Winter Animal Adaptations

Winter is the perfect time to explore how animals survive cold weather. In this lesson, students learn that animals don’t all handle winter the same way—some sleep, some travel, and some have special features that help them stay warm. This sequence works beautifully for kindergarten and first grade and blends reading, discussion, hands-on science, and sorting.

📚 Start With a Read-Aloud

We begin with the book Animals in Winter.

This nonfiction read-aloud introduces students to:

Animals that hibernate Animals that migrate Animals that adapt to winter conditions

As you read, pause to ask:

What is happening to this animal in winter? Is it sleeping, traveling, or staying active?

This book sets a strong foundation before moving into charts and hands-on learning.

📊 Build an Anchor Chart Together

After reading, we create an anchor chart to organize our thinking.

We start with:

People Need Animals Need Plants Need

Then we shift focus to winter survival with:

In the Winter, Animals… Hibernate Migrate Adapt

Using the pre-made anchor chart labels from the pack makes this fast and clean, while still allowing students to help generate the ideas. As students share, we add simple notes like:

Sleep through winter Travel to warmer places Stay active with special features

This becomes a visual reference students use all week.

🐾 Activity: Animal Sort

To check understanding, students complete an animal sorting activity.

They sort animals into:

Hibernate Migrate Adapt

This activity reinforces vocabulary, builds reasoning skills, and gives students a chance to explain why an animal belongs in each category.

🧪 Hands-On Science: The Blubber Glove Experiment

To explore adaptations, students complete the Blubber Glove Experiment.

Students:

Make a prediction (hypothesis) about how the blubber glove will feel Place a bare hand briefly in ice water Test again using the blubber glove Observe and compare how their hand felt before and after

We connect this experience to real animals like seals, whales, and polar bears, discussing how blubber helps them stay warm in cold environments.

This experiment is always a favorite—and it makes the idea of adaptation very real for young learners.

🐝 Everything You Need, Ready to Go

All of the materials shown here—including:

Anchor chart labels Animal picture cards Sorting activities Blubber glove experiment guide Student recording sheet

are included in one Winter Animal Adaptations pack, available in my Teachers Pay Teachers shop.

✨ Perfect for:

Winter science units Arctic animal studies Nonfiction reading connections Hands-on STEM learning

Check out Winter Animal Adaptations on TPT

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/Winter-Animal-adaptations-Hibernate-Migrate-or-Adapt-K-1–15265130