Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Fish Eyes - More than Meets the Eye

For Teachers 9th - 12th
Inform your class about the adaptations in fish eyes: cones, lens size, endothermy, and speed of vision. The adaptations are related to diving behavior. Junior marine scientists compare the adaptations of four different fish species to...
App
GoSoftWorks

GoSkyWatch Planetarium for iPad - The Astronomy Star Guide

For Students 6th - Higher Ed
Digital compass alignment enables navigation of the skies with true orientation at any time. Just point to the sky or "aim for the stars!" This application acts as a virtual telescope, allowing you to zoom in on any object that is...
Worksheet
Curated OER

Staying Warm-Keeping Cool

For Students 3rd - 5th
For this Internet research worksheet, students go to the indicated website and read about animal habitats. Students answer 6 questions.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Adaptations: Fit For Survival

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students track species using the Journey North project. They examine the meaning of physical and behavioral adaptation, migration, and identify adaptations that help the species they track survive.
PPT
Curated OER

Academic Raceway 500

For Teachers 4th - 5th
This PowerPoint provides a raceway game in which students compete by answering animal questions correctly to advance their racecar. The main animal themes covered are adaptation, survival, endangered and extinct animals, and ways to...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Prairie Scales and Prairie Smoothies

For Teachers 6th
Sixth graders explore the animals that live on the prairie and identify differences between amphibians and reptiles and the adaptations each have made to live on the prairie.
Lesson Plan
NOAA

Deep-Sea Ecosystems – Cool Corals

For Teachers 7th - 8th Standards
Young oceanographers research deep sea corals that thrive on chemosynthesis. The lesson plan focuses on the biology of the animal, preferred habitat, associations, and interactions.
Lesson Plan
ARKive

Penguin Diversity – Mask Making

For Teachers K - 1st
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...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Blubber Gloves

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders examine animal adaptations and how they meet their needs in a variety of environments. They discuss how they might adapt to their own environment before discussing how an animal could adapt. Next, they complete an...
Lesson Plan
ARKive

Seasons in the Woods

For Teachers 2nd - 6th Standards
Winter in the cold Northwoods of Wisconsin can be hard on animals that aren't adapted to the climate. Investigate the animals that are out and about even in the coldest winter temperatures as you and your class examine animal...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Praire Biome Models

For Teachers 5th
Fifth graders, in groups, list the physical characteristics of a biome and think of ways in which animals might have to adapt to live there and make a biome mobile ball that show the different types of habitats that shape the praire biome.
Lesson Plan
Virginia Department of Education

Weather Patterns and Seasonal Changes

For Teachers K - 2nd Standards
Get your class outside to observe their surroundings with a activity highlighting weather patterns and seasonal changes. First, learners take a weather walk to survey how the weather affects animals, people, plants, and trees during...
Lesson Plan
Desert Discovery

Saguaro Seasons

For Teachers 3rd
Elementary schoolers take a look at how the saguaro cactus adapts to the four seasons of the year. This amazing plant has distinct flowering and fruiting cycles within the summer season, and other cycles during the other seasons. Your...
Worksheet
Curated OER

Hibernation and Estimation

For Students 4th - 7th
In this hibernation worksheet, students first read the passage below about animals who hibernate to adapt to the cold weather. They then answer the 10 questions at the bottom of the page.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

The American Prairie

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students design an animal.  In this prairie instructional activity, students learn about physical and behavioral adaptation, locate the Great Plains on a map, and design an animal that would be perfectly adapted for life on the...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Life-Cycle Sleuth

For Teachers 6th - 8th
Students analyze an animal's life cycle and behaviors, and examine what animals need to stay alive and reproduce. They develop theories and hypotheses about the reasons for migrations, using the Journey North online project.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Blue Planet: Frozen Seas

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Young scholars study the animals from the Arctic and how they have adapted.  For this ocean lesson students create a poster about their given animal and present it to the class. 
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Plant and Animal Changes

For Teachers 2nd
Second graders listen as the book, "What Do Animals Do In Winter?" is read to the class. They discuss that during the winter, some animals migrate, hibernate, hide, change color, and some make changes in their bodies like growing extra...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Animal Skin

For Teachers 7th - 8th
Students investigate the skin surface to body area ratios for different animals.  In this seventh/eighth grade mathematics/science activity, students explore heat transfer between an animal’s body and the environment.  Using...
Worksheet
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K12 Reader

Taiga Ecosystems

For Students 4th - 5th Standards
Introduce your class to another type of ecosystem, the taiga ecosystem, through a reading passage. Class members read the text and then respond to five reading questions about the content of the passage.
Unit Plan
Core Knowledge Foundation

Year 2: Northern Europe

For Teachers 2nd - 3rd
How is life in Northern Europe different from other areas of the world? Historians journey through the various regions of Northern Europe discovering what type of climate, animals, and lifestyles exist in that section of the world. They...
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Weather and Seasons: Mt. Seymour Winter Fieldtrip

For Teachers K - 7th
Students explore winter adaptations and glare. In this winter weather lesson, students discuss the season of winter and how animals and plants adapt to the changing weather. Students discuss the glare off snow and make goggles for their...
Worksheet
Curated OER

Animals Multiple Choice Definitions Worksheet

For Students 4th - 6th
In this animal vocabulary worksheet, students complete multiple choice questions where they define the animal terms given to them. Students complete 7 questions.
Lesson Plan
Curated OER

Design-A-Weed

For Teachers 6th - 12th
Learners create a "super weed" that prospers in teh harsh conditions on plant Weediv. They comprehend how weed adaptations give the plants an advantage over native plants. Students define the term adaptation. They give three examples...