A project designed by Noella Ballenger

Pictures help us tell stories. Remember when you were small and your books were almost all pictures? Or think of television news in which pictures help us see the story the newscaster is telling.

Today we’re traveling to a small town called Churchill, Canada, which is very far north beside a huge bay called Hudson Bay. (Look on a map of Canada to see how far away we are!) In this town, wild polar bears wander through the streets. You are a reporter sent from your home town to write the story of the polar bears in Churchill.

To write your story, you will need to collect information to answer what news people call "the five w’s:" Who? What? When? Where? and Why?

Who is your story about? Your subject is the polar bear.

What do you want your readers to learn about your subject? Here are some ideas:

• Polar bears wait in Churchill for winter to come so they can hunt for food on the ice pack that forms on Hudson Bay.
• Polar bears are good moms.
• Polar bears are very big animals. When they stand on their hind legs, they can be over eight feet tall.
• Polar bears can be dangerous.
• If polar bears don’t behave, they are trapped, moved, and released far away from town.
• The safest place to watch a polar bear is from a big tundra buggy.
• Bear moms bring their babies that were born in the spring and summer. They teach their babies how to hunt on the ice near Churchill during the winter months.
• Polar bears sleep, play and fight while they are waiting for winter to arrive.
• Polar bears have very sensitive noses and can smell food from a long distance.
• Polar bears have black skin under their fur. Each strand of fur is a hollow tube that can trap sunlight for extra heat. They have very big paws and big claws.
• Tundra buggies are buses with very large tires. They can travel over ice and snow.

When did the action take place? November.

In Churchill, Canada, on the western side of Hudson Bay in the province of Manitoba.

Why are you telling this story about the polar bears?

You want your readers to learn more about polar bears, so that when they see them in pictures or in the zoo or even in Churchill, Canada, they will know more about their lives, their habits and how to watch them safely.

Okay. You’re ready to write your story. Have fun!

Once your story is finished, you will need to look at the photographs we’re showing here. Match the photos to the facts you chose to use in your story. Where do you think each picture would fit best? If you can print out the pictures, you can cut them apart and paste or tape them in the margins of your paper where you think they belong. Are there some photos you don’t want to use? Why not?

Share your story and your pictures with your friends. If they wrote their own stories, what was different about their stories next to yours?

Congratulations, Reporter, on a job well done!

Next time, maybe you will take your own pictures!

Pictures to use for your story.

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