Sleep, Torpor, or Offline?

This quick sorting activity helps students replace the cartoon version of hibernation with real physiology.

Bears

Print & go

Run with a class

A bear may sleep through winter, but is its brain completely offline?

This quick sorting activity helps students replace the cartoon version of hibernation with real physiology.

Statement card ideas

Heart rate slows down
Body uses stored fat
Animal can wake if disturbed
Brain controls breathing and temperature
No body systems are working
Energy use drops for winter survival

Students place each card under the best label.

Which cards prove the bear is not “offline”?
Which cards show energy-saving?
Which cards are evidence, and which are inference?

CER wrap-up: Have students answer, “Is a hibernating bear asleep, offline, or in torpor?” using claim, evidence, and reasoning.

Questions to ask

Which cards prove the bear is not “offline”?
Which cards show energy-saving?
Which cards are evidence, and which are inference?
Have students answer, “Is a hibernating bear asleep, offline, or in torpor?

Where it comes from

It is the kind of question students love because it feels a little silly and a little mysterious.

Do bears dream during hibernation?

Read the blog post ↗ Do Bears Dream During Hibernation? · 2026-09-10

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

This activity has no numbered steps, so use the notes box.

Anything else: what worked, what to change

Answers to the questions

Which cards prove the bear is not “offline”? Which cards show energy-saving? Which cards are evidence, and which are inference? Have students answer, “Is a hibernating bear asleep, offline, or in torpor?

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