Ice Age

Unit Study

Subjects:
Reading, Science, History,
Vocabulary, Writing

©2019 Randi Smith www.peanutbutterfishlessons.com

 Teacher Instructions
Thank you for downloading our Ice Age Study! It was created to be used with
the books: What Was the Ice Age?, Magic Tree House Sunset of the
Sabertooth, and/or Magic Tree House Fact Tracker: Sabertooths and the Ice
Age . Here is what is included in the study:
Pages 3-9: Facts about the Ice Age: Notetaking sheets with
answer key. (Works best with What Was the Ice Age?,
but can also be used with the MTH Fact Tracker.)
Pages 10: Map of the World: Look up pictures of where the ice
sheets were during the Ice Age and color them on your
map.
Pages 11-12: Vocabulary Pages Write definitions to key vocabulary
words.
Pages 13-15: Animal Notebooking Pages: Research a prehistoric
animal.
Page 16-19: Timeline: Cut and glue events provided and/or write in
your own.
Page 20: Compare and Contrast: Neanderthals with Modern
Humans
Page 21: Writing Prompt: A Day in the Life of Early Humans

Also refer to our post: Ice Age FREE Unit Study for:
1. Videos about cave paintings, glaciers, prehistoric animals, first humans,
and plate tectonics.
2. Directions to make your own glacier.
3. A video to create your own cave painting.
4. A link to a Plate Tectonics Puzzle.

Frames and map by: ©2019 Randi Smith www.peanutbutterfishlessons.com

You may also like:
 Facts about the Ice Age
When was the Ice Age? ____________________________
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What evidence is there for the Ice Age?

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What was the earth like before the Ice Age?

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What were some prehistoric animals prior to the Ice

Age? ______________________________________________
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What animals lived during the Ice Age?

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Name: ___________________ ©2019 Randi Smith www.peanutbutterfishlessons.com

Facts about the Ice Age (cont.)
Why were the animals so large during the Ice Age?
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What evidence do we have that these animals existed?

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What early humans existed before us?

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Name at least 3 facts you learned about them:

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When is it thought modern humans appeared?

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Name at least 3 facts you learned about modern

humans: __________________________________________
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Name: ___________________ ©2019 Randi Smith www.peanutbutterfishlessons.com

Facts about the Ice Age (cont.)
What evidence do we have for Neanderthals and early
modern humans? __________________________________
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What are some ways that glaciers shaped the earth?

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What are some possible causes of the Ice Age?

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What is the greenhouse effect?

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Name: ___________________ ©2019 Randi Smith www.peanutbutterfishlessons.com

Facts about the Ice Age (cont.)
When was the Little Ice Age and what happened?
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What do scientists believe about “Snowball Earth”?

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How is our climate changing right now?

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Name: ___________________ ©2019 Randi Smith www.peanutbutterfishlessons.com

 Facts about the Ice Age
Answer Key
When was the Ice Age? 2.5 million years ago. There were
several small ice ages that made up The Ice Age. There was a Little
Ice Age that occurred from the 1300s to mid-1800s.

What evidence is there for the Ice Age?

Boulders left in fields (also known as glacier drift), glacier moraines,
scratches in mountains, smooth sheets of rocks that were polished
by the ice.

What was the earth like before the Ice Age? It was much
warmer and wetter than now, much like a rain forest. Tropical
weather spread as far north as Maine and temperate forests grew
on Antarctica.

What were some prehistoric animals prior to the Ice

Age? Basilosaurus, Brontops, and terror birds.
What animals lived during the Ice Age? Giant ground sloths,
woolly mammoths, giant armadillos (Glyptodonts), saber-toothed cats,
Megaloceros, cave hyenas, giant short-faced bear, giant rhinoceros,
giant beaver, dire wolves, cave lions, Western camels, wild horses,
cougars, musk oxen, polar bears, coyotes, raccoons, opossums, flying
squirrels

Why were the animals so large during the Ice Age?

The animals needed to stay warm and the larger they were, the
easier it was to hold in body heat so many species adapted to the Ice
Age by becoming larger.

What evidence do we have that these animals existed?

Fossils preserved in tar pits such as the La Brea Tar Pits in Los
Angeles. Cave paintings of animals also gives us evidence.

Name: ___________________ ©2019 Randi Smith www.peanutbutterfishlessons.com

 Facts about the Ice Age (cont.)
Answer Key
What early humans existed before us? There is the most
evidence for Neanderthals. (Other humans thought to have existed
include: Australopithecines, Homo habilis, Homo erectus, and
Heidelberg Man.)

Name at least 3 facts you learned about them:

Neanderthals were shorter, stockier, and stronger than us. They
used fur skins from animals to stay warm. They built fires in their
caves and camps. They may have spoken to each other. They made
wooden clubs and spears to hunt animals.

When is it thought modern humans appeared?

40,000 years ago

Name at least 3 facts you learned about modern

humans: They improved weapons (spear throwers) so they did not
have to get so close to the animals they hunted. They also hunted
and trapped smaller animals. They used bones to make weapons, tools,
and houses. They burned animal fat for fuel. They made clothing
with a needle and thread. They also created art.

What evidence do we have for Neanderthals and early

modern humans? Neanderthal bones were first found in
Germany in the 1800s. Tools have also been found. Cave paintings
help us know a lot about early people.

What are some ways that glaciers shaped the earth?

They pushed through mountains creating valleys, rivers, cliffs,
fjords, and lakes, including the Great Lakes. They moved some of
the rivers and caused huge floods. They left behind glacier drift
and moraines.

Name: ___________________ ©2019 Randi Smith www.peanutbutterfishlessons.com

 Facts about the Ice Age (cont.)
Answer Key
What are some possible causes of the Ice Age? The
Earth’s orbit changed and took it further from the sun. Or the
movement of the continents and oceans changed the climate. Or a
change in the Earth’s atmosphere due to less carbon dioxide in the
atmosphere may have allowed heat to escape the Earth.

What is the greenhouse effect?

At night, heat from the sun goes back into the atmosphere. Carbon
dioxide in the Earth’s atmosphere holds in some of the heat from the
sun to help keep the Earth warm. If it did not do this, Earth would
be too cold to support life.

When was the Little Ice Age and what happened?

It occurred from about 1300 to the mid-1800s. It rained a lot and
summers became cool and damp and winters were very cold. Glaciers
grew in some places and some lakes and rivers froze for months at a
time. It became difficult to raise crops and many people starved.

What do scientists believe about “Snowball Earth”?

They believe there was a very cold ice age between 850 million and
550 million years ago. It is believed the entire planet was covered in
ice, but that volcanoes continued to erupt providing small areas of
warmth around them.

How is our climate changing right now?

The use of coal and oil to run factories, cars, planes, trains, and
boats is releasing more carbon dioxide into our air, which traps more
heat around Earth. This is causing Earth to warm and the heat is
melting glaciers and ice sheets. This then causes the level of the
seas to rise. The increased heat also makes it hard for some animals
and plants to survive.

Name: ___________________ ©2019 Randi Smith www.peanutbutterfishlessons.com

Look up pictures of where the ice sheets were during the Ice Age and color
them on your map. Did they cover where you live?
 Vocabulary
Caveman
Definition: ____________________________________________
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Adapt
Definition: ____________________________________________
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Extinct
Definition: ____________________________________________
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Evolve
Definition: ____________________________________________
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Glaciers
Definition: ____________________________________________
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Glacial Drift
Definition: ____________________________________________
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Glacial Periods
Definition: ____________________________________________
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Interglacial Periods
Definition: ____________________________________________
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©2019 Randi Smith www.peanutbutterfishlessons.com

 Vocabulary
Mega
Definition: ____________________________________________
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Neanderthal
Definition: ____________________________________________
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Homosapiens
Definition: ____________________________________________
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Fjords
Definition: ____________________________________________
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Glacial Moraines
Definition: ____________________________________________
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©2019 Randi Smith www.peanutbutterfishlessons.com

 Animal: _____________________
Class: ____________________________________________
Family: ______________________________________________________

Physical Characteristics:
(What did they look like? Use good descriptive words!)

Color: _____________________________________________
Covering: _________________________________________
Size: _____________________________________________
Body Parts:
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Draw a Picture:

©2018 Randi Smith www.peanutbutterfishlessons.com

 Animal: _____________________
How did they move? _______________________________
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Did they have any special senses that helped them?

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Different types: ___________________________________

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Diet (What did they eat?):

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How they ate: _____________________________________

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Were they predators (hunters)? ____________________

Circle one: Carnivores Herbivores

Omnivores

©2019 Randi Smith www.peanutbutterfishlessons.com

 Animal: _____________________
Defense:
Who were their predators?
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How did they defend themselves?
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Other Behavior:
How did they adapt to changing climates?
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Did they live in groups? Describe.

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Where did they hang out? __________________________

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©2019 Randi Smith www.peanutbutterfishlessons.com

 Events for the Timeline
50 mya* Earth was covered in rain forests. Earth was covered in rain forests.
35 mya Glaciers form on Antarctica. Glaciers form on Antarctica.
2.5 mya First Ice Age began. First Ice Age began.
400,000 ya Neanderthals appeared. Neanderthals appeared.
125,000 ya Time of woolly mammoths and Time of woolly mammoths and
other large animals. other large animals.
40,000 ya Modern humans appeared. Modern humans appeared.
30,000 ya Neanderthals become extinct. Neanderthals become extinct.
12,000 ya Ice Age ended. Ice Age ended.
1300s - 1850 Little Ice Age Little Ice Age
1837 Louis Agassiz presents his theory about Louis Agassiz presents his theory
the Ice Age. about the Ice Age.
1856 Neanderthal bones are discovered in Neanderthal bones are discovered
Germany. in Germany.
1940 Cave at Lascaux is discovered. Cave at Lascaux is discovered.

*mya = million years ago

Feel free to add any other events you would like to your timeline. There
are a lot of different directions you could go with this.

©2019 Randi Smith www.peanutbutterfishlessons.com

 Timeline of the Ice Age
Above the line, write in important or interesting events in the history of the Ice Age. You can cut out the
events on the previous page and glue them where they belong to get started. Note: this timeline is not to
scale due to the fact that it covers millions of years!

65 2.5
Million Million
years years
ago ago
 Timeline of the Ice Age
Above the line, write in important or interesting events in the history of the Ice Age. You can cut out the
events on the previous page and glue them where they belong to get started. Note: this timeline is not to
scale due to the fact that it covers millions of years!

400,000 10,000
years ago years ago
 Timeline of the Ice Age
Above the line, write in important or interesting events in the history of the Ice Age. You can cut out the
events on the previous page and glue them where they belong to get started. Note: this timeline is not to
scale due to the fact that it covers millions of years!

10,000 1 AD Today
years ago
 Compare and contrast Neanderthals with Modern Humans. Think about differences in hunting, eating,
clothing, tools, etc. Write similarities between the two in the section where the circles overlap and
characteristics unique to each group in the corresponding circle outside of the overlapping area.

Neanderthals Modern Humans

©2019 Randi Smith www.peanutbutterfishlessons.com

 A Day in the Life
of an Early Human
Pretend early humans were able to write as we do now and create a
journal entry for a child your age to describe what his or her day may
have been like. Make sure to write it in first person.
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Name: ___________________ ©2019 Randi Smith www.peanutbutterfishlessons.com
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