An Ice Age history unit for homeschool, worldschool or just for fun.
We've done this week twice, about a year apart, and focused on different things each time; more animals the first time, more cave paintings and humans the second time. This post combines our two Ice Age weeks into one.
Printables
Here's this week's info, all wrapped up into an easy-to-read printable. Click here for the full color copy and click here for a low-ink black and white version.
On the Dining Room Wall
This map and this map that show the extend of the ice sheets.
An image of the Lascaux Cave Painting that I grabbed from Google Image Search.
And lastly, our art project for the week, our own cave paintings.
Talking Points
If you could bring back one ice age animal, which one would it be?
Talk about the Little Ice Age that wasn't all that long ago! There were frost fairs held on the River Thames!
Books
One from each category plus an assortment of picture books is usually just perfect.
Not all book series are as good as the next. Get the scoop on some of our favorites here.
Base Non-Fiction Books:
What was the Ice Age? (Who HQ book) A great introduction to the Ice Age in easy to digest chapters.
Sabertooths and the Ice Age (Magic Treehouse Fact Tracker Book #12) A non-fiction companion to Sunset of the Sabertooth.
You Wouldn't Want to Be a Mammoth Hunter! (You Wouldn't Want to Series) These books are great to flip through and just read what catches your eye.
Base Fiction Chapter Book & Other Notable Chapter-Type Books:
(Some of these books are part of a series but all of them work as standalone books.)
Sunset of the Sabertooth (Magic Treehouse #7) - my pick for younger learners. Jack and Annie venture back to the ice age.
Could You Survive the Ice Age? (You Choose Series) My kids love these books but those with young learners should be aware that you will die in about half of these endings.
Lug, Dawn of the Ice Age - my pick for older learners. A free-thinking caveboy begins to notice changes to his environment and starts to question the way things have always been done.
Picture Books
Search these keywords at your local library: Ice Age (although this turns up a lot of material related to the movie franchise), Mammoths, Sabretooths, Cave Dwellers, Lascaux.
Baby Mammoth Mummy Frozen in Time Such an interesting read, make sure to YouTube it too.
The Secret Cave An engaging retelling of the discovery of the Lascaux Cave Paintings.
Things to Watch
My YouTube Playlist for the week.
Titans of the Ice Age - The Mammoth. Beware that this includes a lot peril that could be hard on sensitive viewers.
While You Read Activity Ideas
Work on your wall cave painting art!
Color ice age animals, build an ice age scene out of Legos, create ice age things out of playdough, etc.
Interactive Learning: Crafts, Food, Activities
Cave Painting Craft - An activity I found over at Deceptively Educational. We used Crayola's oil pastels for our paint.
Field Trip Ideas
Are there any mammoth bones nearby? We drove up to the Burke Museum in Seattle. Since then, I learned that there is also a Mammoth skeleton at a neighboring library. So, I suggest searching "Mammoth near me" instead of "Museum with Mammoth near me." 🤦♀️
Also, it might be worth looking into if there are any places in your area that highlight the effects of the ice age. I Googled "Oregon Ice Age" and found that there is a whole self-guided Ice Age trail within 10 minutes of us. Who knew?!
Vocabulary
Prehistoric - the time before written records
Extinct - gone from the planet
End of Week Movie Night Ideas
The Ice Age movie franchise pretty much holds the market when it comes to movies about the ice age but thankfully, at least the first one, is pretty cute. I've only included the trailer for the first one, which is the only one I've seen, but I think there's like five or six of them.
Ice Age (2002)
Segue Ideas... Climate Change Week, Antarctica Week
Wrap Up
Ice Age week was a hit two times around. Kids love sabretooths and mammoths! And the second time around we discovered the Ice Age walking tour right in our own backyard! These books and activities would work great for an Ice Age history homeschool unit.
Final Moment
Mammoth pancakes!
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