Heat Wave Bear Plan

This activity helps students connect temperature, water, behavior, and habitat.

Bears

Kit needed
5 steps

Run with a class

on a blazing summer day, even a bear has to change the plan.

This activity helps students connect temperature, water, behavior, and habitat.

Sentence frame: “In extreme heat, I predict the bear will move toward __ because __.”

That turns a hot day into an ecology puzzle.

Questions to ask

How did the bear’s route change as the day got hotter?
Which water source became most important?
Where might people and bears overlap?
What could humans change to reduce conflict?

Where it comes from

The forest can feel still during extreme heat. Birds go quiet. insects hum low in the grass. Trails shimmer. Even the shade feels busy trying to help. Bears feel that heat too. A grizzly or black bear may look built for toughness: thick fur, strong muscles, huge range. But heat creates a real challenge: how do you stay cool, find food, and not waste precious energy?

The answer is not one magic trick. It is a whole set of choices: water, shade, timing, rest, and movement.

Read the blog post ↗ Bears in Extreme Heat: Water, Shade, and Survival Math · 2026-06-26

Run it

Ticks stay in this browser, so you can set up now and teach later.

What you need

A simple habitat map with forest, meadow, stream, pond, road, and neighborhood
Bear movement tokens or sticky notes
Three weather cards: mild day, hot day, extreme heat day
Optional: colored pencils for shade, water, and food zones

Steps

Mark water circle streams, ponds, seeps, and wet meadows.
Mark shade color forest patches and north-facing slopes.
Mark food add berries, insects, fish, or human food risks.
Move the bear choose a route for each weather card.
Explain the choice use evidence from the map.

00:00

Workspace

Run it with your class

Set up the class, count what needs counting, write down what happened, then save it and take it with you. Everything here stays in this browser until you download it.

The class

Class or group Date Students Students per group

Counters

Results table

Notes as you go

Mark water: circle streams, ponds, seeps, and wet meadows. Mark shade: color forest patches and north-facing slopes. Mark food: add berries, insects, fish, or human food risks. Move the bear: choose a route for each weather card. Explain the choice: use evidence from the map. Anything else: what worked, what to change

Answers to the questions

How did the bear’s route change as the day got hotter? Which water source became most important? Where might people and bears overlap? What could humans change to reduce conflict?

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