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Animal Themes
Polar Regions

Polar Regions

Polar Regions
Reading Level
     edHelper's suggested reading level:   grades 4 to 8
     Flesch-Kincaid grade level:   8.33

Vocabulary
     challenging words:    although, hospitable, icy-cold, relatively, surrounding, elevation, tragedy, survival, accumulation, biome, northernmost, waterproof, region, death, lower, tips
     content words:    South Poles, North Pole, Arctic Ocean, North America, South Pole

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Other Languages
     Spanish: Las Regiones Polares

Polar Regions   
1     Although the Earth's northernmost and southernmost areas are far away from each other, they have one thing in common - freezing cold! Covered by snow and ice almost all year round, these two regions surrounding the North and South Poles make up the world's coldest biome. The North Pole is encircled by the Arctic Ocean and three continents - Europe, Asia, and North America. We call this region the Arctic. There is no ocean around the South Pole. Instead, it is on an isolated continent called Antarctica. Do you know which polar region, the Arctic or Antarctica, is colder? Well, Antarctica is colder, because it is at a higher elevation. Indeed, no other place in the world can beat Antarctica's record low temperature of -126 degrees Fahrenheit!
 
2     With temperatures below the freezing point (32 degrees Fahrenheit) most part of the year, the Arctic and Antarctica are not hospitable for most animals. If we were to seek survival tips from animals living there, they would tell us that we need to find ways to fight off the cold and to search for food buried deep under snow and ice. And, yes, we must also be able to camouflage ourselves so we would not become the next meal of a polar bear!
 
3     Large mammals have a thick layer of yellowish fat under their skin called blubber. Walruses, whales, seals, penguins, and polar bears all have blubber as their secret weapon, so they can stay warm and swim in icy-cold water. For animals that don't have blubber, they have other means to keep them from freezing to death. Antarctica ice fish have antifreeze chemicals in their blood, puffins have waterproof feathers, and reindeer wear a densely packed fur coat.

Paragraphs 4 to 5:
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