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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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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Animal Adaptations Foldables - Shutter Card Templates
Write and draw about the behavioral, structural, and physiological adaptations of animals from around the world with a set of fun printable shutter card templates.
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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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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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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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Describing Animal Adaptations - Informative Writing Prompt Worksheets
Write to describe animals and their adaptations with a printable pack of informative writing 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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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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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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Three Types of Environmental Adaptations Posters
Teach your students the different types of behavioral, structural and physiological adaptations with a set of 4 printable posters.
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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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Vertebrates and Invertebrates Posters
A set of educational posters featuring the basic differences between vertebrates and invertebrates.
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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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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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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.
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Cut & Compare Animals Worksheet Pack - Ways Animals Move
Use our Cut and Compare Animals Worksheet Pack to help your students practice scientific classification and explore ways that animals move.
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How Do Animals Move Worksheet Pack
Color, sort, and categorize how animals get around with a set of ‘How Animals Do Animals Move’ Worksheet Pack
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Interactive Animal Movement Game
Explore animals and how they move with an interactive Animal Movement Game.
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Animal Features and Functions Matching Activity
Explore animal features and their functions with an engaging Animal Features Matching Game.
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A House for Hermit Crab Activity Pack
Explore how an animal’s habitat meets its needs with an engaging ‘A House for Hermit Crab’ activity pack.
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Features of Animals Bingo Game (K-1)
Explore and identify the external features of animals with an exciting Features of Animals Bingo Game.
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Human Features Picture Cards
Explore the similarities and differences between humans by using these printable Human Features Picture Cards.
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Which Doesn’t Belong? Vertebrate or Invertebrate Game
Identify examples of vertebrates and invertebrates with an engaging Which Animal Doesn’t Belong? Vertebrate or Invertebrate Game.
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Humans vs. Animals Venn Diagram Activity
Compare human and animal characteristics with our printable and digital Human vs. Animal Features Venn Diagram activity.
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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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What’s My Habitat? Prediction Task Cards
Explore animal features and improve science inquiry skills with printable Habitat Prediction Task Cards.
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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.
- 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