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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Animals and Their Babies Memory Game
Play a fun Memory-style animal game for kids to learn about animals and their babies.
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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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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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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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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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Would You Rather? Animal Adaptations Game
Discuss and debate the best animal adaptations with the Would You Rather? Animal Adaptation game.
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Inherited versus Learned Behaviors Poster
Explain the difference between inherited and learned behaviors with a set of printable anchor charts.
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In the Arctic - Free Decodable Book
Engage your students and inspire them to read and learn about life in the Arctic with a printable book for 2nd grade.
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Plant and Animal Sort - Task Cards
Sort plants and animals using different characteristics with a set of task cards and picture cards.
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Winter Animal Adaptations - Clip Cards
Discover which behavioral adaptations animals use to survive the winter with a set of Animals in Winter Clip Cards.
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Kangaroo Adaptations – Reading Comprehension PDF Worksheets
Discover amazing kangaroo adaptations with a printable Reading comprehension worksheet pack.
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Sloth Adaptations – Comprehension Skills Worksheet
Read and comprehend nonfiction text about the adaptations of a sloth with a printable pack of reading skills worksheets.
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Plant and Animal Adaptations - Comprehension Worksheets
Boost reading comprehension skills with a comprehension passage, with questions, about structural, behavioral and physiological adaptations.
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Animal Adaptations Teaching Slides
Teach your students about behavioral, structural, and physiological adaptations of animals with an interactive teaching slide deck.
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What Animals Live in Social Groups? PowerPoint Presentation
Discover what animals live in social groups and why with an engaging interactive Animal Behavior PowerPoint.
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Animals That Live in Groups - Animal Behavior Worksheet Pack
Explore how animals survive and thrive in social groups with a printable Animal Behavior Worksheet pack.
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Animal Adaptations Project & Report
Strengthen your students' understanding of conducting research with an Animal Adaptations project.
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Invertebrate Classification Chart Pack
Help your students differentiate between insects and arachnids, plus other creepy crawlies with a printable Insect Identification chart.
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Amphibians, Fish, and Reptiles Escape Room
Help your students discover the amazing characteristics of amphibians, fish, and reptiles with an exciting Animal Science Escape Game!
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Animal Classification Chart Activity Pack
Classify mammals, reptiles, birds, and other animal groups with a printable pack of animal classification table worksheets.
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Animal Classification Chart Activity
Help your little learners identify members of different animal classes using a handy animal characteristics worksheet.
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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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Monster Mashup - Inherited Traits Activity
Introduce your students to inherited traits and learned behaviors through an exciting Monster Mashup Inherited Traits Activity!
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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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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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Human Inherited Traits Activity - Science Experiment
Engage your students in learning about the traits inherited from their parents with a fun Human Inherited Traits Lab activity.
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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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Parts of an Animal Labeling Activity - Digital Learning Resource
Identify and label animal body parts with an interactive labeling activity for preschoolers.
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Identify Nonliving and Living Things - Printables
Download a pack of Living or Nonliving? Printables to help your students differentiate between living and nonliving organisms.
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Winter Survival Adaptations - Sorting Activity
Match the animals with the behavioral adaptation that helps them survive the winter in this printable animal adaptation sorting activity.
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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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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!
- Animal Adaptations and Traits Worksheets
- Animal Adaptations and Traits Posters
- Animal Adaptations and Traits Games
- 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