Summary
The Arctic and Antarctic are home to penguins, seals, polar bears and vast walrus herds, all shaped by sea ice. As that ice melts, the episode shows how quickly a frozen habitat — and the animals that rely on it — can change.
Viewer safety
Ages 5+Mild perilEmotional themes
Contains the well-known walrus scene — crowded walruses fall from a high cliff and some die. It is upsetting; preview it and decide whether to skip or pause around that sequence, especially with younger or sensitive classes.
Our rating is a quick teacher-to-teacher guide — preview before showing.
Teaching resources
Discussion questions
Discussion
Polar animals depend on sea ice that is melting.
- What do animals like seals and polar bears use sea ice for?
- What happens to these animals when the ice melts earlier or forms later?
- Why did so many walruses crowd together on land in this episode?
- What is one thing people could do to help slow the loss of sea ice?
Quick work-a-long
Vocabulary: sea ice, Arctic, Antarctic, habitat.
Try it: Write two sentences explaining how melting sea ice makes life harder for one polar animal from the episode.