1st grade · Science · Unit 4 of 12
Animal Survival
How animals stay safe and warm
What your child practices
Body features (thick fur, webbed feet, shells, camouflage) and behaviors (hibernating, migrating, storing food) that help animals survive.
Alabama Course of Study content standard: 1.5 · how animals' outside parts help them survive, grow and meet their needs
How we explain it
Children can open this short lesson before they practice.
- Body parts help animals live: webbed feet swim, thick fur keeps warm.
- Things animals do help too, like storing nuts.
- Some sleep all winter (hibernate). Some fly south (migrate).
Example: Many bears sleep all winter. What is that called? A long winter sleep is called hibernating. Answer: hibernating
Animal Survival in Alabama
In the Alabama Course of Study, this is unit 4 of 12 in 1st grade Science, after Signals Far Away and before Animal Features.
Gradelings describes a child's practice on this unit as Beginning, Approaching, Meeting or Exceeding (Four practice steps). That reflects practice, not a report-card mark: the teacher decides the mark.
Sample questions
A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.
Question 1
Snowshoe hares turn white in winter. How does this help?
🐇- 🧊they stay cooler
- 🏊they can swim
- ❄️they can hide in the snow
❄️ they can hide in the snow
Hint: White fur blends in with snow, so foxes can't spot them. That's camouflage!
Question 2
An owl hunts at night. What helps it see?
🦉- 🦶webbed feet
- 〰️a long tail
- 👀big eyes
👀 big eyes
Hint: An owl's big eyes let in lots of light, so it can see in the dark.
Question 3
A green frog sits on a green leaf. Why is it hard to see?
🐸- 💨it is very fast
- 🍃its color blends in
- 💤it is asleep
🍃 its color blends in
Hint: Its color matches the leaf. Hiding by blending in is called camouflage.
Question 4
What helps a bird fly?
🐦- 🐟fins
- 🪶wings and feathers
- 🐢a hard shell
🪶 wings and feathers
Hint: Birds flap their wings. Light feathers help them lift into the air.
Question 5
What helps a fish swim?
- 🦵legs
- 🐟fins and a tail
- 🪶feathers
🐟 fins and a tail
Hint: A fish swishes its tail and uses its fins to steer.
Question 6
Is it a body part or something an animal does?
Sort into: 🦶 body part · 🏃 something it does
- 🌙hunts at night
- 🐻thick fur
- 🐦flies south in fall
- 🌰stores nuts
- 🐢hard shell
- 🐟fins
🦶 body part: thick fur, hard shell, fins · 🏃 something it does: hunts at night, flies south in fall, stores nuts
Hint: Body parts are things an animal has, like fur. Other things are what it does, like sleeping.