12 Amazing Books to Teach About Glaciers in Upper Elementary

Picture Books to Teach About Glaciers for Young Readers

Picture books aren’t just for primary grades! These beautifully illustrated books can introduce complex concepts like glacier ice, continental ice sheets, and alpine glaciers in accessible ways for upper elementary students.

1. “Glaciers” by Seymour Simon

Seymour Simon’s gorgeous photography and clear explanations make this paperback book a perfect introduction to what glaciers are and how they shape our Earth. The text examines how lots of snow in areas with cool temperatures eventually transforms through phase change into massive formations of glacial ice. The text complexity is perfect for grades 3-5, and the photographs give students a real-world connection to these ice formations that exist in different shapes across different places.

Teaching tip: Use this book to kickstart your glacier unit. The photographs are perfect for generating great questions in an “I notice, I wonder” activity where students can begin to build observations about the parts of a glacier and how they might form at high mountains.

2. “Angela’s Glacier” by Jordan Scott

This luminously-illustrated picture book published in January 2024 tells the moving story of a girl who grows up with a special connection to a glacier. Young readers will be captivated by the emotional bond between Angela and her glacier, which serves as both a character and a setting in this beautiful narrative. The book subtly introduces the concept of glacier ice as a living, listening entity worthy of care and concern.

Teaching tip: Use this book to help students develop an emotional connection to glacierized regions. After reading, have students write personal letters to a glacier, sharing what they’ve learned about glacier flow and expressing their thoughts about global warming and rapid climate change. The afterword highlighting climate change threats provides excellent prior knowledge for deeper discussions.

3. “Who Lives near a Glacier?: Alaska Animals in the Wild” by various authors

This gorgeously illustrated book explores the diverse wildlife that thrives in and around glacial environments in North America, specifically Alaska. Through engaging poems paired with informative facts, young readers learn about animals from tiny ice worms that make their homes inside glacier ice to enormous whales swimming alongside ice walls rising from the ocean near glacier fronts.

Teaching tip: Have small groups create food web diagrams showing the interconnected ecosystem around a glacier in mountainous areas of Alaska. This helps students understand how glacial ice supports biodiversity and how changes to glaciers impact wildlife. Students with internet access can research additional animals not mentioned in the book that depend on glacial environments.

4. “Glacier on the Move” by Elizabeth Rusch

This captivating picture book follows Flo, a glacier with personality, as she demonstrates the life cycle and movement of glacial ice. Through Flo’s journey, young readers learn about glacier flow from the edge of an ice field, down steep cliffs, around mountains, and into valleys, creating u-shaped valleys and other landforms along the way. Helpful iceworms in the margins provide additional scientific facts about glacial movement and ice flow direction.

Teaching tip: This book connects perfectly with lessons about how glaciers transform earth’s surface. After reading, have students create a comic strip showing the adventures of a glacier like Flo, incorporating vocabulary terms such as glacier front, ablation, and accumulation. The personification of the glacier helps students remember the different shapes glaciers create through their movement.

5. “Glaciers Are Alive” by Debbie S. Miller

This environmental picture book introduces young readers to the surprising biodiversity found in glacierized regions. Following a glacier’s journey from high mountains to ocean, the book showcases how what might look like a forbidding environment actually supports abundant life, from ice worms to birds, bears, and marine creatures like seals and whales. The book also addresses how global warming and rapid climate change are affecting these vital ecosystems.

Teaching tip: Use this book to explore the interconnections between glacier ice and ecosystems. Have small groups create “Glacier Ecosystem” posters showing the variety of wildlife that depends on glaciers at different places along their path from high mountains to lower elevations. This helps students understand why glacier conservation matters beyond just the ice itself.

Nonfiction Texts for Deeper Learning – Books to Teach About Glaciers

These information-packed books provide the details curious upper elementary students crave while learning about glacier ice and how it shapes earth’s surface in different places around the world.

6. “Meltdown: Discover Earth’s Irreplaceable Glaciers and Learn What You Can Do to Save Them” by Anita Sanchez

This comprehensive guide for young readers explores the vital importance of glaciers to our planet’s health. Through engaging text and beautiful illustrations, including graphs, charts, infographics, and photographs, students learn how glacial ice forms, moves, and shapes earth’s surface. The book explains how the over 100,000 glaciers covering 10% of earth’s landmass hold almost three-quarters of the planet’s fresh water and act as protective shields to cool the atmosphere.

Teaching tip: This science-rich book connects perfectly with the extension activities about global warming and rapid climate change in my glacier unit. Have students use the information to create action plans for reducing carbon footprints and becoming climate activists. The book’s explanation of how scientists study glacier ice cores to understand earth’s climate history provides excellent background for scientific research discussions.

7. “Glaciers” (Earth Rocks! series) by Sara Gilbert

This illustrated paperback published in 2018 provides an elementary exploration of glaciers, focusing on the geological evidence that helps explain how and where they form. With language accessible to young readers, the book examines how glacier ice shapes landscapes and creates breathtaking scenery in different places around the world, with special attention to famous examples like those in Glacier National Park in North America.

Teaching tip: The photographs of famous locations complement Lesson 2 in my glacier unit about glacierized regions around the world. Have small groups create travel brochures for different glacier destinations, incorporating information about the range of glacial landforms found in each location. This reinforces geography while teaching about glacier flow and its impact on earth’s surface.

8. “Glaciers” (Eye To Eye With Endangered Habitats) by Precious McKenzie

This illustrated paperback examines the issues faced by glacier habitats and how they can be saved. Through beautiful photographs and accessible text, young readers gain an understanding of glaciers not just as ice formations but as vital ecosystems supporting diverse life forms. The book helps students understand how glacier ice in different places around the world creates habitats that are now endangered due to global warming and rapid climate change.

Teaching tip: Use this book to emphasize the environmental importance of glaciers beyond their geological significance. Have students create “Glacier Protection Campaign” posters highlighting how glacier ice provides critical habitat for various species. This connects science with environmental advocacy, showing students how scientific research can inform conservation efforts.

Books to Teach About Glaciers Around the World in Different Places

These books help students understand where glaciers exist today in different places and in the past – perfect companions to Lesson 2 in my Glaciers Unit about glacierized regions!

9. “Discover Great National Parks: Glacier” by Tammy Gagne

Published in February 2024, this excellent non-fiction guide introduces young readers in grades 4-6 to Glacier National Park located in Montana’s Rocky Mountains. Students will learn about the history of the land, the Blackfeet Native American tribe, the wildlife and more than 2,000 plant species found in these glacierized regions, and the conservation efforts needed to preserve the park’s alpine glaciers. The book includes beautiful photographs of the park’s high mountains, u-shaped valleys, and sparkling teal-blue lakes—showcasing the spectacular landscapes created by centuries of glacier flow.

Teaching tip: This comprehensive guide works perfectly with Lesson 2 of my glacier unit as students learn about North America’s most famous glacierized regions. Have students create travel brochures for Glacier National Park that highlight both the geological features formed by glacial movement and the conservation efforts being undertaken to protect these glacier fronts from the effects of global warming. The book’s information about the world biosphere reserve provides excellent content for discussions about scientific research and preservation efforts.

10. “Iceberg: A Life in Seasons” by Claire Saxby

Published in September 2022, this beautifully illustrated picture book follows the life cycle of an iceberg after it shears from a glacier front in Antarctica. Through poetic text and stunning visuals, young readers witness the iceberg’s journey through the seasons—watching penguins trek across the ice, sensing krill stirring underneath, and observing humpback whales and orcas in summer. The book shows how the iceberg gradually shrinks as the sun softens its edges and undersea currents wash it from below, demonstrating the natural processes that occur at lower elevations away from the glacier ice that formed it.

Teaching tip: Use this unique book to explore the connection between glaciers and icebergs, showing how icebergs are essentially pieces of glacial ice that have broken off from glacier fronts. Have students create a visual timeline of an iceberg’s life cycle, from its formation at a glacier front to its eventual melting. The book’s author’s note about the effects of rapid climate change on polar regions provides an excellent springboard for discussions about global warming and its impact on glacierized regions worldwide. The included map and glossary offer additional resources for your earth science lessons.

11. “Antarctica” by Walter Dean Myers

This photographic journey to Antarctica showcases the continent’s massive continental ice sheets and glacier fronts, helping students understand the scale of Earth’s largest glacial formations. The book explores how scientific research in Antarctica helps us understand rapid climate change.

Teaching tip: The photographs in this book pair perfectly with the discussion of ice sheet glaciers versus alpine glaciers in Lesson 1 of my unit. Students with internet access can research current images to compare with those in the book to track changes.

A Chapter Book with Glacier Settings for Young Readers

12. “Race to the South Pole” (Survivor Series) by Kate Messner

This exciting historical fiction chapter book recounts the race between explorers Roald Amundsen and Robert Scott to reach the South Pole, with vivid descriptions of navigating Antarctica’s continental ice sheets, glacier flow patterns, and dangerous crevasses. Young readers will gain prior knowledge about survival in extreme cold and the challenges of early scientific research in polar regions.

Teaching tip: Use this as a read-aloud during your glacier unit to incorporate literacy while building background knowledge about glacierized regions in Earth’s polar areas. Students can track expedition routes with maps to understand the large area covered by Antarctic ice.

Integrating These High-Quality Books Into Your Glacier Unit

When teaching about glacier ice and glacial movement in upper elementary, I’ve found the most success with a multi-modal approach that builds prior knowledge and addresses national science education standards:

1. Start with engaging picture books to build interest and background knowledge about parts of a glacier and how lots of snow in cool temperatures at high mountains eventually turns to ice
2. Follow with focused close reading of informational texts about glacierized regions in different places around the world
3. Incorporate hands-on activities in small groups to demonstrate glacier flow, ice flow direction, and how phase change works in the formation of glaciers
4. Use maps and visuals to help students understand where alpine glaciers and continental ice sheets exist in North America and beyond
5. Connect to real-world impacts through discussions of global warming, rapid climate change, and the effects on polar bears and other wildlife

If you’re looking to save time while creating a comprehensive, standards-aligned glacier unit, check out my Glaciers Unit of Study. This complete resource includes:

• Full lesson plans for three ready-to-use lessons covering glacier formation, glacierized regions around the world, and North America’s glaciers
• Close reading passages with comprehension questions about glacier flow, u-shaped valleys, and glacier scratches
• Vocabulary activities for key glacier terminology related to parts of a glacier and glacial movement
• Supplemental learning activities including mapping exercises to locate glaciers in mountainous areas and different places globally
• Extension activities about global warming, length of glacial retreat, and how rapid climate change affects glaciers

The unit is designed specifically for young readers in upper elementary (grades 3-6) and aligns with earth science and social studies standards related to earth’s surface changes and geography of glacierized regions and landforms.

If you found these book recommendations helpful for building prior knowledge about glaciers, be sure to pin it for later reference when planning your earth science units!