Polar Bear Sound Activity

Brrrr, it’s chilly!  But, we are getting our bodies moving with this super versatile polar bear sound activity.  This  game can be played five different ways to build phonological awareness!

It’s a perfect literacy activity to use with multiple ages or to repeat over and over to build different skills.

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First, do you know the classic book, Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear? by Bill Martin Jr.  It’s a fun book to read before playing this game because it is all about listening and speaking.  And, that is exactly what phonological awareness is all about.

Phonological awareness can be developed using lots of playful oral games with kids over and over.  This game is designed to be played multiple times and changed to fit the needs of your child.

SETTING UP THE POLAR BEAR SOUND ACTIVITY

Materials needed for 1-2 players: 15 white pieces of paper, masking tape, Polar Bear Sound sheet, and master call sheet

1. Pick a large or long open space to play the game.  Randomly place the 15 pieces of white paper (the icebergs) on the floor.  Use masking tape to help the papers stay in place.  Space the papers so that the kids can reach the icebergs by stretching just a bit.
2. Place the Polar Bear Sound sheet at the opposite end of the start line.
3. Print your master call sheet.

TIME TO PLAY POLAR BEAR SOUND

The kids will stand at the starting point.  Each time a question is answered correctly, they take a turn stepping to an “iceberg” within reach.  Players can move in any direction, but can not occupy an iceberg with another player.

If a question is answered incorrectly, then the player must remain on the original iceberg.

If a player falls in the “water” while moving, he or she has to move back to the original iceberg. The player basically loses a turn.

The first player to reach “Polar Bear Sound” wins.

Here are five versions of the game.  Choose the level that best suits your child.

Segmenting Sentences Into Words

Tell each player a short sentence.  The player has to count how many words are in the sentence.  Encourage the child to make a fist and put up one finger for each word he or she hears.

For example, “Polar bears eat seals.” has four words.

Rhyming

Say a word and have the child say a word that rhymes.

The word “ice” rhymes with nice, slice or dice.

Segmenting Words into Syllables

Say a word.  Have the child repeat the word and then clap how many sounds they hear in the word.

For example, “Artic” has two syllables (arc-tic).

Identifying Beginning Sounds

Say a word and ask the child to tell you the beginning sound he or she hears in the word.  It helps for the child to repeat the word before identifying the beginning sound.

The word “tundra” begins with /t/.

Segmenting Phonemes

Call out a word.  Have the child repeat the word and then stretch it out like a rubber band saying each individual sound (phoneme).

The word fox has three phonemes /f/  /o/  /x/.

Have fun building phonological awareness with this oral polar bear sound activity that also builds gross motor skills.

This week’s Early Childhood Education Team theme is the tundra  Visit the links below for more great early childhood activities related to the tundra theme.

But before you explore…

P.S. For more great book recommendations and  literacy ideas, we send out a weekly newsletter. You can see a sample here.  If you like what you see, sign up to receive it for FREE each week.

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