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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What Animals Hibernate? Teaching Slides
Discover which animals hibernate and how they survive the winter with an interactive teaching slide deck.
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Butterfly Camouflage Activity Pack
Experience camouflage in butterflies and create an engaging scientific simulation with our printable butterfly camouflage activity 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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Naked Mole Rats – Comprehension Worksheet
Read and learn facts about the naked mole rat with a printable reading comprehension worksheet pack for 5th grade.
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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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Living and Non-Living Things - Word Wall Vocabulary
Discover the world of living and nonliving things, starting with a printable vocabulary word wall..
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Animal Classification Sort
Determine if an animal is an amphibian, reptile, mammal, or bird with this sorting 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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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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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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Nocturnal Animals Activities for Preschool & Kindergarten
Introduce your students to the creatures of the night with five nocturnal animal activities for kids!
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Echidna Adaptations – Reading Worksheet Pack
Discover the adaptations of the echidna with a printable reading passage and comprehension worksheet pack.
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Animal Features Playdough Mats
Use our Animal Playdough Mats to introduce your kindergarten students to the physical features of animals.
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Animal Classification Word Search Pack - Lower Grades
Introduce your students to the six animal types/classes with a pack of printable animal word search worksheets.
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Animal Adaptation Examples – Anchor Chart Set
Help your students identify physiological, behavioral, and structural adaptations with printable Examples of Adaptations Anchor Charts.
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Insect Investigation - Parts of an Insect Activity
Take a peek at the features and characteristics of insects with an engaging Insect Investigation Lab activity.
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Classification of Animals - Teaching Slides
Teach your students about the different classes of animals and their characteristics with an Animal Classification teaching presentation.
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Vertebrate or Invertebrate? Game
Have fun classifying vertebrates and invertebrates with an exciting Google Slides Interactive Science Game!
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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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Animal Traits and Behaviors Anchor Charts
Help your students differentiate between inherited and acquired traits, instincts, and learned behaviors with a printable science anchor chart and note-taking organizer.
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Vertebrates and Invertebrates Teaching Slides
Teach your students about the characteristics of vertebrates and invertebrates with an interactive teaching slide presentation.
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Animal Characteristics - Write the Room Activity
Help your young students read and write about features of animals with a printable Animal Characteristics Write the Room activity.
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Polar Bear Craft Template
Pair a polar bear craft and informational writing to create a fun winter animals bulletin board.
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Labeled Animal Cell Model Poster
Highlight the different parts of an animal cell with a labeled animal cell diagram.
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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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What is Mimicry? Teaching Slides
Help your students understand the purpose of mimicry and its variations with an engaging, interactive teaching slide deck.
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Acquired or Inherited? Trait Sort
Identify the differences between acquired and inherited traits with an engaging picture sort for 5th Grade.
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Animal Adaptations Vocabulary Display
Introduce animal adaptation and behavior vocabulary with a word wall featuring photographs and definitions of adaptation-related words.
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Nocturnal vs. Diurnal Animals Interactive Task Cards
Identify nocturnal and diurnal animals with an engaging, interactive task card game.
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Animals in Winter - Kindergarten Science Worksheet
Cut and sort animals that hibernate, migrate, and adapt with an ‘Animals in Winter’ sorting activity.
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Animals in Winter - Hibernation Mini Book
Read and learn about animals that hibernate with a printable hibernation book for kids.
- 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