Did you know that there are spiders that can totally immerse themselves in the pollen-covered center of a flower and there they will lay- just waiting for a flying insect to stop by to sip some nectar? And then, without much movement at all, the spider catches some dinner!
Totally fascinating! And it’s all about animal adaptations. We learned so much recently with our latest challenges and Escape Room!
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What a fabulous time we had with our study of animals and then I discovered I had several coordinating resources. I am so excited to share this with you!
You are going to love these:
- Animal Adaptation Escape Room
- STEM and Reading- a challenge inspired by a picture book
- Animal Adaptations Reading Resource
- Animal adaptations Booklet Kit
The Escape Room
We love these Escape Rooms. All of the ones I have designed have three tasks. Each task leads the students to a clue for a lock code. That code number unlocks a box and they get their next task.
When they unlock the last of the three boxes, they grab a bin of materials and start planning for a STEM challenge.
For this Escape Room’s first task students match images of animals to a description of their adaptation. If this is done correctly they spell out a clue word which leads to the locked box.
For task 2 the students complete math problems. Each problem matches an alphabet letter and those letters are placed within a poem. When the poem is finished they will find their next clue to unlock the box.
For the last locked box, students decipher a secret message which eventually gives them their last clue and they get that third box open. This is such fun and my kids love these events. This one would be a perfect one for you to try since it is low prep for you! It also leads to a STEM Challenge!
What Do You Do with a Tail Like This?
The STEM challenge starts with a picture book that is purely delightful. Each set of pages shows an animal body part- a whole page of animal tails. The next page tells how each of those animals uses their tail! So fun! This is repeated for ears, noses, and more. It is the perfect lead-in for the challenge.
The STEM Challenge
Students must choose an animal and then build a 3-D model showing the animal’s adaptation. This was eye-opening for my students. We really had to have some discussions about what the actual adaptations were for the animals.
For this challenge, I put out an array of materials and each group chose what they needed depending on the animal they picked.
The absolute best part of this one was the presentations at the end of class. Each group shared their model and then explained its adaptation. A huge amount of learning is going on here!
Take a look at the photo. A team of girls asked me for a bowl for their model. I said, “A bowl?” They explained what they were making and I agreed that a bowl was the perfect item to add to our materials. Do you see what they made?
It’s the turtle. They used the bowl for his shell!
This Challenge is available in a STEM at Home Set! This resource is designed for students to be able to use the challenges at home with parents. It’s great for weekend work, homework, or family projects. It is also perfect for Distance Learning!
Print and Read
Then I added this resource to our collection of Animal Adaptation study. This idea for reading packets is one that I have been thinking about adding for quite some time and this one about animals is the first in the series. I loved making it and I know you will love using this very simple resource.
I call these Print & Read because that is exactly what you do. You pick the passage you want to use, print them, and the students are ready to read. That is really all the prep needed.
Each set will have 4 reading passages written on two ability levels. The easier level is geared toward third to fourth grade and the more challenging passage is fourth to fifth grade level.
The passages are accompanied by 4 questions that ask reading comprehension type questions, word meaning in context, inferring questions, and comparison questions. They all make use of non-fiction text features in some way.
And, because I love making them and I know kids love seeing them- I included a newspaper article mock-up page that has 3 more reading passages. One page for the newspaper, it’s called The Animal Weekly, is basic comprehension, there is a graphic organizer for word meanings, and a third graphic organizer that has the kids writing about the main idea of each passage, finding supporting details, and then drawing a sketch of the main idea.
These are perfect for centers, small groups, seat work, or sub days! And, I have a digital version available. It is designed for Distance Learning!
Booklet Kit
And, finally, I have one more Animal Adaptation resource. It’s a booklet making kit! This resource has been available for several years and it remains one of my most popular non-fiction text features resources. The students read 9 passages about animal adaptations and then identify text features found on each page. They have some interactive note-booking type tasks- cutting and gluing the word meanings. They end up making a booklet with a table of contents, their own writing, and an index! It’s fabulous!
Posters
This amazing set of posters is the perfect item to add to your study of adaptations.
The set has 19 total posters and worksheets to use with them.The set has gorgeous full-color photos with descriptions of many adaptations. There are also 5 posters that each feature an animal and many of its adaptations. The worksheets include two graphic organizers, a vocabulary matching page, a 2-page quiz, and a word search puzzle.
So, what are you waiting for? Get your animal studies started right now! It is so fun!
