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 in the Tundra - Adaptation Trading Cards
Discover the adaptations of animals in the tundra with printable animal trading card templates.
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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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Instinct vs. Learned Behavior Sort
Help your students determine the difference between a learned behavior and an instinct with a thought-provoking sorting activity.
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Animal Adaptations Crossword Puzzle
Use an Animal Adaptations Crossword puzzle to review concepts related to physiological, structural, and behavioral adaptations.
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What Animals Migrate? Teaching Slide Deck
Discover why animals migrate and which ones make the longest journeys with an interactive teaching slide deck.
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Desert Animal Adaptations - Trading Card Templates
Discover amazing desert animals’ adaptations and display your learning with printable animal trading card templates.
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Hibernation Word Wall - Illustrated
Discover the world of hibernation-related vocabulary with an illustrated hibernating animals word wall display.
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Classifying Vertebrates Flow Chart Poster
Classify vertebrates using an animal classification flowchart poster.
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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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Identifying the Parts an Earthworm Worksheet
Read, learn and label the parts of a worm with a set of printable animal features worksheets.
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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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Animals That Adapt - Research Project & Report
Strengthen your students' understanding of conducting research with an Animal Adaptations research project.
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Amazing Animals With Adaptations - Worksheets
Research and write about amazing animal adaptations with our Amazing Animals Adaptation Worksheets.
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Parts of an Ant - Labeling Activity
Learn about the anatomy of an ant with a printable reading passage and ant labeling worksheets.
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Monarch Butterfly Migration Map
Use a Monarch Butterfly Migration map to introduce your students to a natural phenomenon of migratory animal behavior.
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Adapting, Migrating, & Hibernating Animals Research Project
Set this classroom project for students to explore the topic of how seasons affect animals, and develop a species-specific profile on a chosen animal.
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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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How Seasons Affect Plants and Animals Sorting Activity
Set up this sorting activity in your classroom to teach students how the seasons affect plants and animals by categorizing them.
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How Seasons Affect Plants and Animals Teaching Slides
Share this informational slide deck with your 2nd grade class to teach students about how seasons affect plants and animals on planet Earth.
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Plant and Animal Adaptations Flipbook
Use this fun flipbook to teach students about adaptations while allowing them to connect to prior knowledge by answering questions on each page.
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Plant & Animal Adaptations Poster Set
Display these informative posters in your 2nd grade classroom to remind students of the five ways animals and plants adapt to seasonal changes in their environment.
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Environmental Factors That Affect Plants and Animals – Interactive Activity
Help your students learn about how environmental factors such as the weather affect plants and animals using this engaging and informative interactive activity.
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Animal Adaptations Word Search
Develop science vocabulary skills with a printable animal adaptations word search.
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Animals With Adaptations - Worksheet Pack
Use these animal adaptation worksheets when teaching students about the structural, behavioral, and physiological adaptations of animals.
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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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Animal Classification Posters
Display information about birds, mammals, amphibians, fish, and reptiles with this poster pack.
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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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Insect Investigation - Research Task
Explore insect life cycles and food chains with this research task.
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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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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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Animal Needs and Adaptations Mini-Book
Read and learn about animal adaptations and basic needs with this 14-page mini-book.
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How Living Things Survive – Teaching Presentation
Use this 13-slide teaching presentation to teach your students about the physical characteristics of animals and plants, which help them meet their basic needs.