What are Structural Adaptations? Behavioral? Physiological?

If you’re starting up your unit on plant and animal adaptations and are on the hunt for some ideas and resources to get you started, you’re in the right place! We’ve got the facts and the tools you need to help you hit the ground running with instruction. Let’s start with the basics!

Animals and plants adapt to their environment in three ways: behaviorally, structurally, and physiologically. A water lily’s closed flowers at night is a behavioral adaptation, while its flat leaves are a structural adaptation. Its specialized root system is a physiological adaptation that helps it absorb nutrients and oxygen from the water and air.

Discover a Variety of Plant Adaptations with Printable Resources

This worksheet pack is designed to introduce your students to five unusual plants with various structural, behavioral, and physiological adaptations that help them survive. Each worksheet has a detailed image and three prompts for students to research and determine what adaptations each plant has made to survive. The plants we’ve included are

• Cactus
• Water Lily
• Venus Flytrap
• Poison Oak
• Roses

Using this group of worksheets and some research material, your students will discover the strange (and beneficial) structures and behaviors that these organisms have developed over time to survive.

Download and Print Your Adaptation Worksheet Pack

You’re just a click away from getting your new resources! Use the dropdown arrow on the Download button to select the Editable Google Slides resource file or the quick-print PDF version.

Need more plant and animal adaptation resources? Try these on for size!

teaching resource

Animal Needs and Adaptations Mini-Book

Read and learn about animal adaptations and basic needs with this 14-page mini-book.