Animal Adaptations

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Fitting in with your environment — that's what animal adaptations are all about! You wouldn't expect a shark to take a stroll through the desert, and penguins in a rainforest would be equally weird!

We humans can learn a great deal about our own ability to survive by studying the way that different animals are adapted to their own environments. Some adaptations like fins and gills make it possible to live in specialized environments, while others like hibernation help certain species to survive a long cold winter without food. To help you and your class explore the wonderful world of animal adaptations, check out these Web sites from around the world!

Dirtmeister's Science Reporters: Animal Adaptations
http://teacher.scholastic.com/dirtrep/animal/index.htm
What better place to start than right here on Scholastic.com! On the Dirtmeister's Science Reporters page, kids from all over the place come up with different animals from around their homes and areas — and then publish their reports on how these animals are suited to fit their particular environment. The students' reports are published in the Science Observer. As always, an informative background section explains the different ways that animals can adapt and a Teacher's Guide makes lesson-planning a breeze!

Bank Street School: Environmental Science
http://www.thewildones.org/sfcEnv.html
If you're looking for some cooperative learning experiences tied to animal adaptations that your class can do with a local nature center or zoo, check out what the Bank Street School is doing with the Central Park Wildlife Center in New York City. Here your class can view video clips of the Bank Street kids in action and check out their firsthand reports on such animals as black lion tamarins and poison arrow frogs! Your class can even contribute their own finding to the Bank Street Animal database.

Desert USA: Desert Animals
http://www.desertusa.com/animal.html
A desert may look deserted, but the truth of the matter is that it's really teeming with animal life. Most of the animals have special adaptations to survive the harsh conditions. Check out this site for the inside story on creatures of the desert. From mountain lions to kangaroo rats, desert animals are divine!

Arctic Wildlife Portfolio
http://www.mnh.si.edu/arctic/html/wildlife.html
This site offers a great overview about arctic animals and how they are adapted to the extreme conditions found in polar regions. It's well worth a look if you want to learn about some really "cool" animals.

Tasmanian Devil Endangered
You may know the Tasmanian devil as a cartoon character who speaks a crazy language of slobbery grunts. The true Tasmanian devil is a rare doglike animal that lives on the Australian state of Tasmania. Unfortunately, the devil is rapidly disappearing.

When Elephants Fly
Alaska's only elephant makes her way to a new home in California after caretakers agreed that a warmer climate and living with other elephants could help her recover from worsening health problems.

LESSON PLAN	Homes for Hermit Crabs Students appreciate shells by imagining themselves as hermit crabs and painting their own shells.
UNIT PLAN	Sheltering Shells This is a unit that investigates things with shells. The students take an in-depth look at animals with shells and different types of shells.
ONLINE ACTIVITY	Research Starters: Rainforests Use this guide to great Web sources to discover the amazingly rich wildlife and mysterious climate of one of the most valuable ecosystems.
BOOK INFORMATION	Armadillos Sleep in Dugouts: And Other Places Animals Live Rhyming verse brings a unique perspective to the topic of where animals live and hang out, in this book for any child who is fascinated by the animal world.