Lemmings: Arctic Classroom Theme
When the winds start to howl and the snow begins to blow you can capture your student's attention with this innovative Arctic Unit Study focusing on lemmings.
Your little lemmings will be excited to learn with a theme that includes little furry creatures that eagerly follow along as you lead them through arctic discoveries.
Build an Igloo Reading Nook. Write books about your discoveries, publish them and put them in your library.
Measure, make graphs, count, add and multiply your knowledge of rodents, snow and the polar region.
Put on your parkas and and jump off the cliff...
Your little lemmings will be excited to learn with a theme that includes little furry creatures that eagerly follow along as you lead them through arctic discoveries.
Build an Igloo Reading Nook. Write books about your discoveries, publish them and put them in your library.
Measure, make graphs, count, add and multiply your knowledge of rodents, snow and the polar region.
Put on your parkas and and jump off the cliff...
Lemming Table of Contents
- Understanding the Lemming Exodus
- Lemmings - Tell their Story!
- Lemming Predators
- Classroom Habitat
- The Myth of Lemming Suicide
- Lemming Suicide
- The Lemming's Reading Nest
- Lemming Poetry
- Lemming Music
- Lemming Math
- Lemming Science
- Lemming Social Studies
- Lemmings in the News!
- Lemming Publishing Company
- Lapbooking
- The Writing Process
- The Ideal Lemming Classroom Habitat
- All Things Lemming
- Lemmings in the News!
- A Walk in the Woods
- Jump off that cliff and find some more ideas!
- Follow EvelynSaenz on Twitter
- Evelyn's Hands-On Learning Blog
- About the Author
- The Lemmings are on The Isle of Squid
Lemmings
WHAT ARE LEMMINGS?Lemmings are chubby little rodents that look like mice. But they aren't. Lemmings are more closely related to voles and muskrats than mice. They have thick fur that helps to keep them warm. They have short legs, tiny ears, a tiny tail and little black eyes that might remind you of hamsters.
Lemmings are four to five inches long. In the summer their thick fur is grayish or brownish on their backs with pale yellow fur on their stomachs. They have short tails and ears which are so small that they are almost hidden by fur. They have strong legs and claws for digging.
WHERE DO LEMMINGS LIVE?Lemmings live in the open tundra in tunnels they make under the snow or just under the ground in Alaska, northern Canada, Scandinavia and Siberia. Their underground burrows have rest areas, bathrooms and nesting rooms.
Lemmings make nests out of grasses, feathers and musk ox wool.
WHAT KIND OR TEMPERAMENT DO LEMMINGS HAVE?Lemmings are basically shy. But they can be very aggressive and even courageous when cornered. Lemmings have even been known to attack 1,000-pound polar bears when cornered.
Lemming Population
ARE LEMMINGS ENDANGERED?No! A female lemming can have up to seven litters a year with about 11 babies in each litter. There are generally more females than males in each litter. Females become adults and mate in only 30 days. That means one female can produce thousands of descendants in a single year. The high number of lemmings helps to provide food for many animals.
DON'T THINGS GET CROWDED?Yes! As their numbers increase, lemmings get cranky. They fight in burrows and tunnels beneath the snow.
Finally, thousands will leave in search of a new lemming-land. Imagine there being 10 times as many people in your house; you might want to move too.
WHAT HAPPENS?Some find nice, new homes. Lemmings are good swimmers, but many drown trying to cross rivers and lakes. Some lemmings get eaten by trout. Others move to places where there's little food and starve. Lemmings are sometimes seen on sea ice well beyond land and probably drown. In some places, great swarms of lemmings have moved over wide areas of land to the sea, then plunge off cliffs and drown. But it's not animal suicide. The mass deaths are accidental.
HOW OFTEN DOES THIS HAPPEN?
Life gets too crowded for lemmings about every three to four years.
Understanding the Lemming Exodus
The need for the Lemmings to leave their home and look for new territory reminds me of the Logical Journey of the Zoombinis. It is based on the story of a large group of small creatures moving into a new territory. Children can learn logical thinking and strategy skills from this program.
Another related resource is the Wump World by Bill Pete where over crowding causes the Pollutions to invade the Wump's World. Wumps also resemble lemmings. The Pollutions resemble humans.
Lemmings - Tell their Story!
Students need to write alot and often in all areas of the curriculum.
WRITE AND SHARE: Write about your lemming research every day and share this writing. Publish the best stories and put them in the library or Reading Nest. Have blank books available as well as lots of paper and writing tools in the writing center.Write books as a whole class. If you made an ABC book about lemmings each child could write and illustrate a page. Ideas for each letter could be brainstormed during circle time.
Write number books 0-10 items on each page. Or write Math Word Problems on index cards and incorporate them into a Lemming Trivial Pursuit Game.
Make your classroom reflect the Arctic Tundra where the lemmings live. Sky level (ceiling or near ceiling) could reflect the wide open expanses with maybe a few small birds flying overhead. At eye level there could be low rolling hills and a few willow and birch trees. At ground level there could be mosses, lichen, rocks, grasses and sedges. Use this atmosphere to begin settings for stories about lemmings and their habits.
If you have access to fallen birch logs, it is fun to write on birch bark. (Don't strip it off living trees as this will kill them.)
Start a Word Wall of words that the students need help spelling. Ask the children for suggestions. Have them put the words up in ABC order. Review them often. Use a willow stick or fly swatter to point to the words. One of the centers could be "Write the Wall" where they list favorite words found around the room.
Mini Offices are three sided folders with a picture dictionary of themed words on the left, pictures in the center and a Word Wall of Dolch List words or words that the student is learning to spell on the right.
Use these new words to teach phonics. The word lemming, for example, starts with the CVC syllable lem. Since that syllable has a short e you must double the consonant to add the -ing.
Write fiction, non-fiction, poetry, posters, notes, lists, etc. about lemmings. Keep writing all the time.
For more ideas on teaching reading check out Beginning to Read.
Lemming Predators
DO LEMMINGS HAVE ENEMIES?
Lemmings are eaten by many animals. The ermine (weasel), Arctic fox, Snowy Owl, wolf and wolverine are just some of their enemies.
Arctic foxes can sniff out lemmings in their burrows under the snow.
Ermine (weasels) can fit down the lemmings' burrows. They chase the lemmings into their burrows and kill them by biting their necks.
When there are fewer lemmings, there are fewer predators (animals that hunt lemmings for food). High numbers of lemmings help to provide food for many animals.
HOW DO LEMMINGS PROTECT THEMSELVES? Lemmings run quickly and hide in their tunnels under the snow or underground.
IMPORTANT FACTS
The number of young that a Snowy Owl has depends on whether there are a lot of lemmings or not.
Lemmings are eaten by many animals. The ermine (weasel), Arctic fox, Snowy Owl, wolf and wolverine are just some of their enemies.
Arctic foxes can sniff out lemmings in their burrows under the snow.
Ermine (weasels) can fit down the lemmings' burrows. They chase the lemmings into their burrows and kill them by biting their necks.
When there are fewer lemmings, there are fewer predators (animals that hunt lemmings for food). High numbers of lemmings help to provide food for many animals.
HOW DO LEMMINGS PROTECT THEMSELVES? Lemmings run quickly and hide in their tunnels under the snow or underground.
IMPORTANT FACTSThe number of young that a Snowy Owl has depends on whether there are a lot of lemmings or not.
- What's a snowy owl's favorite food?
- Owls live mostly off lemmings. If there are a lot of lemmings the owl population increases. But if the lemming population is down during the winter the owls leave the Arctic are in search of food. Some people think that the owls die if there is only a little food but really a lot of them fly south searching for food. They come back when the food becomes more abundant.
Predators
Students can act out their newly acquired knowledge of the predator/prey relationships in the dramatic play center.
1 Put out a few stuffed lemmings and predators such as owls, foxes, wolverines, and wolves.
2. At the end of Center Time you might have the group act out their scene for the rest of the class.
Lemmings Live in Tunnels
Lemmings make tunnels just below the ground surface.
Lemming Tunneling through the Snow
Classroom Habitat
Open spaces with lots of tunnels
CLASSROOM HABITAT: Lemmings live in tunnels on the open tundra.
To make your classroom feel like a lemming's habitat. Provide lots of tunnels between learning centers.
In my classroom I have several low bookshelves. I separated them and make a tunnel in the space between them to allow the children to pass between centers.
The Myth of Lemming Suicide
- Lemmings, Dying on Camera
- Dr. Beetle discusses the origins of the myth of lemming suicide which was started by the Walt Disney nature documentary White Wilderness.
Lemming Suicide
Did it surprise you that lemmings don't really commit suicide?
Fetching blurbs now... please stand byYes, I thought they all had a death wish.
chefkeem says:
I had only limited knowledge of lemmings, although I'd heard of the "mass suicides" myth. Now, I know it's a myth and I know a lot more than that about them lemming rascals.
Posted March 30, 2008
No, that's preposterous!
Mortira says:
I saw a program about documentary makers that fake their footage. They discussed the fact that Walt Disney tossed lemmings into a pond for one of his nature films, even though lemmings don't normally jump into water willy nilly.
Posted January 09, 2009
Ping says:
An expose of Disney company in the 1990s demonstrated that Disney Studios hereded the lemmings off a cliff for their Sunday night show on the animals.
Posted December 30, 2008
HeartMagic says:
I didn't even know what a Lemming was til now. It would appear that attacking a Polar Bear would seem a bit suicidal for such a wee little creature.
Posted March 16, 2008
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The Lemming's Reading Nest
How to make Milk Carton Igloos
MAKE A READING NOOK:To make an igloo collect lots of milk cartons and make sure that they are throughly washed out and dried. Ask the whole school to collect them for you as you will need at least 160. Use hotglue to hold them together. Start with a nearly complete circle of about 25 jugs and a yardstick to hold them in the shape of a circle. Glue the yardstick at the entrance.
Add four or more rows on the top decreasing the number slightly with each row. Now add another yardstick for the top of the doorway. Then decrease rapidly to form the dome.
A good reading nest should be covered on the inside with grass-colored towels or cloth, and have a light fixed into the roof's top.
Pillows should be set up for students to lean on while reading. They can also be covered in grass-colored towels.
For a lemming-nesty effect, add stuffed lemmings to cuddle with or interact with.
Also add a stack of books about lemmings. See the list below for suggested titles.
The igloo comes from Flicker under a Creative Commons license. The original plans for making the igloo come from Mrs. Meacham.
Summer and Winter
We made this igloo after seeing it on Mrs. Flannigan's page but we didn't stop there.
We added rope lights to make it easier to read and then the blankets and pillows to make a cozy nest.
We had a couple of fluffy white bathrobes for those who wanted to be winter lemmings.
Later we covered the whole thing in brown blankets and added brown bathrobes for the summer lemmings.
Later this became the River Otter's Den, a bird blind, and the mud at the bottom of the pond where the frogs go in winter.
Add four or more rows on the top decreasing the number slightly with each row. Now add another yardstick for the top of the doorway. Then decrease rapidly to form the dome.
A good reading nest should be covered on the inside with grass-colored towels or cloth, and have a light fixed into the roof's top.
Pillows should be set up for students to lean on while reading. They can also be covered in grass-colored towels.
For a lemming-nesty effect, add stuffed lemmings to cuddle with or interact with.
Also add a stack of books about lemmings. See the list below for suggested titles.
The igloo comes from Flicker under a Creative Commons license. The original plans for making the igloo come from Mrs. Meacham.
Summer and Winter
We made this igloo after seeing it on Mrs. Flannigan's page but we didn't stop there.We added rope lights to make it easier to read and then the blankets and pillows to make a cozy nest.
We had a couple of fluffy white bathrobes for those who wanted to be winter lemmings.
Later we covered the whole thing in brown blankets and added brown bathrobes for the summer lemmings.
Later this became the River Otter's Den, a bird blind, and the mud at the bottom of the pond where the frogs go in winter.
Lemmings for your Reading Nook
Get a few lemmings for your Lemming Nest Reading Nook.
Lemmings love to be read to.
Plush Norwegian Lemming 6"
Amazon Price: $15.00 (as of 07/11/2009) 
Non-Fiction Lemming Books
What's a Lemming describes the life cycle, characteristics, and habitats of lemmings. What other facts can you discover about lemmings? Make your own guidebooks.
Arctic Picture Books
These are great books to have in your reading nest. Try to find these titles in Big Book form as well so that all the children can see the words as you read. Add the doll and the stuffed lemming for snuggling, cuddling and reading to.
Lemming Picture Books
These are all great picture books about the Arctic and the animals that live in the lemmings' neighborhood.
Picture Books about Lemming Neighbors
Amazon Error: Could not open remote connection
Sorry, there are no results available from Amazon.Books in Spanish about Lemming Neighbors and Habitat
Learning another language is important. During the Lemming Unit I have books in spanish about the lemmings habitat and neighbors available for check out in the classroom library in the Listening Center. One of my Spanish speaking parents recorded the stories onto cassette tapes years ago. Now I finally found someone to transfer them to Cd. Some of the stories I have in English as well. The children love listen to them in both languages. I also make these books with their recordings available as Literacy Bags.
Lemming Poetry
Lemming PoemLemmings in the Arctic.
Lemmings on the ground.
Lemmings in the North.
Lemmings all around.
by Evelyn Saenz
With rhymes and repetition this makes a great poem for a reading chart. As you learn more about lemmings the children can help you to add more verses.
Lemmings through Seasons
Lemmings in spring,Shoots they are eating.
Lemmings in summer,
Grubs they uncover.
Lemmings in fall,
Have plenty for all.
Lemmings on a winter night,
Change their coats to brilliant white.
By Roxanne Rua
Lemming Theater
Lemming CostumesYou can make your dramatic play area come alive for those children who need to work on their large motor skills.
Put on a brown robe in summer or a white one in winter, crawl into the Lemming tunnel (Igloo) and snuggle up to read a great book. I have hooks on the wall labeled "Summer Lemming" and "Winter Lemming" for the kids to hang them on when not in use.
Lemming Hangouts
Other "parts" of this site.
Lemming Music
Here is a song for cold climates but... OH, NO! It's about penguins and as you know they don't live in the arctic. No problem. Just rewrite this song for lemmings. This is a great activity to do with the children during Circle Time as it gives them another tool in learning to write and express themselves:
All The Penguins
(Sung to: Oh My Darling Clementine)
C
They are playing on an ice patch,
C G
They are jumping in the sea.
F C
All the penguins are together,
G C
Having fun so playfully!
C
There are big ones, there are small ones,
G
And then some are in between.
F C
But they're having fun together,
G C
Where the air is cold and clean.
C
When they walk they kind of waddle,
G
Back and forth from side to side,
F C
Playing in the cold Antarctic,
G C
They would never come inside!
C
It is in that cold Antarctic,
G
That's the land that they call home.
F C
Full of snow and icy water,
G C
From that cold they will not roam!
Courtesy of Songs 4 Teachers© www.songs4teachers.com - Feel free to share this song with your colleagues
Mary - oflynn4@home.com
http://www.abcteach.com/Themeunits/Antarctica/penguins.pdf
To hear a real rodent sing check out my Whitefoot the Woodmouse lens. Down towards the bottom you will find a recording of a mouse that in fact sings.
All The Penguins
(Sung to: Oh My Darling Clementine)
C
They are playing on an ice patch,C G
They are jumping in the sea.
F C
All the penguins are together,
G C
Having fun so playfully!
C
There are big ones, there are small ones,
G
And then some are in between.
F C
But they're having fun together,
G C
Where the air is cold and clean.
C
When they walk they kind of waddle,
G
Back and forth from side to side,
F C
Playing in the cold Antarctic,
G C
They would never come inside!
C
It is in that cold Antarctic,
G
That's the land that they call home.
F C
Full of snow and icy water,
G C
From that cold they will not roam!
Courtesy of Songs 4 Teachers© www.songs4teachers.com - Feel free to share this song with your colleagues
Mary - oflynn4@home.com
http://www.abcteach.com/Themeunits/Antarctica/penguins.pdf
To hear a real rodent sing check out my Whitefoot the Woodmouse lens. Down towards the bottom you will find a recording of a mouse that in fact sings.
Lemming Math
How do those cute little rodents measure up?
Lemmings
Lemmings are small rodents.
They eat plants, weigh between an ounce and four ounces and are three to five inches long.
They look rather like hamsters, and may be brownish or dark gray in the summer, when they live in tunnels in the ground.
They have short tails and fur on their foot pads to help them to keep warm.
In winter lemming fur turns white, and the little creatures make tunnels under the snow and eat the plants that they find.
The lemmings use the reproductive strategy, breeding very rapidly, hoping that some members of their group can survive despite predators and difficult weather conditions.
After a 20 day pregnancy the mothers produce litters of 6 to 9 babies, and the mothers soon become pregnant again. A lemming can have 3 litters a year.
More than half of the new lemmings are female, and when they are a month old they can also become pregnant.
1.Find things that weigh the same amount as a lemming.
Like J.J. is doing in his classroom. Weigh the container first without the mouse.
Then add the mouse. Weigh the container with the mouse.
Then subtract the weight of the container from the weight of the container with the mouse to find out the weight of the mouse.
Does the mouse in your class weigh more or less than a lemming?
2.Take a picture of a lemming and blow it up to the size of a real lemming.
Or make a game of it and have several sizes and have the children guess which one is the correct size.
3.Try walking on a tile floor barefoot compared to with socks on pretending to be lemmings. How does having fur on the bottom of their feet help them?
4.Make some brown lemmings and some white lemmings. Place them on white snow and on brown tundra to see camouflage.
5. Use the bar graph
form to display results of a survey about favorite arctic animals.
6. Subtraction: Fill empty white Cottage Cheese containers (Snow Covered Hills) with 12 cotton balls each (Lemmings),2 dice and a worksheet that reads "12 Lemmings. __ jump off. __ left." repeated about 10 times.
Student places all 12 lemmings on top of the cliff, rolls the dice to see how many jump and records the answers on the worksheet.
7. Multiplication of 4's: Use a four legged plastic animal with paw print stamps on it's feet (Pretend that it's a lemming.), 2 dice, and a worksheet. Students roll the dice.
Use the stamp that many times and record the answer. All problems will start with 4 X __ = __ . For younger children, have them first put markers(lemmings on every 4th number on the number line up to 48 and allow them to do the work near the number line.
This part could be done during circle time and the worksheets could be done in pairs or small groups.
8. Graph daylight hours over the course of a year. Does this relate to the giant vegetables grown in Alaska?
9. Graph average rainfall/ snowfall and temperature.
There are lots more games that can be adapted to learning about lemmings at Fun Educational Games
Lemmings are small rodents.They eat plants, weigh between an ounce and four ounces and are three to five inches long.
They look rather like hamsters, and may be brownish or dark gray in the summer, when they live in tunnels in the ground.
They have short tails and fur on their foot pads to help them to keep warm.
In winter lemming fur turns white, and the little creatures make tunnels under the snow and eat the plants that they find.
The lemmings use the reproductive strategy, breeding very rapidly, hoping that some members of their group can survive despite predators and difficult weather conditions.
After a 20 day pregnancy the mothers produce litters of 6 to 9 babies, and the mothers soon become pregnant again. A lemming can have 3 litters a year.
More than half of the new lemmings are female, and when they are a month old they can also become pregnant.
1.Find things that weigh the same amount as a lemming.Like J.J. is doing in his classroom. Weigh the container first without the mouse.
Then add the mouse. Weigh the container with the mouse.
Then subtract the weight of the container from the weight of the container with the mouse to find out the weight of the mouse.
Does the mouse in your class weigh more or less than a lemming?
2.Take a picture of a lemming and blow it up to the size of a real lemming.
Or make a game of it and have several sizes and have the children guess which one is the correct size.
3.Try walking on a tile floor barefoot compared to with socks on pretending to be lemmings. How does having fur on the bottom of their feet help them?
4.Make some brown lemmings and some white lemmings. Place them on white snow and on brown tundra to see camouflage.
5. Use the bar graph
form to display results of a survey about favorite arctic animals.
6. Subtraction: Fill empty white Cottage Cheese containers (Snow Covered Hills) with 12 cotton balls each (Lemmings),2 dice and a worksheet that reads "12 Lemmings. __ jump off. __ left." repeated about 10 times.
Student places all 12 lemmings on top of the cliff, rolls the dice to see how many jump and records the answers on the worksheet.
7. Multiplication of 4's: Use a four legged plastic animal with paw print stamps on it's feet (Pretend that it's a lemming.), 2 dice, and a worksheet. Students roll the dice.
Use the stamp that many times and record the answer. All problems will start with 4 X __ = __ . For younger children, have them first put markers(lemmings on every 4th number on the number line up to 48 and allow them to do the work near the number line.
This part could be done during circle time and the worksheets could be done in pairs or small groups.
8. Graph daylight hours over the course of a year. Does this relate to the giant vegetables grown in Alaska?
9. Graph average rainfall/ snowfall and temperature.
There are lots more games that can be adapted to learning about lemmings at Fun Educational Games
Understand the Math behind the Lemming Population Explosion
Math Books
Read One Grain Of Rice: A Mathematical Folktale by Demi Using a calendar and small stickers show how the lemming population can increase over several months.
Lemming Science
Did you know that if it gets cold enough that bubbles will freeze? Lemmings live in a climate that cold. If your class is in a northern climate you might try going outside on a very, very cold day and try blowing bubbles. They freeze in the air and can shatter like glass when they fall to the ground.
- Frozen Bubbles
- Bubbles CAN freeze!
Moss Garden to Make a Lemming Feel at Home
Lemmings eat Berries
Lemming's Tundra Habitat
Make your own Moss Garden and populate it with lots of lemmings.
You can easily make a Moss Garden by collecting moss, placing it on dirt in an old pan or terracotta dish. Add a few other plants and spray regularly. Add water to keep it moist. This moss garden grows well away from light.
We add a couple of plastic mice that we pretend are lemmings. The children like to use their growing knowlege of lemmings and their environment to act out the lives of these cute little rodents.
Lemmings in the Field Guides
For more information about Lemmings and their neighbors.
Field Guides can answer many of the questions children have about animals and their environment. They are great for browsing during silent reading time.
Whenever I go out into the wild I like to have a field guide handy. You never know what you may see. These guides are especially helpful for arctic regions.
Whenever I go out into the wild I like to have a field guide handy. You never know what you may see. These guides are especially helpful for arctic regions.
North Pole Camouflage Game
Can you keep these Lemming Neighbors from being seen?
With 48 challenging puzzles to choose from, you'll be thawing out your logical reasoning skills to solve these multi-level puzzles.
Arrange the 6 transparent puzzle pieces so that the animals are camouflaged in their correct environments.
Puzzle pieces and cards store in the game board's pullout drawer, making this the perfect on-the-go game.
Includes game board, 48 puzzles with 4 levels of difficulty, 6 transparent puzzle pieces and solution booklet.
Click
here to add this wonderfully educational game to your collection of materials for Arctic Centers.
Food Chain and Food Web Worksheets
Where do the Lemmings fit in?
These worksheets can be used to review concepts related to food chains or food webs.
You will find a worksheets, Crosswords, Wordsearches, and Flashcards here.
For beautifully illustrated flashcards of Carnivores, Herbivores, Omnivores, Insectivores, Predators, Scavengers, Filter Feeders, Parasites, Cleaners click here. Make two copies of each on cardstock to play Go Fish, Concentration or Authors.
You will find a worksheets, Crosswords, Wordsearches, and Flashcards here.
For beautifully illustrated flashcards of Carnivores, Herbivores, Omnivores, Insectivores, Predators, Scavengers, Filter Feeders, Parasites, Cleaners click here. Make two copies of each on cardstock to play Go Fish, Concentration or Authors. Lemming Social Studies
BRING SOCIAL STUDIES TO LIFE: Flannel Board with Eskimos, Arctic Explorers, Arctic animals and vegetation. Have children draw pictures, cut them out and paste them to flannel.Act out crossing the Bering Straight, the Gold Rush, or the Iditarod.
Display maps of the Arctic.
Make puzzles of Arctic Maps. Print out a map, paste it onto cardboard and use an exacto knife to cut it into pieces. Spray painting the back of each puzzle with a different color will make it easier to return stray pieces to their proper box.
Color on blank maps to show where lemmings live.
At the Rice Table add plastic animals and people,such as the Arctic Explorer(found below under the list of toys). To make it even more exciting and educational add a snowcone maker (found below under the list of toys)and some ice cubes. The children can make snow and then experiment with the properties of snow as it melts. They might like to wear mittens. If so have a clothesline nearby to hang the wet ones.
Learn political boundaries, laws of the arctic, Oil Exploration and Extraction, and the Exxon Valdez disaster. Experiment in the rice table or a dish pan with oil, trying to get it out of sand, feathers, fur, water etc.
Arctic Sensory Table
Frolic with the Lemmings
You also might fill the Sensory Table with rice or Insta Snow.
Lemmings in the News!
Lemmings share their environment with lemmings.
- Arctic Meltdown Opens Fabled Northwest Passage
- A fabled sea route above North America linking the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans has become a reality thanks to global warming.
Scientists have confirmed that in August, Arctic sea ice shrank to its lowest levels since satellite measurements began monitoring the region nearly 30 years ago. One consequence of this is that the Northwest Passage has opened up much earlier than expected.
Follow the Leader Game
Pretend to be Lemmings
When migrating lemmings may not jump off cliffs into the ocean but they do run in groups looking for new territories to live in. Here is a running game where you can pretend to be lemmings scurrying across the tundra.
Get some exercise at recess by following eachother around as fast as you can without running into eachother.
Follow the Leader (game)
First a leader or "head of the line" is chosen, then the children all line up behind the leader. The leader then moves around and all the children have to mimic the leader's actions. Any players who mess up or do not do what the leader does are out of the game. The last person standing other than the leader is now the new leader.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Get some exercise at recess by following eachother around as fast as you can without running into eachother.
Follow the Leader (game)
First a leader or "head of the line" is chosen, then the children all line up behind the leader. The leader then moves around and all the children have to mimic the leader's actions. Any players who mess up or do not do what the leader does are out of the game. The last person standing other than the leader is now the new leader.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
LEMMING PUBLISH COMPANY
Lemming Experts Present Their Knowledge to the World.
Now that your students have learned all about lemmings, their habitat, etc. it's time to present it to the world. Here are a few suggestions:-Lapbooking (see photo above and link below)
-Put on a play for parents and grandparents
-Sing or recite songs and poems for other classes
-Read the books you've written for other classes
Publishing Your Lemming Research
Lemming Publishing Company
Lemming Experts Present Their Knowledge to the World.
Now that your students have learned all about lemmings, their habitat, etc. it's time to present it to the world. Here are a few suggestions:
-Make a Lapbook
-Put on a play for parents and grandparents
-Sing or recite songs and poems for other classes
-Read the books you've written for other classes
The Big Book of Reproducible Graphic Organizers: 50 Great Templates to Help Kids Get More Out of Reading, Writing, Social Studies and More
Amazon Price: $10.36 (as of 07/11/2009)
Lapbooking
Learn How to Present Your Lemming Research
- LAPBOOKING
- A Lapbook is a complete collection of booklets and display material from a particular study gathered and displayed in a folder-book that fits in your lap. . A Lapbook is commonly prepared using a file-folder, folded in a "shutter-fold" with a display of bookslets and other information from a study. A Lapbook displays the highlights of the study. It is used for display of information from a study and as a tool for reviewing material as the child comes back to look at the Lapbook.
The Writing Process
IlluStory Make Your Own Story Kit
What's up with the "IlluStory Make Your Own Story Kit" and why so many people are talking about it?
Most educators now use the Writing Process to teach children how to write.Children learn to write by focusing on the process of creating writing rather than the end product.
When writing, students utilize the stages of the writing process which include prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing.Prewriting is the planning and idea-gathering stage.
Drafting refers to time spent composing a rough draft.Revising is the process of improving the draft.
Students reread their work and share it with a partner or small group; they then make changes in the writing based on the feedback from their peers.
Editing is the process of correcting mechanical errors.Publishing is done when the work is in final form and ready to be shared.(Information gathered from North Central Regional Educational Laboratory)
Once the children have taken a story through these stages they are ready for publishing and "IlluStory " makes publishing simple.
To publish the child simply uses the markers and special book pages included in the kit or the book can be made entirely online using Internet drawing and writing tools.
The completed story pages are mailed in the postage paid envelope provided. In just a few short weeks you'll receive back a professionally typeset, hardbound book even includes a title, dedication page and "About the Author" biography page to give it a truly professional touch, ready to display in your classroom library and sturdy enough for the school library.
At the end of the year parents will want it to proudly display on their coffee tables.
IlluStory is a multi-award winning activity kit and perennial best seller because few products, if any, can build as much self esteem and excitement for reading and writing.
The quality of the finished book is a tremendous value and rewards any level of effort.
Extra books can be ordered and are the ultimate gift for family and friends, especially since each can be separately dedicated to the recipient. Ages 5 and up.
Most educators now use the Writing Process to teach children how to write.Children learn to write by focusing on the process of creating writing rather than the end product.
When writing, students utilize the stages of the writing process which include prewriting, drafting, revising, editing, and publishing.Prewriting is the planning and idea-gathering stage.
Drafting refers to time spent composing a rough draft.Revising is the process of improving the draft.
Students reread their work and share it with a partner or small group; they then make changes in the writing based on the feedback from their peers.
Editing is the process of correcting mechanical errors.Publishing is done when the work is in final form and ready to be shared.(Information gathered from North Central Regional Educational Laboratory)
Once the children have taken a story through these stages they are ready for publishing and "IlluStory " makes publishing simple.
To publish the child simply uses the markers and special book pages included in the kit or the book can be made entirely online using Internet drawing and writing tools.
The completed story pages are mailed in the postage paid envelope provided. In just a few short weeks you'll receive back a professionally typeset, hardbound book even includes a title, dedication page and "About the Author" biography page to give it a truly professional touch, ready to display in your classroom library and sturdy enough for the school library.
At the end of the year parents will want it to proudly display on their coffee tables.
IlluStory is a multi-award winning activity kit and perennial best seller because few products, if any, can build as much self esteem and excitement for reading and writing.
The quality of the finished book is a tremendous value and rewards any level of effort.
Extra books can be ordered and are the ultimate gift for family and friends, especially since each can be separately dedicated to the recipient. Ages 5 and up.
IlluStory Make Your Own Story Kit
Amazon Price: $19.95 (as of 07/11/2009)
Blogging about Word Walls and Lemmings
The other day I was writing about Word Walls and realized that they aren't just for teachers of small children. They are an excellent tool for learning ESL or any foreign language.
Word Walls are words that are groups of words posted in a convient place in order to practice remembering their meaning or spelling. I have used Word Walls to help first graders remember the Dolch List words, spelling words and words related to certain themes. I have used Word Walls in the bathroom with my children to help them learn new vocabulary when we were homeschooling or learning Spanish, Italian or French.
When we were learning about lemmings (They don't really jump off cliffs you know.) We covered a wall with blue and white for an arctic scene, added bits of moss and lichen and a tunnel with a few cute little lemmings scurrying around. Then I asked the children for words to label the wall.
lemming, snow, sky, lichen, tunnel, snowy owl,
We next made a Word Wall of verbs to discribe the lemming's movements. I wrote the words on cutouts of lifesized paper cutouts of lemmings and attached them to the brown tunnels below the snow. By writing the verbs on the lemmings I hoped to convey that these are words that discribe movement.
I attached the lemming words with pushpins so that the children could take them to where they were writing and then easily replace them when finished.
If you would like more ideas about Word Wall please to to Beginning Readers.
The Ideal Lemming Classroom Habitat
The best area for studying lemmings.
CLASSROOM HABITAT: The ideal classroom habitat for studying lemmings would be a class room with light-colored walls, because lemmings live in the arctic. Stuffed lemmings are also a good idea, as they encourage the students to study the body parts of these rodents. The classroom should be decorated with willows and dwarf birches, which lemmings eat the bark off during the winter. A "reading nest" should be set up for the students to read in. See Stuffed Plush Norwegian Lemmings in the links list. Teaching Books to Expand your Knowledge of the Lemming's Habitat
These books have lots more theme related activities to keep your little lemming busily learning all day.
Snapshots of the Life of a Lemming
Lemming droppings
It was a lemming year, and these little guys were everywhere, including washing ...
This artic fox, hunting for lemming near Churchill, Manitoba, is fully airborne ...
This arctic fox ran along with us for 2 miles. He was hunting lemmings and has o...
Snowy Owl & Arctic fox fight over a lemming
Links to more Lemming Sites
- Arctic Animal Concentration Game
- Arctic Concentration Game: Cut out the squares below and paste them on colored squares. To play turn the cards face down. Turn two card over, if they match keep them facing up, if they don't turn them down and try again. Have fun.
- Arctic Centers for Kindergarten
- With Polar Bear Bag Puppet
- Create and print out your own flashcards.
- Flash My Brain allows you to create and save your own sets, play more games, save and view your study progress, print in a variety of formats, generate iPod flashcards, and access 100,000s more flash cards. You can manage flash card decks, splitting and combining them, and you can even import flash cards from CSV files and other formats.
All you need to get started is a net-connected computer that can run Flash Player 8. Flash My Brain is Net-powered software which means you can use it at school, work, or home.
Other sites about Rodents
All Things Lemming
Fetching new data from eBay now... please stand by
Lemming Game
Tic Tac Toe
Lemmings in the News!
Read this article in the Desert Morning News to find out how a Chemical in New Shoots of Grass affects the Reproductive Hormones of Lemmings.
- Chemical in New Shoots of Grass affects the Reproductive Hormones of Lemmings
- Speaking of which, spring has a knack for affecting everybody, from people to rodents. Research done by former University of Utah biology professor Norman Negus in the 1980s showed that a chemical in new shoots of grass, munched in early spring by lemmings and voles in the Arctic, affects their reproductive hormones. The result was earlier maturation and larger litters
- Fluxuations in Lemming Populations brings Snowy Owls to Minnesota
- Most of the snowy owls that have been brought to the Raptor Center this winter are starving.
The abundance of snowy owls in Minnesota this year isn't a surprise. Their home is in the arctic, and normally they stay in northern Canada, even in the winter.
But clinic manager Lori Arent says there's been a pattern, every seven or eight years, of a lot of young birds flying south in search of food -- apparently because of a collapse in the lemming population up north. But this year, she's not sure.
"The lemming population in southern Canada is very good this year," Arent said. "So if that's the case, why are some of these youngsters coming farther south? We don't know."
A Walk in the Woods
There is a new group being formed in Squidooville. It's called A Walk in the Woods. Whitefoot the Wood Mouse is inviting you to join him there. If you are a member of Squidoo and you may join the group. The exposure that your lens gets by joining will boost your lens rank and add to the number of web pages linking back to your lens. If you are not yet a member of Squidoo you can still come over and read about those who are. Come take A Walk in the Woods.
A Walk in the Woods
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A Walk in the Woods Headquarters
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A Walk in the Woods Whether connecting with my children, a friend or just de-stressing from a long day of work my favorite pastime is a walk in the woods. The woods are quiet, peaceful and still but at the same time there is always something going o...
Jump off that cliff and find some more ideas!
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Pigloo: Penguins Sing in French
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These happy French-singing penguins will get your kids singing along and they won't even realize that they are learning French. We all know that learning a second language is very important but who knew it could be so much fun. Pop a Pigloo CD into...
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River Otters: Playful Friends of the Woodlands!
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Learn about River Otters through games and hands-on learning centers. Decorate your classroom with a Woodlands Riverbank Theme. Learn the habits of River Otters, the food they eat and how they raise their young. You will find suggestions for both fi...
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Beginning to Read
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Mrs. Wishy Washy and The Big Bad Pig are inviting you all beginning readers to join them in the adventure of learning to read. Learn how to make Word Walls, Literacy Bags, activities for Center Time and lots, lots, more. You will find suggested begi...
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Winter: Time for Fun
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Winter is the time to snuggle up and with a good book, make a winter table and watch the snowflakes falling down. It's a time when the days are short, the nights are cold and the smell of woodsmoke is in the air. Get ready for the cold with The Jack...
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Whitefoot the Wood Mouse: A Mouse Unit Study
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Whitefoot welcomes homeschoolers, teachers, parents and children to turn into mice, scurry through the tunnels and sniff out learning opportunities in every corner. Whitefoot the Wood Mouse welcomes everyone to his nest where learning never ends. He...
Lemmings are in the Wheeler's Online Unit Study Directory
Thank you to the Wheelers for including the Lemmings in their Directory.
- The Four Wheelers Unit Study Directory
The Four Wheelers Internet Directory of Unit Studies contains a list, roughly arranged by subject, of links to unit studies that are published on the Internet.- Hinterland Who's Who
- Tasty lemmings The number of arctic foxes fluctuates widely in relation to the abundance of lemmings. Although the fluctuations in lemming numbers are not ...
Follow EvelynSaenz on Twitter
Lemmings: Falling into the Sea of Knowledge
- evelynsaenz
- aka evelynsaenz
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Which ideas intriged you?
Please let my know by leaving a comment here. Tell me about your favorite animal or teaching idea. Don't forget the stars at the top and if you lensroll this page or add it to your favorites please let me know so that I can reciprocate.
rydigga wrote...
This is an amazing lens, so comprehensive. The only thing I knew about lemmings before this lens was that they lived in the Arctic and followed each other off of cliffs. Which I now know is a myth. Great job! 5*
Posted January 09, 2009
clouda9 wrote...
This is a beautifully crafted lens. Really enjoyed the browse.
Posted December 29, 2008
Evelyn's Hands-On Learning Blog
Fetching RSS feed... please stand byAbout the Author
Lemmings seems so fascinating but there seems to be very little information about them written for young children.
Come find out what I'm up to when I'm not writing about Lemmings:" />
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Evelyn Saenz: Lensography of a Teacher
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My passion is teaching and finding ways to teach children in fun, hands-on, creative ways. The unit studies I make on Squidoo reflect my view that learning should be integrated and no skills should be taught in isolation. I believe that each topic s...
The Lemmings are on The Isle of Squid
The Best Squidoo Lenses
This lens made it into the top 100. Come cheer the lemmings on by reviewing their page at The Isle of Squid below.
Lemmings: Arctic Classroom Theme is now featured at the new Isle of Squid website. Isle Of Squid is a directory of the best lenses on Squidoo.com.
Check out Isle Of Squid and Review My Site
Lemmings: Arctic Classroom Theme is now featured at the new Isle of Squid website. Isle Of Squid is a directory of the best lenses on Squidoo.com.
Check out Isle Of Squid and Review My Site
by Evelyn_Saenz
My passion is teaching and finding ways to teach children in fun, hands-on, creative ways. The unit studies I make on Squidoo reflect my view that lea... (more)
