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Living In A Warming World

Front cover of Living In A Warming World

Front cover of Living In A Warming World (©2023 Let’s Talk Science)

Front cover of Living In A Warming World

Front cover of Living In A Warming World (©2023 Let’s Talk Science)

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A pdf eBook focusing on Canadian animals and how they adapt to different conditions, introducing the impacts of climate change.

Living in a Warming World is an easy entry point for Grade 3 (9+) kids to climate change by focusing on Canadian animals and how they adapt to different conditions. Youth will learn about fascinating species and view engaging pictures while understanding the impact of a warming planet. 

This book can be read-along with an adult or independently explored by a youth. Get your free PDF copy by filling out the form below.

Ways to Use the Living in a Warming World Book

  • Use the Think, Puzzle, Explore learning strategy to help students activate prior knowledge and generate questions about the topic.
  • Create a Word Wall with words and/or images from the book. A glossary is provided on page 30.
  • Use the Group Talk learning strategy to help students share and listen to the ideas and questions of others.
  • Use the Snowball learning strategy to help students activate prior knowledge or share ideas in an anonymous way. This strategy helps students talk about challenging topics such as climate change.
  • Use the 3-2-1 learning strategy to help students summarize and engage with the new content from this book.
  • Visit this page to find more learning strategies that you could use when using th book with your class.

General Strategies

  • Use the Think, Puzzle, Explore learning strategy to help students activate prior knowledge and generate questions about the topic.
  • Create a Word Wall with words and/or images from the book. A glossary is provided on page 30.
  • Use the Group Talk learning strategy to help students share and listen to the ideas and questions of others.
  • Use the Snowball learning strategy to help students activate prior knowledge or share ideas in an anonymous way. This strategy helps students talk about challenging topics such as climate change.
  • Use the 3-2-1 learning strategy to help students summarize and engage with the new content from this book.
  • Visit this page to find more learning strategies that you could use when using th book with your class.

Read the book aloud and discuss as you go. Students could:

  • Describe the physical characteristics of the animals they see. What do the animals look like?
  • Look for various types of patterns (e.g., the way birds are flying, colours on butterfly wings)
  • Identify living and nonliving things in the pictures
  • Identify how animals are meeting their needs (e.g., food - polar bear eating seal on page 12, shelter - raccoons in a tree on page 16)
  • Describe how different living things help meet the needs of other living things (e.g., plants need insects for pollination, polar bears need seals for food)
  • Identify plants and animals from the book that are found in their jurisdiction
  • Describe similarities and differences between animals in the book (e.g., raccoons and opossums, bees and butterflies)

Click here for more climate change resources including career profiles, backgrounders and lesson plans.

Grade 1: Needs and Characteristics of Living Things

Read the book aloud and discuss as you go. Students could:

  • Describe the physical characteristics of the animals they see. What do the animals look like?
  • Look for various types of patterns (e.g., the way birds are flying, colours on butterfly wings)
  • Identify living and nonliving things in the pictures
  • Identify how animals are meeting their needs (e.g., food - polar bear eating seal on page 12, shelter - raccoons in a tree on page 16)
  • Describe how different living things help meet the needs of other living things (e.g., plants need insects for pollination, polar bears need seals for food)
  • Identify plants and animals from the book that are found in their jurisdiction
  • Describe similarities and differences between animals in the book (e.g., raccoons and opossums, bees and butterflies)

Click here for more climate change resources including career profiles, backgrounders and lesson plans.

Read the book aloud and discuss as you go. Students could:

  • Compare the physical characteristics of various animals, including characteristics that are constant and those that change (e.g., constant - polar bears are white all year, change - arctic hares and ptarmigans change colour seasonally)
  • Describe examples of how various animals move (birds and insects flying, fish and mammals swimming, raccoons climbing, etc.)
  • Identify and describe animals in different stages of their life cycles (e.g., Monarch butterfly adults and caterpillars on pages 8-9, Dolly Varden adults and eggs on page 22)
  • Describe adaptations, including physical and/or behavioural characteristics, that allow various animals to survive in their natural environment (changes in colouration, migration patterns, timing of flowering, etc.)
  • Describe the impacts that some of the animals can have on society (e.g., the role of pollinating insects, how people use fish for food)
  • Identify ways in which humans are impacting animals (climate change is leading to changes in migration patterns, flowering times, geographical distribution, etc.)
  • Consider how they themselves could help animals impacted by a changing climate

Click here for more climate change resources including career profiles, backgrounders and lesson plans.

Grade 2: Grow and Changes in Animals

Read the book aloud and discuss as you go. Students could:

  • Compare the physical characteristics of various animals, including characteristics that are constant and those that change (e.g., constant - polar bears are white all year, change - arctic hares and ptarmigans change colour seasonally)
  • Describe examples of how various animals move (birds and insects flying, fish and mammals swimming, raccoons climbing, etc.)
  • Identify and describe animals in different stages of their life cycles (e.g., Monarch butterfly adults and caterpillars on pages 8-9, Dolly Varden adults and eggs on page 22)
  • Describe adaptations, including physical and/or behavioural characteristics, that allow various animals to survive in their natural environment (changes in colouration, migration patterns, timing of flowering, etc.)
  • Describe the impacts that some of the animals can have on society (e.g., the role of pollinating insects, how people use fish for food)
  • Identify ways in which humans are impacting animals (climate change is leading to changes in migration patterns, flowering times, geographical distribution, etc.)
  • Consider how they themselves could help animals impacted by a changing climate

Click here for more climate change resources including career profiles, backgrounders and lesson plans.

Read the book aloud and discuss as you go. Students could:

  • Describe ways in which plants and animals depend on each other (e.g., flowers and pollinators, flowering times)
  • Identify examples of plants in food chains (e.g., bees and flower nectar on pages 18-19, Canada geese eating grass on page 26)
  • Identify examples of herbivores (e.g., chipmunk, geese, beaver, deer)
  • Describe examples of plants used for food in the book (e.g., find the blueberries, corn and sunflower)
  • Identify ways in which humans are impacting plants (climate change is leading to changes in flowering times, geographical distribution, etc.)

Click here for more climate change resources including career profiles, backgrounders and lesson plans.

Grade 3: Growth and Changes in Plants

Read the book aloud and discuss as you go. Students could:

  • Describe ways in which plants and animals depend on each other (e.g., flowers and pollinators, flowering times)
  • Identify examples of plants in food chains (e.g., bees and flower nectar on pages 18-19, Canada geese eating grass on page 26)
  • Identify examples of herbivores (e.g., chipmunk, geese, beaver, deer)
  • Describe examples of plants used for food in the book (e.g., find the blueberries, corn and sunflower)
  • Identify ways in which humans are impacting plants (climate change is leading to changes in flowering times, geographical distribution, etc.)

Click here for more climate change resources including career profiles, backgrounders and lesson plans.

Read the book aloud or have students read on their own. Students could:

  • Identify and describe the habitats in the photos
  • Identify habitats from the book that are found in their jurisdiction
  • Identify examples of food chains (e.g., polar bears and seals on pages 12-13, Canada geese eating grass on page 26)
  • Identify examples of carnivores, herbivores, or omnivores (these are highlighted in the book)
  • Describe structural adaptations of a variety of plants and animals and how these adaptations allow the organisms to survive in specific habitats (e.g.,colouration of arctic animals)
  • Classify the animals in various ways (e.g., by appearance, by habitat)
  • Identify how plants are changing as a result of climate change
  • Identify examples of positive and negative impacts of human activities on habitats and communities
  • Research one of the animals and its habitat from page 28 or 29.

Click here for more climate change resources including career profiles, backgrounders and lesson plans.

Grade 4: Habitats and Communities

Read the book aloud or have students read on their own. Students could:

  • Identify and describe the habitats in the photos
  • Identify habitats from the book that are found in their jurisdiction
  • Identify examples of food chains (e.g., polar bears and seals on pages 12-13, Canada geese eating grass on page 26)
  • Identify examples of carnivores, herbivores, or omnivores (these are highlighted in the book)
  • Describe structural adaptations of a variety of plants and animals and how these adaptations allow the organisms to survive in specific habitats (e.g.,colouration of arctic animals)
  • Classify the animals in various ways (e.g., by appearance, by habitat)
  • Identify how plants are changing as a result of climate change
  • Identify examples of positive and negative impacts of human activities on habitats and communities
  • Research one of the animals and its habitat from page 28 or 29.

Click here for more climate change resources including career profiles, backgrounders and lesson plans.

Have students read the book alone or in pairs. Students could:

  • Explain the difference between weather and climate
  • Identify different types of weather seen in the photos
  • Describe how the use of fossil fuels, such as in cars, contributes to climate change and impacts the animals in the book
  • Propose a feasible idea to effectively help one of the animals in the book

Click here for more climate change resources including career profiles, backgrounders and lesson plans.

Grade 5: Weather and Climate

Have students read the book alone or in pairs. Students could:

  • Explain the difference between weather and climate
  • Identify different types of weather seen in the photos
  • Describe how the use of fossil fuels, such as in cars, contributes to climate change and impacts the animals in the book
  • Propose a feasible idea to effectively help one of the animals in the book

Click here for more climate change resources including career profiles, backgrounders and lesson plans.

Have students read the book alone or in pairs. Students could:

  • Classify the animals in the book based on their characteristics (mammals, birds, insects, fish, etc.)
  • Identify which animals are vertebrates and which are invertebrates
  • Create a dichotomous key using all of the animals in the book
  • Describe adaptations, including physical and/or behavioural characteristics, that allow various animals to survive in their natural environment (changes in colouration, migration patterns, timing of flowering, etc.)
  • Research the species risk level (vulnerable/special concern, threatened, or endangered) for an animal from the book.
  • Discuss the importance of maintaining the existence of the animals in the book (e.g., “What if there were no more seals?” etc.)
  • Describe the interrelationship between species shown in the book (e.g., plants and pollinating insects, predators and prey) and how they helps maintain biodiversity
  • Describe the potential impacts on the species in the book as a result of climate change
  • Identify plants and animals from the book that are found in their jurisdiction
  • Research one of the species in the book and present the information as a multimedia project or short story
  • Propose a feasible idea to effectively help one of the animals in the book

Click here for more climate change resources including career profiles, backgrounders and lesson plans.

Grade 6: Biodiversity

Have students read the book alone or in pairs. Students could:

  • Classify the animals in the book based on their characteristics (mammals, birds, insects, fish, etc.)
  • Identify which animals are vertebrates and which are invertebrates
  • Create a dichotomous key using all of the animals in the book
  • Describe adaptations, including physical and/or behavioural characteristics, that allow various animals to survive in their natural environment (changes in colouration, migration patterns, timing of flowering, etc.)
  • Research the species risk level (vulnerable/special concern, threatened, or endangered) for an animal from the book.
  • Discuss the importance of maintaining the existence of the animals in the book (e.g., “What if there were no more seals?” etc.)
  • Describe the interrelationship between species shown in the book (e.g., plants and pollinating insects, predators and prey) and how they helps maintain biodiversity
  • Describe the potential impacts on the species in the book as a result of climate change
  • Identify plants and animals from the book that are found in their jurisdiction
  • Research one of the species in the book and present the information as a multimedia project or short story
  • Propose a feasible idea to effectively help one of the animals in the book

Click here for more climate change resources including career profiles, backgrounders and lesson plans.

  • Use the Think, Puzzle, Explore learning strategy to help students activate prior knowledge and generate questions about the topic.
  • Create a Word Wall with words and/or images from the book. A glossary is provided on page 30.
  • Use the Group Talk learning strategy to help students share and listen to the ideas and questions of others.
  • Use the Snowball learning strategy to help students activate prior knowledge or share ideas in an anonymous way. This strategy helps students talk about challenging topics such as climate change.
  • Use the 3-2-1 learning strategy to help students summarize and engage with the new content from this book.
  • Visit this page to find more learning strategies that you could use when using th book with your class.

General Strategies

  • Use the Think, Puzzle, Explore learning strategy to help students activate prior knowledge and generate questions about the topic.
  • Create a Word Wall with words and/or images from the book. A glossary is provided on page 30.
  • Use the Group Talk learning strategy to help students share and listen to the ideas and questions of others.
  • Use the Snowball learning strategy to help students activate prior knowledge or share ideas in an anonymous way. This strategy helps students talk about challenging topics such as climate change.
  • Use the 3-2-1 learning strategy to help students summarize and engage with the new content from this book.
  • Visit this page to find more learning strategies that you could use when using th book with your class.

Read the book aloud and discuss as you go. Students could:

  • Describe the physical characteristics of the animals they see. What do the animals look like?
  • Look for various types of patterns (e.g., the way birds are flying, colours on butterfly wings)
  • Identify living and nonliving things in the pictures
  • Identify how animals are meeting their needs (e.g., food - polar bear eating seal on page 12, shelter - raccoons in a tree on page 16)
  • Describe how different living things help meet the needs of other living things (e.g., plants need insects for pollination, polar bears need seals for food)
  • Identify plants and animals from the book that are found in their jurisdiction
  • Describe similarities and differences between animals in the book (e.g., raccoons and opossums, bees and butterflies)

Click here for more climate change resources including career profiles, backgrounders and lesson plans.

Grade 1: Needs and Characteristics of Living Things

Read the book aloud and discuss as you go. Students could:

  • Describe the physical characteristics of the animals they see. What do the animals look like?
  • Look for various types of patterns (e.g., the way birds are flying, colours on butterfly wings)
  • Identify living and nonliving things in the pictures
  • Identify how animals are meeting their needs (e.g., food - polar bear eating seal on page 12, shelter - raccoons in a tree on page 16)
  • Describe how different living things help meet the needs of other living things (e.g., plants need insects for pollination, polar bears need seals for food)
  • Identify plants and animals from the book that are found in their jurisdiction
  • Describe similarities and differences between animals in the book (e.g., raccoons and opossums, bees and butterflies)

Click here for more climate change resources including career profiles, backgrounders and lesson plans.

Read the book aloud and discuss as you go. Students could:

  • Compare the physical characteristics of various animals, including characteristics that are constant and those that change (e.g., constant - polar bears are white all year, change - arctic hares and ptarmigans change colour seasonally)
  • Describe examples of how various animals move (birds and insects flying, fish and mammals swimming, raccoons climbing, etc.)
  • Identify and describe animals in different stages of their life cycles (e.g., Monarch butterfly adults and caterpillars on pages 8-9, Dolly Varden adults and eggs on page 22)
  • Describe adaptations, including physical and/or behavioural characteristics, that allow various animals to survive in their natural environment (changes in colouration, migration patterns, timing of flowering, etc.)
  • Describe the impacts that some of the animals can have on society (e.g., the role of pollinating insects, how people use fish for food)
  • Identify ways in which humans are impacting animals (climate change is leading to changes in migration patterns, flowering times, geographical distribution, etc.)
  • Consider how they themselves could help animals impacted by a changing climate

Click here for more climate change resources including career profiles, backgrounders and lesson plans.

Grade 2: Grow and Changes in Animals

Read the book aloud and discuss as you go. Students could:

  • Compare the physical characteristics of various animals, including characteristics that are constant and those that change (e.g., constant - polar bears are white all year, change - arctic hares and ptarmigans change colour seasonally)
  • Describe examples of how various animals move (birds and insects flying, fish and mammals swimming, raccoons climbing, etc.)
  • Identify and describe animals in different stages of their life cycles (e.g., Monarch butterfly adults and caterpillars on pages 8-9, Dolly Varden adults and eggs on page 22)
  • Describe adaptations, including physical and/or behavioural characteristics, that allow various animals to survive in their natural environment (changes in colouration, migration patterns, timing of flowering, etc.)
  • Describe the impacts that some of the animals can have on society (e.g., the role of pollinating insects, how people use fish for food)
  • Identify ways in which humans are impacting animals (climate change is leading to changes in migration patterns, flowering times, geographical distribution, etc.)
  • Consider how they themselves could help animals impacted by a changing climate

Click here for more climate change resources including career profiles, backgrounders and lesson plans.

Read the book aloud and discuss as you go. Students could:

  • Describe ways in which plants and animals depend on each other (e.g., flowers and pollinators, flowering times)
  • Identify examples of plants in food chains (e.g., bees and flower nectar on pages 18-19, Canada geese eating grass on page 26)
  • Identify examples of herbivores (e.g., chipmunk, geese, beaver, deer)
  • Describe examples of plants used for food in the book (e.g., find the blueberries, corn and sunflower)
  • Identify ways in which humans are impacting plants (climate change is leading to changes in flowering times, geographical distribution, etc.)

Click here for more climate change resources including career profiles, backgrounders and lesson plans.

Grade 3: Growth and Changes in Plants

Read the book aloud and discuss as you go. Students could:

  • Describe ways in which plants and animals depend on each other (e.g., flowers and pollinators, flowering times)
  • Identify examples of plants in food chains (e.g., bees and flower nectar on pages 18-19, Canada geese eating grass on page 26)
  • Identify examples of herbivores (e.g., chipmunk, geese, beaver, deer)
  • Describe examples of plants used for food in the book (e.g., find the blueberries, corn and sunflower)
  • Identify ways in which humans are impacting plants (climate change is leading to changes in flowering times, geographical distribution, etc.)

Click here for more climate change resources including career profiles, backgrounders and lesson plans.

Read the book aloud or have students read on their own. Students could:

  • Identify and describe the habitats in the photos
  • Identify habitats from the book that are found in their jurisdiction
  • Identify examples of food chains (e.g., polar bears and seals on pages 12-13, Canada geese eating grass on page 26)
  • Identify examples of carnivores, herbivores, or omnivores (these are highlighted in the book)
  • Describe structural adaptations of a variety of plants and animals and how these adaptations allow the organisms to survive in specific habitats (e.g.,colouration of arctic animals)
  • Classify the animals in various ways (e.g., by appearance, by habitat)
  • Identify how plants are changing as a result of climate change
  • Identify examples of positive and negative impacts of human activities on habitats and communities
  • Research one of the animals and its habitat from page 28 or 29.

Click here for more climate change resources including career profiles, backgrounders and lesson plans.

Grade 4: Habitats and Communities

Read the book aloud or have students read on their own. Students could:

  • Identify and describe the habitats in the photos
  • Identify habitats from the book that are found in their jurisdiction
  • Identify examples of food chains (e.g., polar bears and seals on pages 12-13, Canada geese eating grass on page 26)
  • Identify examples of carnivores, herbivores, or omnivores (these are highlighted in the book)
  • Describe structural adaptations of a variety of plants and animals and how these adaptations allow the organisms to survive in specific habitats (e.g.,colouration of arctic animals)
  • Classify the animals in various ways (e.g., by appearance, by habitat)
  • Identify how plants are changing as a result of climate change
  • Identify examples of positive and negative impacts of human activities on habitats and communities
  • Research one of the animals and its habitat from page 28 or 29.

Click here for more climate change resources including career profiles, backgrounders and lesson plans.

Have students read the book alone or in pairs. Students could:

  • Explain the difference between weather and climate
  • Identify different types of weather seen in the photos
  • Describe how the use of fossil fuels, such as in cars, contributes to climate change and impacts the animals in the book
  • Propose a feasible idea to effectively help one of the animals in the book

Click here for more climate change resources including career profiles, backgrounders and lesson plans.

Grade 5: Weather and Climate

Have students read the book alone or in pairs. Students could:

  • Explain the difference between weather and climate
  • Identify different types of weather seen in the photos
  • Describe how the use of fossil fuels, such as in cars, contributes to climate change and impacts the animals in the book
  • Propose a feasible idea to effectively help one of the animals in the book

Click here for more climate change resources including career profiles, backgrounders and lesson plans.

Have students read the book alone or in pairs. Students could:

  • Classify the animals in the book based on their characteristics (mammals, birds, insects, fish, etc.)
  • Identify which animals are vertebrates and which are invertebrates
  • Create a dichotomous key using all of the animals in the book
  • Describe adaptations, including physical and/or behavioural characteristics, that allow various animals to survive in their natural environment (changes in colouration, migration patterns, timing of flowering, etc.)
  • Research the species risk level (vulnerable/special concern, threatened, or endangered) for an animal from the book.
  • Discuss the importance of maintaining the existence of the animals in the book (e.g., “What if there were no more seals?” etc.)
  • Describe the interrelationship between species shown in the book (e.g., plants and pollinating insects, predators and prey) and how they helps maintain biodiversity
  • Describe the potential impacts on the species in the book as a result of climate change
  • Identify plants and animals from the book that are found in their jurisdiction
  • Research one of the species in the book and present the information as a multimedia project or short story
  • Propose a feasible idea to effectively help one of the animals in the book

Click here for more climate change resources including career profiles, backgrounders and lesson plans.

Grade 6: Biodiversity

Have students read the book alone or in pairs. Students could:

  • Classify the animals in the book based on their characteristics (mammals, birds, insects, fish, etc.)
  • Identify which animals are vertebrates and which are invertebrates
  • Create a dichotomous key using all of the animals in the book
  • Describe adaptations, including physical and/or behavioural characteristics, that allow various animals to survive in their natural environment (changes in colouration, migration patterns, timing of flowering, etc.)
  • Research the species risk level (vulnerable/special concern, threatened, or endangered) for an animal from the book.
  • Discuss the importance of maintaining the existence of the animals in the book (e.g., “What if there were no more seals?” etc.)
  • Describe the interrelationship between species shown in the book (e.g., plants and pollinating insects, predators and prey) and how they helps maintain biodiversity
  • Describe the potential impacts on the species in the book as a result of climate change
  • Identify plants and animals from the book that are found in their jurisdiction
  • Research one of the species in the book and present the information as a multimedia project or short story
  • Propose a feasible idea to effectively help one of the animals in the book

Click here for more climate change resources including career profiles, backgrounders and lesson plans.

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