Most people generally think of the tundra as a vast, icy area with very few living things. However, while the tundra is certainly cold and icy, it’s actually home to a surprising variety of plants and animals! Each of these living things has special adaptations to survive the challenging and chilly conditions of the tundra biome.
In this post, we’ve collected resources for a unit study on the tundra biome. Here you’ll find background information on the tundra as well as books, materials, printables, and other tundra-themed curriculum resources. For tundra inspiration, check out the ideas below!

- Curriculum Resources for the Tundra Biome
- Tundra Biome Books and Materials
- Tundra-Related Crafts and Hands-On Activities
- What is a Biome?
- About the Tundra Biome
- Tundra Biome: Interesting Facts for Kids
Curriculum Resources for the Tundra Biome

This Tundra Biome Unit includes 10 printable activities for learning about the tundra, including animal fact cards, a board game, and a non-fiction book.

Trillium Animals in Winter Mini-Unit. Explore how animals survive winter conditions with this bundle of resources. (This set is also available in Spanish!)

Trillium Antarctica A-Z Montessori Pack. This pack includes a printable non-fiction book about Antarctica, phonetic reading sentences, sorting cards, and lots more! (This is one of our most popular printable packs.)

These Arctic Animals 3-Part Cards are available as a free download in the Trillium Free Resource Library. This set includes colored picture cards as well as blacklines so children can make their own booklets. Be sure to check out the Library for other great printables about Antarctica and penguins.
- Trillium Penguin Identification Mini-Unit. This pack features realistic clipart & photos of 17 species of penguins in two 3-part card sets (including a printable blank booklet for students) plus a printable non-fiction book.
- This YouTube channel was created by a resident in one of the coldest inhabited places on Earth – the city of Yakutsk in northern Russia. The videos share details about how children and adults experience daily life in the Tundra. Since each video is several minutes long, you could share one in its entirety or share just a portion.
Tundra Biome Books and Materials
- A Walk on the Tundra – nonfiction picture book featuring an Inuit family, written by an Inuit author.
- Reindeer! – a full-color photograph picture book.
- Life in a Tundra – an early reader book with full-color photographs.
- Tundra food chain wooden coins from Mirus Toys, featuring six living things and their roles in the tundra food chain – use with or without the wooden board Mirus Toys also has available here.
Tundra-Related Crafts and Hands-On Activities
Check out our Pinterest board for lots of ideas for your tundra and arctic unit.
- Polar bear animal adaptation craft and discussion ideas from Raising Lifelong Learners.
- Arctic animal writing prompts activity from The Educator’s Spin on It. You could work on these in a small group with older children, or prepare an individual shelf activity with blank booklets/prompts available for children to select independently.
- Sparkly, snowy process art project from Stay at Home Educator. This process art is a great project to introduce during a tundra unit study. Present the activity as-is, or consider providing construction paper cutouts of tundra plants and animals to create a “tundra scene.
- Winter clothes activities from Simply Full of Delight. Winter clothing is vital to humans living and working in the tundra biome. If you live in a place without snow, these clothing items may be somewhat unfamiliar! This activity helps children explore clothing items like snow pants, boots, and mittens. (Speaking of mittens… Trillium has a fun phonological awareness pack based on Jan Brett’s classic book The Mitten.)
- Child-size snow shovel from Montessori Services – cold weather practical life! If you don’t live in a snowy area, consider shoveling sand or soil instead to get a feel for the activity.
What is a Biome?
A biome is a large geographical region that is characterized by its unique climate, plants, and animals. Wetlands, grasslands, and temperate forests are all examples of biomes. Learning about different biomes can help us better understand the natural world and how it works. Biomes also provide an opportunity to learn about the different species that inhabit our planet and how they interact with one another.
About the Tundra Biome
The tundra biome is an extremely cold ecosystem mainly found in Northern Europe, Mongolia, the polar region of the Northern Hemisphere, and Antarctica. (Did you know that many parts of Antarctica are actually considered deserts?)
Types of Tundra Biomes
There are two forms of tundra: arctic tundra and alpine tundra.
- Arctic tundra starts at the shoreline and includes vast expanses of flat, frozen, treeless land.
- Alpine tundra occurs in mountain regions where the extremely high altitude prevents trees from growing.
The Climate and Growing Seasons

The temperature range in the tundra biome can be quite extreme. Winters are very cold, with temperatures often dropping below freezing, sometimes reaching as low as -40°F (-40°C). Summers, while short, can see temperatures ranging from 37°F to 54°F (3°C to 12°C).
The tundra receives little precipitation, mostly in the form of snow. The snow cover can last up to 10 months, making it difficult for plants and animals to survive. The snow cover also acts as an insulator, trapping heat and preventing the ground from thawing.
The Tundra experiences a brief period of thaw in the summer, which lasts for only a few weeks. During this time, the top layer of soil thaws, allowing plants to grow. However, the thaw is short-lived, and the ground quickly freezes again in the fall.
One of the most notable features of the tundra is its permafrost, which is a layer of permanently frozen soil that can be several feet thick. This layer prevents water from draining away, creating wet, marshy conditions that are ideal for certain types of plants and animals.
The tundra experiences strong winds, which can cause wind chill and make the already cold temperatures feel even colder. The winds also cause snow drifts, making it difficult for animals of the tundra to move around.
The Plants of the Tundra Biome

Although the tundra’s harsh conditions prevent trees from growing, there are plants that have adapted to life in the tundra, including low-lying shrubs, mosses, and lichens.
The Animals of the Tundra

Hardy, resilient tundra animals like Arctic foxes, mountain goats, and caribou have adapted to survive in this extreme environment. (Be sure to get our free printable about animals of the arctic.)
People of the Tundra
Although most of the tundra is sparsely populated, humans have been part of the tundra biome for centuries.

Indigenous communities, like the Sámi, Chukchi, and Inuit, maintain a close connection with the tundra, relying on specialized knowledge developed over many generations to thrive in the tundra’s challenging conditions.
Tundra Biome: Interesting Facts for Kids
- Arctic foxes change their fur color to provide camouflage depending on the season: their fur turns white in winter to blend in with the snow, and brown or gray in the warmer summer months to blend in with .
- Snowy owls in the tundra have specialized feathers allowing them to fly silently while hunting for prey.
- Caribou in the tundra undertake epic migrations each year, traveling thousands of miles to find food and suitable breeding grounds. Their migration paths are visible from space!
- There are many insects in the tundra, despite the harsh and cold conditions. Insects like mosquitoes, flies, beetles, and ants. play essential roles in the ecosystem. They serve as pollinators, decomposers, and a food source for larger animals in the tundra.
- Ground squirrels in the tundra hibernate for several months during winter, slowing their metabolism to survive when food is scarce.
- The growth rate of Arctic moss in the tundra is quite slow. Sometimes these mosses grow only a few millimeters or centimeters each year!
- The fastest animal in the tundra is the peregrine falcon. Peregrine falcons are skilled hunters and have been recorded reaching speeds of over 240 miles per hour (386 kilometers per hour) during their high-speed dives, known as stoops, when they are hunting for prey.
- Because of the harsh environmental conditions, there are almost no tall plants like trees in the tundra. Instead, the landscape contains low-lying plants, such as shrubs, mosses, lichens, and small flowers.
- The Arctic shrew is the smallest mammal in the tundra biome. This tiny animal weighs only a few grams and measures about 3 to 5 inches (7.6 to 12.7 centimeters) in length, including the tail!
- Because of the Earth’s tilt, there are certain times of the year in the Arctic tundra when the sun doesn’t set for several days, or even sometimes for a few weeks! This phenomenon is known as the “midnight sun” and occurs during the polar summer, around the summer solstice.
Holly Earnest is a content writer on the Trillium team. After eight years in the classroom and another 2.5 as a center director, Holly transitioned from full-time campus life to focus on supporting Montessori educators and caring for family. She is AMS-credentialed at the primary level, and enjoys coaching Montessori guides, creating Montessori training materials, and presenting at Montessori conferences.