Animal Adaptations ArticleTeachers’ Guide

When I teach fourth graders about adaptations, one of my main tasks is to get them to pronounce the word correctly! Our science textbook does not give them enough experience with the word to be able to understand it fully. I wrote this article to give students lots of opportunities to say and use the word “adaptations”.

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Before ReadingThis page will help students to make predictions for the article and learn how to pronounce key words. I often have kids repeat the words after me—“Let’s say this next word as if we’re telling a secret” or “Let’s say this word as if it’s the answer to a question.”

3-5ArticleThis article introduces students to animal adaptations. Key ideas are repeated to give students plenty of chances to say and read them. This works well to have students read as a partner reading or in small groups.

6During ReadingThis page helps to give students a focus while they read.

7After ReadingOn this page, students need to read four different words or phrases, and then choose which one doesn’t belong.

8 After Reading KeyIn case you’re not sure!

9-11Writing PromptStudents read the prompt and find the role, audience, topic, and purpose, and then respond in the form of a dialogue bubble. A great opportunity to add fun writing to science.

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Animal AdaptationsBefore Reading

Look at these pictures from the text.

What do you think these animals have in common? Write down at least one idea.

Look at these important words from the text. Practice reading them.

adaptation Something that helps an animal to survive

physical Related to the body

behavioral Relating to what an animal does

From Bird Beaks to Fish Fins:Animal Adaptations

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A hummingbird has a long, thin beak. A red-tailed hawk has a sharply hooked beak. A woodpecker has a strong, sharp beak.

Why do these birds have such different beaks?Baby painted turtles can live through a cold winter by

super-cooling their blood. Monarch butterflies migrate every fall to spend the winter in warmer weather.

Why do these animals do this?Some fish have large mouths. Others have jaws that stretch

out on the bottom.Why do fish look like this?

It’s All About AdaptationsAn adaptation is a feature that helps

an animal to survive. Adaptations can help animals stay alive in a certain kind of environment. An adaptation can help an animal to find food. An adaptation can help an animal to raise its young. An adaptation can even help an animal to escape from a predator!

The shape of a bird’s beak is an adaptation. Each kind of bird beak helps the animal in a different way. The long, thin beak of the hummingbird helps the bird to sip nectar from flowers. The sharp, hooked beak of the red-tailed hawk helps it to catch and eat prey. And the sharp, strong beak of the woodpecker helps it to drill into trees to find catch insects.

The shape of a fish’s mouth is an adaptation, too. A large mouth can help a fish to surround its prey. A jaw that is longer on the bottom can help a fish to catch prey from below.

The way that animals survive the winter can be an adaptation. Baby painted turtles super-cool their blood so that they can survive freezing temperatures. Monarch butterflies go south so that they do not die in the cold weather.

Adaptations are all around us. In fact, adaptations are what allow animals to live in places all over the world.

Physical AdaptationsMany adaptations are physical adaptations. This means that

they have to do with the animal’s body. The shape and size of a bird’s beak is

a physical adaptation. So are the shapes of their feet and feathers. For example, ducks

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have webbed feet to help them swim. This is a physical adaptation.

Many animals have physical adaptations that help them to eat a certain kind of food. Beavers have sharp teeth to help them cut through trees. Blue whales have a special material called baleen on their upper jaws. This physical adaptation helps them to filter tiny shrimp-like creatures called krill from water.

The color of a creature can help it to survive. This kind of physical adaptation is called camouflage. Polar bears are white so that they blend in with the white snow of the Arctic.

American toads are brown and green to blend in with the forest floor. A flounder, a type of fish, is the same color as the bottom of the sea.

As you can see, physical adaptations all have to do with features of an animal’s body. There are many other kinds of physical adaptations. All of them help an animal to survive in an environment.

Behavioral AdaptationsThen what are behavioral adaptations? Think about the

word behavior. Behavior means what an animal does. Behavioral adaptations are all things that animals do.

Have you ever heard a mockingbird singing loudly from a tree? Birdcalls are one kind of behavioral adaptation. Mockingbirds sometimes sing their songs to warn other birds of danger. Animals make many sounds that are behavioral adaptations, from the chattering of prairie dogs to the calls of bullfrogs.

Migration is another kind of behavioral adaptation. When animals migrate, they move from one place to another. This behavior helps them to find food and better conditions. Animals may migrate from cold places to warmer places for the winter.

Have you ever noticed that some animals travel in groups? This is another kind of behavioral adaptation. When fish move around in schools, they can stay safe from predators. And when wolves hunt in packs, it is easier for them to find their prey.

There are many other kinds of behavioral adaptations. All of them have to do with an animal’s behavior.

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Look for AdaptationsPhysical and behavioral adaptations help animals to survive

in their environments. The next time you see an animal, look for adaptations. How do these adaptations help the animal to survive?

E. Kissner

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Animal AdaptationsDuring Reading

1. Find the headings in the text. Circle them.

2. Read the text with a partner.

3. Record examples from the text as physical adaptations or behavioral adaptations.

Physical Adaptations Behavioral Adaptations

After you read: Go back to the pictures of the animals from the Before Reading page. Based on what you have read, what do these animals have in common?

Animal AdaptationsAfter Reading

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In each box, there is a word or phrase that doesn’t belong. Find what doesn’t belong and cross it out. On the lines, explain why the word or phrase doesn’t belong.

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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A hummingbird's beak

A beaver’s sharp teeth

A migrating bird

A polar bear’s color

Migration

Color

Traveling in groups

Communication

Sharp teeth

Hummingbird’s beak

Baleen

Mockingbird call

Animal AdaptationsAfter Reading

Key

In each box, there is a word or phrase that doesn’t belong. Find what doesn’t belong and cross it out. On the lines, explain why the word or phrase doesn’t belong.

Migration is a behavioral adaptation. The rest are physical adaptations ____________________________________________________________________

Color is a physical adaptation. The rest are behavioral adaptations.

____________________________________________________________________

Answers may vary. A mockingbird call is a behavioral adaptation; or the other adaptations listed help an animal to find food. __________________________________

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A hummingbird's beak

A beaver’s sharp teeth

A migrating bird

A polar bear’s color

Migration

Color

Traveling in groups

Communication

Sharp teeth

Hummingbird’s beak

Baleen

Mockingbird call

Animal Adaptations Prompt

Suppose you are an animal from the article. Create a dialogue bubble to explain how your adaptations help you to survive.

Role The animal I choose is

Audience Format Topic

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Animal Adaptations Response Page

Animal

Adaptations PromptAnswer Key

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Draw a picture of your animal here

Suppose you are an animal from the article. Create a dialogue bubble to explain to students how your adaptations help you to survive.

Role an animal from the text The animal I choose is answers will vary

Audience students Format dialogue bubble Topic how adaptations help you survive

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