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 primary teachers!
This collection of Australian Science curriculum-aligned 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 ready-made teacher slides, 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 behaviours 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:
Behavioural Adaptations
One way that an animal can adapt is through a process called behavioural 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.
Animal Adaptation Examples
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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Vertebrates and Invertebrates Teaching Slides
Teach your students about the characteristics of vertebrates and invertebrates with an interactive teaching slide presentation.
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Animals that Use Camouflage - Fact File Cards
Discover animals that use camouflage to survive with these printable Animal Fact File cards.
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Identify Nonliving and Living Things - Printables
Download a pack of Living or Nonliving? Printables to help your students differentiate between living and nonliving organisms.
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Animals in Winter - Year 1 Reading Worksheets
Blend Year 1 Science and Reading with a printable pack of Animals in Winter reading comprehension worksheets.
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Animal Classification Chart Worksheet
Help your little learners identify members of mammals, birds, fish, and more animal classes using a handy animal characteristics worksheet.
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Poison Dart Frog Adaptations – Year 4 Reading Worksheets
Explore the adaptations of a poison dart frog with printable reading comprehension worksheets for Year 4.
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Movement of Animals Sorting Activity
Classify animals based on their movement methods with a picture-sorting game.
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Penguin Craft & Writing Template
Research and write about penguins and their adaptations, then create a fun penguin craft to display student work.
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Animals in the Arctic - Free Mini Book
Learn about polar animals and build comprehension skills with a Year 2 Arctic animal book.
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Characteristics of Animal Classes - Cut and Paste Worksheet
Identify the characteristics and features of different animal classifications with a cut-and-paste activity.
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Characteristics of Animals - Year 1 Writing Activities
Help your young students read and write about features of animals with a printable Animal Characteristics Write the Room activity.
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Roll to Create an Animal - Adaptations Game
Roll to create an animal with cool adaptations using a fun dice game and report template.
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Animal Adaptations Crossword Puzzle
Use an Animal Adaptations Crossword puzzle to review physiological, structural, and behavioural adaptation concepts.
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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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Label the Parts of an Animal - Digital Learning Activity
Identify and label the features of animals with an interactive labelling activity .
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Structural Adaptations Worksheets
Investigate the structural adaptations of animals with various animal adaptation worksheets.
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Plant and Animal Sort – Task Cards
Sort plants and animals based on characteristics with a set of task cards and picture cards.
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Animals With Scales, Fur, Shells and Feathers Worksheet Pack
Investigate different animal body coverings by sorting and colouring animals with feathers, fur, scales and shells.
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Is It Living or Nonliving? Worksheet
Complete the table to identify living and nonliving things with a printable animal classification worksheet.
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Animal Adaptations for Kids - Worksheet Pack
Identify and label different animal features and discover how these adaptations help animals survive with a pack of printable lift-the-flap matching worksheets.
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Classifying Animals Digital Learning Activity
Help students learn how to classify animals based on their characteristics with an engaging ‘Magic Looking Glass’ Interactive activity.
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Features of Insects Mini Book
Learn about the features of insects with a printable decodable book for kids.
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Types of Insects - Minibeast Fact Cards
Discover facts and features of a variety of insects with a handy set of insect fact cards.
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Plants, Animals & Adaptations – Worksheet
Use this worksheet to identify and describe different animal and plant adaptations which help them survive in their environment.
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Adaptive Animals of the Arctic - Adaptations Worksheets
Explore the adaptations of polar animals and discover how they help them survive with a set of cut-and-paste labelling activity sheets.
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Animal Features Playdough Mats
Use our Animal Playdough Mats to introduce your Foundations students to the physical features of animals.
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Animal Body Coverings Poster Set
Discover the different animal body coverings (feathers, fur, scales, skin and shells) with a set of printable posters.
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Animal Coverings Teaching Slides
Discover animals with scales, shells, fur, and other body coverings with an interactive teaching slide deck.
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Animals and Their Babies Memory Game
Play an animal game for kids to learn about animals and their babies.
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Rainforest Animal Printables — Adaptation Trading Cards
Discove rainforest animal adaptations and display your learning with miniature rainforest animal report templates.
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Australian Animal Adaptations Trading Cards - Forest Biome
Discover the adaptations of animals in the forests and woodlands of Australia with printable animal trading card templates.
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Animal Classification Worksheets for Foundation Year
Identify and sort animals according to their characteristics with a printable pack of cut-and-paste animal worksheets.
- Animal Adaptations and Traits Worksheets
- Animal Adaptations and Traits Posters
- Animal Adaptations and Traits for Foundation Year
- Animal Adaptations and Traits for Year 1
- Animal Adaptations and Traits for Year 2
- Animal Adaptations and Traits for Year 3
- Animal Adaptations and Traits for Year 4
- Animal Adaptations and Traits for Year 5
- Animal Adaptations and Traits for Year 6