Winter Adaptations. Why do animals need shelters, especially during the winter? WORD BANK: Woodchuck Grey Squirrel

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Kristin Lester
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1 Name: Winter Adaptations Why do animals need shelters, especially during the winter? Can you match where these animals might stay during the winter? Using help from the word box, label each animal and their shelter and write down a strategy the animal uses to survive the winter. WORD BANK: Woodchuck Grey Squirrel Tree Cavity Den (in caves, rock crevices, hollows) Black Bear Hibernate Cache (store) food Underground Burrow Build up fat by eating a lot during summer and fall

2 Now it s time to create your own winter mammal! Use your imagination to draw a mammal built for winter survival. What adaptations does your animal have that allow it to deal with the cold weather? Need some ideas? Keep in mind some of the things that winter animals have and things that they do! What is it about these adaptations that allow the animal to survive the winter? - Thick fur - White fur - Large, compact body - Layer of fat/blubber - Small appendages (like ears and tail) - Hibernate/Go into torpor - Migrate - Change their diet - Cache (store) food

3 ANSWER KEY Why do animals need shelters, especially during the winter? Shelters allow animals to spend less time exposed to the cold outside environment. Can you match where these animals might stay during the winter? Using help from the word box, label each animal and their shelter and write down a strategy the animal uses to survive the winter. Wood Chuck Hibernate and/or build up fat Black Bear Hibernate and/or build up fat Grey Squirrel Cache food Den Underground burrow Tree Cavity WORD BANK: Woodchuck Grey Squirrel Tree Cavity Den (in caves, rock crevices, hollows) Black Bear Hibernate Cache (store) food Underground Burrow Build up fat by eating a lot during summer and fall

Name: It s Cold Outside: What Should I Do?

Write the name of the animal next to the strategy it uses in

Hibernate (lower heart rate and body temperature) 3.

Live with other members of the same species Grey Squirrel Deer

4 Name: It s Cold Outside: What Should I Do? How does each animal survive during the winter? Write the name of the animal next to the strategy it uses in the winter. 1. Migrate to a warmer area with more food 2. Hibernate (lower heart rate and body temperature) 3. Cache (store) food to eat all winter 4. Live with other members of the same species Grey Squirrel Deer mouse Black Bear Baltimore Oriole Here are two animals we didn t talk about. By looking at their body shape, ability to travel long distances, and what you know about their biology, make predictions about how they survive winter. Woodchuck (Groundhog) Meadow Vole

5 Help this squirrel through the maze to find the acorns she had cached and return to her nest in the tree! Why do squirrels cache food? What might happen to the seeds left in the ground from squirrels who forget where they are buried?

6 ANSWER KEY How does each animal survive during the winter? Write the name of the animal next to the strategy it uses in the winter. 1. Migrate to a warmer area with more food Baltimore Oriole 2. Hibernate (lower heart rate and body temperature) Black Bear 3. Cache (store) food to eat all winter Grey Squirrel 4. Live with other members of the same species Deer mouse Here are two animals we didn t talk about. By looking at their body shape, ability to travel long distances, and what you know about their biology, make predictions about how they survive winter. Woodchucks eat a lot during the summer and fall to store fat/build fat reserves. Then they will lower their body temperature and heart rate to hibernate! Hibernating allows them to save energy and they will rely on all that fat they ve built up to survive. Meadow voles are small. Like the deer mouse, they will rest and huddle with other meadow voles to stay warm. During the winter, they all live under the snow in an area called the subnivean zone, where it is warmer than being above the snow. Squirrels cache food during the fall when it is abundant so when it becomes scarce during the winter months, they have a supply of food saved. Nuts/seeds that are left buried from squirrels who have forgotten where they are can germinate into new plants!

Hibernation F I M LEVELED READER M. Visit for thousands of books and materials.

Hibernation F I M LEVELED READER M. Visit for thousands of books and materials. Hibernation A Reading A Z Level M Leveled Reader Word Count: 453 LEVELED READER M F I M Written by Kira Freed Visit www.readinga-z.com for thousands of books and materials. www.readinga-z.com Photo Credits: