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 elementary and middle school teachers.
This collection of elementary school science curriculum 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 curriculum-aligned instructional slide decks, 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 behaviors 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
Behavioral Adaptations
One way that an animal can adapt is through a process called behavioral 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.
What Are Some Animal Adaptation Examples for Kids?
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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Paired Passage Worksheets-Mammals vs. Reptiles
Compare mammals vs. reptiles and add to your reading instruction with leveled nonfiction, compare and contrast passages and worksheets.
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Arctic Fox Adaptations - Free Comprehension Worksheet
Read and learn about Arctic fox adaptations with a set of printable Reading Comprehension Worksheets for 2nd and 3rd grade.
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Free Desert Animal Adaptations Worksheets - Comprehension
Discover desert animal adaptations with a printable reading comprehension worksheet pack for 3rd grade.
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Plant & Animal Cells and Organelles Worksheet
Learn about the differences between plant cells and animal cells with a printable cells and organelles worksheet.
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Animals With Scales, Fur, Shells and Feathers Worksheet Pack
Investigate different animal body coverings by sorting and coloring animals with feathers, fur, scales and shells.
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Inherited vs. Acquired Traits Bingo Game
Understand the difference between inherited and acquired traits by playing a few rounds of Inherited vs. Acquired Traits Bingo!
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Animal Classification Posters
Display information about birds, mammals, amphibians, fish, and reptiles with this poster pack.
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Vertebrate vs. Invertebrates PowerPoint (K-1)
Explore animals with and without backbones with a Vertebrates vs. Invertebrates PowerPoint for early learners.
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Bats and Echolocation Worksheets - Comprehension
Read and learn about how bats use echolocation to navigate and find food with a printable Echolocation Worksheet Pack.
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All About Insects - Reading Comprehension Worksheet Pack (3-4)
Learn all about insects and their body features with a printable All About Insects Reading Comprehension Worksheet pack.
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Adaptive Animals of the Arctic - Adaptations Worksheets
Explore the adaptations of polar animals and discover how they help them survive with a set of cut-and-paste labeling activity sheets.
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Giant Squid Reading Comprehension Worksheets - 5th Grade
Read and learn about the features and adaptations of the giant squid with reading comprehension worksheets for 5th grade.
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Roll to Create an Animal - Adaptations Activity
Roll to choose cool animal adaptations for a mystery animal using a fun dice game and report template.
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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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Echolocation Activity Sheets
Explore the benefits of sound on animal survival with a set of printable Echolocation Activity Sheets.
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Animal Adaptations Project & Report
Strengthen your students' understanding of conducting research with an Animal Adaptations project.
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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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Animal Classes Word Search Pack - Upper Grades
Review vocabulary related to animal classes and characteristics of animals with a pack of printable animal classification word searches.
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Inherited and Acquired Characteristics - Worksheet Pack
Determine if animal features and characteristics are inherited or acquired traits with an engaging Animal Traits Cut and Paste Worksheet Pack.
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Polar Bear Adaptations Reading Comprehension Pack
Learn about the physical adaptations of the polar bear with a set of printable reading comprehension worksheets for 3rd grade.
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Parts of an Animal Body - Labeling Worksheets
Examine and identify animal body parts with printable ‘Label the Animal’ activities for preschoolers and kindergarteners.
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Insect Word Wall - Insect Names and Pictures
Use a printable insect word wall to introduce your students to the creepiest, crawliest creatures on the planet.
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Is It Inherited or Acquired? Traits Worksheets
Introduce your students to inherited and acquired traits with printable basic genetics worksheets for elementary grades.
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Parts of a Butterfly - Labeling Activity Sheets
Learn about the anatomy of a butterfly with a printable reading passage and butterfly labeling worksheets.
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Features of Insects Mini-Book
Learn about creepy crawly insects with a printable decodable book for first and second-grade readers.
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Animals Surviving With Sound Research Project
Assign an Animal Sound Research Project to encourage your students to explore how animals use sound to survive in the wild.
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Animals and Their Young - Spot the Difference Game
Observe and identify the differences between adult and baby animals with an engaging Spot the Difference Game for the classroom.
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Interactive Plant and Animal Sorting Game - External Features
Observe, sort, and group living things based on external features with an Interactive Plant and Animal Sorting Game.
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How Animals Move PowerPoint Presentation
Observe, describe and categorise the ways in which living things move with an interactive ‘How Animals Move’ PowerPoint slide deck.
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Sorting Animals Worksheet Pack - External Features
Observe and classify animals based on their external features with a Sorting Animals Worksheet Pack.
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Movement of Animals Worksheets - Cut and Paste
Cut and sort to show how different animals move with our Movement of Animals Worksheets.
- Animal Adaptations and Traits Worksheets
- Animal Adaptations and Traits Games
- Animal Adaptations and Traits Posters
- Animal Adaptations and Traits for Kindergarten
- Animal Adaptations and Traits for 1st Grade
- Animal Adaptations and Traits for 2nd Grade
- Animal Adaptations and Traits for 3rd Grade
- Animal Adaptations and Traits for 4th Grade
- Animal Adaptations and Traits for 5th Grade
- Animal Adaptations and Traits for 6th Grade