in the Dirt, this volume takes readers on a cross country ski trip through the winter woods to discover the secret world of animals living under the snow.
Read and find out about how animals cope with winter in this colorfully illustrated nonfiction picture book.
This is a clear and appealing book for early elementary age kids, both at home and in the classroom. Introduce kids to basic science ideas as part of discussions about the seasons and animals.
Have you ever seen a butterfly in the snow? Probably not. Butterflies can't survive cold weather, so when winter comes, many butterflies fly to warmer places. They migrate. Woodchucks don't like cold weather either, but they don't migrate; they hibernate. Woodchucks sleep in their dens all winter long. How do these and other animals handle the cold and snow of winter?
Read and find out in the proven winner Animals in Winter!
This is a Level 1 Let's-Read-and-Find-Out, which means the book explores introductory concepts perfect for children in the primary grades.
Today’s Arctic communities have all the comforts of modern living. Yet the Inuit survived in this harsh landscape for hundreds of years with nothing but the land and their own ingenuity. Join authors Alootook Ipellie and David MacDonald as they explore the amazing innovations of traditional Inuit and how their ideas continue to echo around the world. Some inventions are still familiar to us: the one-person watercraft known as a kayak still retains its Inuit name. Other innovations have been replaced by modern technology: slitted snow goggles protected Inuit eyes long before sunglasses arrived on the scene. Andother ideas were surprisingly inspired: using human-shaped stone stacks (Inunnguat) to trick and trap caribou. Many more Inuit innovations are explored here, including: • Dog sleds • Shelter • Clothing • Kids’ stuff • Food preservation • Medicine. In all, more than 40 Inuit items and ideas are showcased through dramatic photos and captivating language. From how these objects were made, to their impact on contemporary culture, The Inuit Thought of It is a remarkable catalogue of Inuit invention.
Tiny Animals Figures Party: 18 PCS Package include orca, walrus, white owl, reindeer, husky, 2pcs seal, 2pcs beluga whale, 2pcs arctic wolf, 2pcs arctic fox, 2pcs arctic rabbit, 2pcs polar bear figurines and igloo model.
“A treat for middle-graders of an ecological bent.” — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books (starred review) At the top of our world is a huge wild place called the Arctic. In the winter, it is a cold and barren land, where few animals can survive. But when spring comes, it attracts animals from every corner of the earth. This lushly illustrated picture book celebrates the resilient wildlife and barren, beautiful landscapes of the Arctic Circle, tracing the awe-inspiring spring migration of millions of creatures to the Arctic and reminding the reader of the hardships and harmony of life in the wild.Back matter includes additional information about the arctic, a glossary, and an index.
When you live in the Arctic in winter, everything is a shade of white. A young girl looks around her home in the Arctic and sees only white, white, white...but one day her grandfather takes her on a journey through the tundra. And at the end of their cold walk across the ice, they find something special that brings color into their world.
In 1893, Fridjtof Nansen set sail in the Fram, a ship specially designed and built to be frozen into the polar ice cap, withstand its crushing pressures, and travel with the sea’s drift closer to the North Pole than anyone had ever gone before. Experts said such a ship couldn't be built and that the voyage was tantamount to suicide. This brilliant first-person account, originally published in 1897, marks the beginning of the modern age of exploration. Nansen vividly describes the dangerous voyage and his 15-month-long dash to the North Pole by sledge. Farthest North is an unforgettable tale and a must-read for any armchair explorer.
Can you imaging living in a place where it's so cold your breath turns instantly into tiny ice crystals that glitter in the sun? Where temperatures can drop fifty degrees below zero and even lower and the sun only comes out for a few hours per day? In This Place Is Cold readers will learn how people and animals survive in Alaska's ferocious cold, and how because of global warming this region is now in trouble. Vicki Cobb and Barbara Lavallee travelled the world together to research this groundbreaking geography series, that is now updated and redesigned to appeal to today's readers.
This is unique for us because unless we study the Antarctic, it probably will be our only salt dough map that looks like this meaning a portion is white.
So many other parts of the world have defined land, water and land forms masses that are blue for water, green for land and brown for mountains.
Having the white portion on the map representing the polar cap is unique.
Dye is optional if you don’t want to paint but we chose to paint ours this time.
Tiny grabbed some blue glitter thinking that it might work good on the blue or water part of the map.
EASY SALT DOUGH RECIPE
- 4 cups flour
- 2 cups salt
- 2 Tablespoon cream of tartar
- 1 piece of cardboard.. For example, lid from a used box or pizza box lid (clean as possible)
- acrylic paint
- pencil and black sharpie
- tape to hold your map down
- Optional blue sprinkles, dye
- The map we used as a template is here by Atlas on the Arctic.
I don’t have pictured the acrylic paint we decided to use later instead of the dye.
I printed the map on 3 pages because we used a pizza size cardboard lid and too, we didn’t want our map too big.
If we were focusing on one country, we probably would have made it a bit bigger.
Since this is the top of the world, we wanted it to keep it with an aerial view.
Tape the map lightly to your box to hold it in place.
Trace over the map outline with a pencil to make a faint outline.
You’re just trying to get a pattern to follow.
Too, color the entire back side of your map which is a nifty tip and then the faint outline is more noticeable.
Also, if your template is big enough, at times, I have just glued the template straight onto the box.
If it is a simple outline you can just try free hand. In my earlier days, I used traced paper too. But this way is easy enough and we like it.
Then come back with a black marker to trace over your pencil outline.
We went ahead and made our dough because Tiny couldn’t wait a minute longer to get his hands into it.
I do like to add in the cream of tartar because I think it makes the salt dough smoother, soft and creamier.
It also kept and didn’t get dry while we painted.
So we painted the water and it doesn’t take too long for it to dry.
Also, on these kinds of maps you can lightly spray paint. As long you spray pay lightly you can still see your outline.
Slowly, they formed the land and the frozen polar ice cap.
Then what is it about making this salt dough map that makes every kid bring out all the tools they have from their play-doh making days?
We let our map dry for a day or two. I have read where you can put in the oven also to get it hard but you have to watch it. And bake it on low.
We weren’t in a hurry, so we just let it dry for a while after they painted it.
Important: Don’t forget to put holes in the dough where you want to put your map flags or animal tooth picks before it dries completely.
It is hard to place them after it dries completely.
We added one more country after it dried and you can use an ice pick and tap LIGHTLY so it doesn’t crack.
Kind of twist it and tap lightly and we got it in without breaking the land.
The boys wanted to make their own flag for the North Pole so they added that before it dried.
I created some flags so that we could locate these countries and areas.
Next, we placed all the flags after we read about the area again.
Ta da, all done and tons of fun.
There is no better way to study geography. Okay, I can think of a few more ways but they all have to be fun.
I have a little something for you too. I have made these flags on the Arctic.
Also, I have flags that just have animals on it for the younger sweeties.
You know most young kids equate countries or lands with where an animal lives.
Land of the polar bear and land of the seals equals the Arctic.
As they grow older, they know the countries, etc. So I created a set of map flags.
One page has the countries or regions, one is blank if you want to write them in yourself and one page has flags with the animals, igloo and the Saami, etc
Use the page with flag markers that are blank to write in your own animals or points of interests.
HOW TO GET THE FREE ARCTIC PRINTABLE MAP FLAGS
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That means when you sign up to follow me, you get my emails in your inbox and you get this freebie.
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