An interesting book that covers a lot of different areas of history and science is ‘Can Reindeer Fly? The Science of Christmas’ by Roger Highfield.
Let’s think about using the Science Bringing it to Life (BITL) questions with the focus on Reindeers, their form and function, their habitat and adaptations, reproduction and survival in their ecosystem and the SA Teaching for Effective Learning Framework (TfEL) element 3.1 (teach students how to learn).
How can you tell that all of Santa’s reindeers are all female? Or are they? What practices were performed on male reindeers to keep them looking like part of Santa’s team?
Why are reindeers covered with hollow hairs? How does this help them live near the North Pole?
Reindeer can run up to 80km/hr. Usually they walk slowly around. What might cause them to run this fast?
Reindeer are known to travel up to 5,000 km in a year. Reindeer numbers are known as a litmus test for the state of their ecosystem. However, their numbers have dropped nearly 60 % in the last three decades. How might climate change and humans be affecting their numbers?
What is a fly agaric? How is it connected to reindeers flying?
Explain the scientific reason for reindeers having red noses?
What is your first step in answering these questions? What do these questions make you think? What resources could you use? What has worked before? Why has it worked? Could it help now?
Who might be interested in this information besides Santa?
The BITL questions scaffold student inquiry and support students to develop skills and strategies for learning in different ways. Through metacognition and using the language of specific strategies for thinking, students can learn how to learn. (TfEL 3.1)
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