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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Animals in Winter - Year 1 Reading Worksheets
Blend Year 1 Science and Reading with a printable pack of Animals in Winter reading comprehension worksheets.
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Roll to Create an Animal - Adaptations Game
Roll to create an animal with cool adaptations using a fun dice game and report template.
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Amazing Ants! – Comprehension Worksheet Year 1-2
Review reading skills with comprehension worksheet for an article about ants from the Year 1 magazine (Issue 3).
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Animal Group Fact File Worksheets
Research and write about the characteristics of different animal groups with printable Animal Group Fact File Worksheets.
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Bird Beak Lab Activity
Discover how birds’ beaks help them find food and survive in the wild with a hands-on Bird Beak Adaptation Lab.
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Label the Parts of an Animal - Digital Learning Activity
Identify and label the features of animals with an interactive labelling activity .
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Plant and Animal Sort – Task Cards
Sort plants and animals based on characteristics with a set of task cards and picture cards.
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Is It Living or Nonliving? Worksheet
Complete the table to identify living and nonliving things with a printable animal classification worksheet.
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Characteristics of Living Things - Science Worksheets
Identify the characteristics of living things and animal classes with a pack of printable Animal Class Characteristic Worksheets.
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Arctic Fox Adaptations - Free Comprehension Worksheets
Read and learn about Arctic fox adaptations with a set of free Reading Comprehension Worksheets for Years 2 and 3.
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Australian Animal Adaptations Trading Cards - Forest Biome
Discover the adaptations of animals in the forests and woodlands of Australia with printable animal trading card templates.
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Types of Insects - Minibeast Fact Cards
Discover facts and features of a variety of insects with a handy set of insect fact cards.
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Label the Ant Diagram Worksheet Pack
Learn about the anatomy of an ant with a printable reading passage and ant labeling worksheets.
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Torpor vs Hibernation - Reading Worksheets
Help your students learn the difference between torpor and hibernation with a printable pack of reading comprehension worksheets.
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Animal Adaptation Examples – Anchor Chart Set
Help your students identify physiological, behavioural, and structural adaptations with printable Examples of Adaptations Anchor Charts.
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Characteristics of Animal Classes - Cut and Paste Worksheet
Identify the characteristics and features of different animal classifications with a cut-and-paste activity.
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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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Winter Survival Adaptations - Sorting Activity
Match the animals with the behavioural adaptation that helps them survive the winter in this printable animal adaptation sorting activity.
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Animal Body Coverings Poster Set
Discover the different animal body coverings (feathers, fur, scales, skin and shells) with a set of printable posters.
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Animals and Their Babies Memory Game
Play an animal game for kids to learn about animals and their babies.
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Desert Animal Adaptations - Trading Card Templates
Discover amazing desert animals’ adaptations and display your learning with printable animal trading card templates.
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Animals that Use Camouflage - Fact File Cards
Discover animals that use camouflage to survive with these printable Animal Fact File cards.
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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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Animals With Scales, Fur, Shells and Feathers Worksheet Pack
Investigate different animal body coverings by sorting and colouring animals with feathers, fur, scales and shells.
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Nocturnal Animals Activity Pack
Introduce your students to the creatures of the night with five nocturnal animal activities for kids!
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Animals that Hibernate & Migrate Picture Posters
Explore animal hibernation and migration and learn about the animals that use these behavioural adaptations with a printable animal poster pack.
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Survival Spotlight - Physical Adaptations Animal Riddle Worksheets
Shine a spotlight on animal adaptations and solve riddles with printable animal adaptation riddle worksheets.
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Australian Animals — Adaptations Worksheets
Research and write about amazing animal adaptations with our Australian Animals Adaptation Worksheets.
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Identifying Insects Poster
Help your students differentiate between insects and arachnids, plus other creepy crawlies, with a printable Insect Identification chart.
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Animals in the Arctic - Free Mini Book
Learn about polar animals and build comprehension skills with a Year 2 Arctic animal book.
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Animals in the Tundra Adaptations Trading Cards
Discover the adaptations of animals in the tundra with printable animal trading card templates.
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Animal Adaptations Crossword Puzzle
Use an Animal Adaptations Crossword puzzle to review physiological, structural, and behavioural adaptation concepts.
- Animal Adaptations and Traits Worksheets
- Animal Adaptations and Traits Posters
- Animal Adaptations and Traits for Foundation Year
- Animal Adaptations and Traits for Year 1
- Animal Adaptations and Traits for Year 2
- Animal Adaptations and Traits for Year 3
- Animal Adaptations and Traits for Year 4
- Animal Adaptations and Traits for Year 5
- Animal Adaptations and Traits for Year 6