Animal Adaptations and Traits Teaching Resources
Get ready to teach about animal adaptations and animal traits this school year with printable worksheets, digital activities and more teacher-created resources for primary teachers!
This collection of Australian Science curriculum-aligned resources includes printables and Google Slides templates that have been thoroughly reviewed by our expert teaching team to ensure they're ready for your lesson plans and your students.
Save time on lesson planning with ready-made teacher slides, vocabulary guides and activities that can easily be differentiated to meet your students' individual needs.
New to tackling this topic in the classroom? The expert science teachers on the Teach Starter team have put together the answers to some of teachers' most common questions about animal adaptations and animal traits!
What Are Animal Adaptations? A Kid-Friendly Definition
Let's start with an easy way to explain what adaptation in animals is to your class! Here's a kid-friendly definition from our teacher team:
Adaptation is when animals change their bodies or behaviours to survive better in their environment. Humans may put on a jacket when it's cold outside — that's an example of how we adapt. Animals also have their own special ways of dealing with different environments.
How Do Animals Adapt to Their Environments?
Just as there are countless kinds of animals living around the world, there are many ways that different animals will adapt to their environment. There are two major types of adaptations:
Behavioural Adaptations
One way that an animal can adapt is through a process called behavioural adaptation. This kind of change doesn't require a change in the animal's DNA or its physical features.
Instead, this involves changes in an animal's actions or habits that help them survive in their environment, such as a bear hibernating during the winter.
Structural Adaptations
Another way that animals adapt is through changes to physical features or body parts. These are called structural adaptations, typically occurring over time via evolution, the process of gradual change in species over many generations.
A polar bear's white fur is a good example of a structural adaptation for this tundra animal. The color of the fur helps polar bears blend in with the snowy environment of the Arctic, providing camouflage and making it easier for them to hunt and sneak up on prey.
Animal Adaptation Examples
Looking for more animal adaptation examples that kids love to share with your students? Give these a try!
Desert Animal Adaptations
- Camels have humps that store fat, which they can use as food and water when there's not much available.
- Desert snakes have scales that help them move smoothly on the sand.
- Beetles that live in the desert have a hard outer covering that prevents them from losing water.
Tundra Animal Adaptations
- In addition to the color of their fur, polar bears have thick fur and a layer of blubber (fat) that keep them warm in the freezing cold.
- Arctic foxes can change the color of their fur from brown in the summer to white in the winter to blend in with the snow.
- Caribou have wide hooves that help them walk on the soft tundra and dig through the snow for food.
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Animal Adaptations PowerPoint
A 28 slide editable PowerPoint Template for teaching a unit on animal adaptation.
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Plant and Animal Adaptations - Reading Comprehension Passage
Boost reading comprehension skills with a comprehension passage, with questions, about structural, behavioural and physiological adaptations.
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Animal Adaptations - Worksheet Pack
A collection of worksheets to use when teaching students about the structural, behavioural and physiological adaptations of plants and animals.
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Animal Adaptations - Inquiry Task
An inquiry-based task to consolidate and deepen students' understanding of animal adaptations.
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Plant and Animal Adaptations - Structural Adaptation Posters
Highlight the physical adaptations of different animals with a set of printable anchor charts.
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Behavioural, Structural and Physiological Adaptations (Classroom Poster Pack)
Print 4 free classroom posters explaining the different types of adaptations in the animal kingdom!
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How Living Things Survive – Teaching Presentation
Use this 13-slide teaching presentation to teach your students about the basic needs and physical characteristics of animals and plants.
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Animal Body Coverings Sort
A worksheet for students to sort animals based on their body covering.
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Plant and Animal Adaptations - Vocabulary Worksheets
Review key vocabulary associated with plant and animal adaptations with a pair of vocabulary worksheets.
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Plant and Animal Adaptations – Word Wall Vocabulary
Build scientific vocabulary skills with a printable display of words relating to plant and animal adaptations.
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Science Experiment - Blubber Me!
A science experiment which explores the structural adaptation of blubber.
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Seasons Affect Plants and Animals Flipbook
Use this fun flipbook to teach students how the seasons affect plants and animals while allowing them to connect to prior knowledge by answering questions on each page.
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How Seasons Affect Plants and Animals Poster Set
Display these informative posters in your Grade One classroom to remind students of the five ways animals and plants adapt to seasonal changes in their environment.
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Plant and Animal Adaptations Unit Plan
This Science unit addresses the concept of plant and animal adaptations.
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Animal Adaptations Inquiry Task - Presenting
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Behavioural Adaptations
A 60 minute lesson in which students will explore the behavioural adaptations of plants and animals.
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Structural Adaptations
A 60 minute lesson in which students will explore the structural adaptations of plants and animals.
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Animal Adaptations Inquiry Task - Researching
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Animal Adaptations Inquiry Task - Introduction
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Physiological Adaptations
A 60 minute lesson in which students will explore the physiological adaptations of plants and animals.
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Introduction to Adaptations