California Academy of Science
Coral Reef Habitat Match
Different animals live in different habitats, and each animal has specifically adaptive traits that make them tailor-made for their environments. This is true on land and in the ocean. Little ones examine how various marine animals have...
Curated OER
Zoobilation
Youngsters become familiar with zoo animals. They sort them into categories, and choose an animal to act out. Two zoo centers are created in the classroom that have examples of the animals for the pupils to play with. Then, they choose...
Curated OER
Animal Adaptations
Learners will participate in classroom discussions and visit a website to learn more about animals and how well (or poorly) they've adapted to satisfying their needs in their natural habitats. This will help move them toward the goal, in...
Curated OER
Animal Diversity
Students explore biology by completing science worksheets in class. In this animal anatomy lesson, students read the book The Adventures of Marco and Polo and identify the animals mentioned in it. Students examine a real life animal and...
Curated OER
Animal Adaptation
Students begin the lesson by observing animals in their natural habitat. Using the internet, they research the types of adaptations they have gone through to be able to live comfortably in their environment. They observe what they see on...
Curated OER
Meet the Animals
The class will examine a series of live or stuffed animals in order to learn how different animals survive in distinctive habitats. As they examine each animal, they will be asked a series of critical thinking questions geared at getting...
Curated OER
Guess Who?
Getting ready for a lesson on animal adaptations can be a lot of fun. Kindergartners will go on an egg hunt. Once they have collected all the eggs, they will open them up to reveal an image of an animal. Each pupil will act out their...
Curated OER
Snug in the Snow
Students explore how snow helps animals survive in the wild. In this animal science lesson, students review key vocabulary words and discuss types of animal adaptations. Students construct shoebox to simulate the snowy environment where...
Curated OER
The Living Environment
Students investigate animals and their environments. In this animal similarities and differences activity, students explore animal adaptations and features and their habitats. Students get into groups to discuss the habitat and how the...
Curated OER
I Spy (Camouflaged Animals in Art!)
Make connections about animal characteristics and the animal's environment. In this animal characteristics lesson, young scholars use a piece of art as a springboard for a discussion about animals and camouflage. Students choose an...
Curated OER
Venus Flytrap
Students study the Venus Flytrap including its habitat and how it eats. In this ecology instructional activity students complete several experiments using a Venus Flytrap to see how it reacts to various conditions.
Curated OER
Dress Like A Frog
Students recognize amphibian adaptations. In this amphibian lesson students explore amphibian adaptations that provide for successful living in their environments. A volunteer dresses up with all of the adaptations using everyday items...
National Wildlife Federation
Prairie Chicken Pageant
Diminishing habitats is a real concern that is threatening endangered species. Learners examine these concerns by studying the prairie chicken. Groups get a card with characteristics and threats to the species that they turn into skits.
Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Amazing Birds
What's so amazing about birds? Find out just how amazing birds are with a physics of animal behavior unit created by Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Have learners explore and tap into their observational skills and notice how birds fly, what...
Curated OER
Animal Movements
Students discuss the behavior of different animals and how they move. They explore the ways that this helps them live and find food in their environment. They participate in a game that requires them to mimic the ways in which animals move.
ARKive
Penguin Diversity – Mask Making
Penguins are very diverse and well-adapted birds; they live on islands, in warm and cold climates. Little ones examine penguin diversity and discuss the highly functional adaptive traits that have helped them survive in some of the...
Curated OER
Amazing Desert Dwellers
Students explore the many adaptations desert animals have made to survive in their challenging habitat. They use this information to invent new creatures well-suited for desert life.
Curated OER
Habitats: Cactus Hotel
A reading of Brenda Z. Guiberson’s, Cactus Hotel, launches a study of animal habitats. Working with parent volunteers or teacher aides, groups travel outside the classroom to select a habitat, take digital pictures, and incorporate the...
California Academy of Science
Snakes and Lizards Length and Movement
Snakes and lizards can be very tiny or very long. Your class will get out their rulers to see just how big snakes and lizards can be. They discuss several different reptiles by reading the included animal fact cards, then each small...
Curated OER
Who lives with Mallard?
Pupils explore how all living things have needs that are obtained from their surroundings. They identify the surroundings where an animal or plant lives is its habitat. Students identify that a habitat is a community of living and...
Curated OER
Dull Duck, Dashing Duck
Students learn about animal camouflage. For this animal adaptations lesson, students discuss the patterns and adaptations animals use to help them survive, discuss the uses of camouflage, visit a local wetland if possible, and design...
Curated OER
Water: H2O = Life
In this earth science worksheet, students explore and describe animals and their adaptations, including their habitats, physical characteristics, and competing organisms. They also explore and describe how others use water around the...
Curated OER
How Animals Prepare for the Winter
Students study animals. In this hibernation lesson, students are read Stranger in the Woods and they discuss what various animals do in their habitat during the winter. They work as a class to create their own hibernation environment...
Curated OER
Who's Wild?
Students explore the differences between animals of the wild and domesticated animals. In this wild animals instructional activity, students understand that tame animals ancestors were once wild. Students illustrate the differences by...