1st grade · Science · Unit 1 of 8
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.
Minnesota K-12 Academic Standards benchmark: 1L.3.1.1.1 · how animals use their outside parts to 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 Minnesota
In the Minnesota K-12 Academic Standards, this is unit 1 of 8 in 1st grade Science, before Light & Sound.
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
Is it a body part or something an animal does?
Sort into: 🦶 body part · 🏃 something it does
- 🦆webbed feet
- 🐢hard shell
- 🐟fins
- 🦫builds a dam
- 🌰stores nuts
- 🐦flies south in fall
🦶 body part: webbed feet, hard shell, fins · 🏃 something it does: builds a dam, stores nuts, flies south in fall
Hint: Body parts are things an animal has, like fur. Other things are what it does, like sleeping.
Question 2
What does a beaver use to cut down trees?
- 🦷strong front teeth
- 🦫its flat tail
- 🦶its webbed feet
🦷 strong front teeth
Hint: A beaver chews through wood with its strong front teeth. They never stop growing!
Question 3
Why do many birds fly south in the fall?
- 💤to sleep in caves
- ❄️to find more snow
- ☀️to find food and warmth
☀️ to find food and warmth
Hint: Winter is cold with little food, so many birds fly to warmer places. That is called migrating.
Question 4
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 5
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 6
What helps a duck swim?
🦆- 👂long ears
- 🐾sharp claws
- 🦶webbed feet
🦶 webbed feet
Hint: A duck's webbed feet push the water like paddles.