Summary
Even the cold, dark poles of the Cretaceous held life: herds of Pachyrhinosaurus march across the snow, a small pack of Nanuqsaurus hunts the stragglers, and dinosaurs endure months of winter darkness. The episode shows how living in a herd -- or a pack -- helps animals survive a habitat that would defeat them alone. A great springboard for talking about why some animals form groups.
Viewer safety
A pack of predators hunts members of a herd in the snow -- suspenseful but not graphic; preview first.
Our rating is a quick teacher-to-teacher guide — preview before showing.
Teaching resources
Discussion questions
Discussion
"Ice Worlds" shows dinosaurs surviving winter near the poles.
- What makes the polar habitat so hard to live in?
- How does traveling in a big herd help the plant-eating dinosaurs?
- How does hunting in a pack help the predators? Who tends to get caught?
Quick work-a-long
Vocabulary: herd, pack, polar, survive, group.
Try it: Write one sentence with evidence from the episode that shows how being in a group helped an animal survive.