Adaptations

Lessons 1– 3

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 Adaptations
Lessons 1–3

Lesson 1
How Do Plant Parts Help Plants? . . . . . . . 2

Lesson 2
How Do Animal Adaptations Help
Animals?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Lesson 3
What Lives in Different Environments?. . 14

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 1 How Do
VOCABULARY
trait
survive
Plant Parts
adaptation
reproduce Help Plants?

One trait of a flower is Running fast helps ani-

its color. mals survive, or stay
alive.

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 A long neck is an adaptation
that helps a giraffe reach food.

When pigs reproduce, their

young are called piglets.
3

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 READING FOCUS SKILL
MAIN IDEA AND DETAILS
The main idea is what the text is mostly
about.
Details tell more about the main idea.
Read about plant adaptations. Look for
details about how adaptations help plants
survive.

Plant Parts
A trait helps you tell things apart. Color,
height, and shape are some traits.
Plants have traits that help them survive. Some
plants have thorns. The thorns keep animals
from eating the plants.

What is one trait of a rose?

A Venus’ flytrap catches

insects for food.

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 These roots help the
plant stand up.

Adaptations
Adaptations are special
traits. They help a living thing
survive, or stay alive. Some
adaptations are parts. Wood
is an adaptation. It is very
strong. It helps trees grow tall
without falling over.
Other adaptations are ways
of acting. The way a plant
acts can help it survive. A
sunflower slowly turns all day Thorns on a
to face the sun. This helps it rosebush are
get more sunlight to make an adaptation.

food.

How does a sunflower

get more sun?
5

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 Adaptations Help Plants
Adaptations help plants grow. Some plants
have stems that can climb up trees. Then the
leaves can get more sunlight to make food. This
helps the plant grow better.
Some trees grow many thick roots. Then they
can get more water to help the tree grow better.

Tell how thick roots help trees survive.

This vine grows on a tree.

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 Adaptations to Reproduce
All living things reproduce, or make young.
Some plants use seeds to make new plants.
Flowers need pollen from other flowers to
make seeds. They have bright colors and smells
that attract bees. They have liquid that the bees
sip for food. The bees carry pollen as they fly
from one flower to another.

Why do flowers make

food for bees?

Bees help flowers reproduce. A

Review
Complete this main idea statement.
1. An ______ is a trait that helps an
animal or plant survive.
Complete these detail statements.
2. Some plants have ______ that can
climb up trees.
3. Thick ______ help trees get more
water to help them survive.
4. Bees help ______ reproduce by
carrying pollen from flower to flower.

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 2 How Do
VOCABULARY
hibernate
migrate
Animal
Adaptations
Help Animals?

Animals that hibernate look like they

are asleep all winter.
8

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 Some animals migrate to warmer
places for the winter.
9

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 READING FOCUS SKILL
CAUSE AND EFFECT
A cause is something that makes another
thing happen. An effect is the thing that
happens.
Look for examples of cause and effect.
Look for the effects that adaptations have
on an animal’s life.

Adaptations for Survival

Animals have adaptations,
or traits that help them
survive. Some animals
have special body parts.
Birds have eyes that
can spot food from
far away. Eagles have
sharp claws to catch
and hold food.

A porcupine’s sharp quills

keep other animals away.

10

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 A crab uses its
claws to catch
its food.

Bears’ sharp claws help them catch fish. They

also help the bears climb trees.
Crabs use their claws to catch their food. They
also use them to protect themselves.

Tell one effect of having sharp claws.

B Bears can use

their claws to
climb trees.

bear

11

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 Behaviors
Animals have behaviors, or ways of acting, that
help them. Some behaviors help animals survive
winter. There is often little food for animals
to find then. So some animals hibernate, or
go into a kind of deep sleep. That way they
need less food. Being able to hibernate is an
adaptation.
Other animals migrate. Some birds fly south
for winter. Knowing how to migrate is an
adaptation. It helps the birds survive winter.

How does hibernation affect an animal’s

need for food?

A When animals hibernate, they use less energy and

need less food.

12

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 Other Adaptations for Survival
Animals have different adaptations to survive.
Some animals hide well. Their colors match
those of their environment.
Some animals survive by looking like other
animals. Some snakes look like snakes that
animals do not like to eat. This keeps them from
getting eaten, too.

What is the effect of having colors that

match an environment?

This animal can change color

to match its environment. C

Review
Complete these cause and effect statements.
1. Because some animals ______ in
winter, they use less energy.
2. Because some animals ______ very
well, it is easy for them to spot food.
3. Some animals ______ to warmer
places in winter to find more food.
4. Some animals are hard to see because
they match the colors of their ______ .
13

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 3 What Lives
VOCABULARY
environment
habitat
in Different
climate
Environments?

Land, air, and water are Some animals live in

all parts of this animal’s habitats that are under
environment. the ground.

14

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 Some climates have cold winters. Some
are warm all year round.

15

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 READING FOCUS SKILL
COMPARE AND CONTRAST
You compare when you look at how
things are alike. You contrast when you
look at how things are different.
Compare and contrast environments,
climates, and habitats of animals.

Oceans
An ocean is an environment for fish and
other plants and animals. An environment is
everything around a living thing. Water, sun,
and seaweed are parts of an ocean environment.
Living things have adaptations to live in their
environments. Fish have gills that let them
breathe in water.

Compare the environment of a fish to

the environment of another animal.

A fish lives in an
ocean environment.

16

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 Desert Habitats
The desert is a very dry environment. Many
deserts are also hot. There are different habitats
in any environment. A habitat is the part of an
environment in which a plant or animal lives.
Some parts of a desert may be flat, with sandy
soil. This would be one kind of desert habitat.
Another part of the same desert may have rocks
and hills. This would be a different habitat.

Which is larger—a habitat or an

environment?

a desert habitat

17

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 Desert Plants and Animals
Living things in the desert have adaptations
to their own habitats. They do not have
adaptations to other desert habitats.
Some kinds of cactus live in flat, sandy soil.
They survive well in this habitat. But it would be
hard for them to live on a rocky hill. They would
likely die in this different desert habitat.

How does a desert compare to an ocean?

This ringtail
lives in a rocky
desert habitat.

18

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 Tundra
Different habitats have different climates.
Climate is the way the weather is over a long
time. Sun, rain, and seasons are part of climate.
The tundra has a very cold climate. In some
places, the soil is always frozen. Many animals
here have have adaptations for living in the cold.
The Arctic fox has thick, warm fur. This fur keeps
the fox warm in the cold climate. In winter, the
fur turns white. It blends in with the snow so the
fox can hide.

Compare and contrast

the ways animals
survive in cold and
hot climates.

Animals in the tundra live

in cold weather all year.

19

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 Forests
Forests are areas with many trees. There are
different kinds of forest environments. A tropical
rain forest is very hot and wet. Many kinds of
monkeys live there.
Monkeys have fingers. This adaptation helps
them grab tree branches. They also have long
tails that help them keep their balance. This
makes it easier for them to move through the
trees.

Squirrels eat seeds and

nuts that grow in forests.

A Forests have different habitats for

different animals.
20

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 Grasslands
Grasslands are flat and covered with grasses.
They do not get much rain, but they get more
than deserts do.
Grasslands often have fires. The grasses store
food in their roots, where it will not burn. After a
fire, the grasses quickly grow again.

Compare and contrast grasslands and

deserts.

Most grasslands are flat.

21

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 A marsh is a wetland.

Wetlands
Wetlands are areas that are wet most or all
of the time. Water animals, such as ducks, live
there. Wetland plants need a lot of water. If a
wetland dries up, many of the plants die.

22

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 Animals in wetlands have adaptations. They
help the animals live in a wet enviornment.
Turtles have shells for protection. Some ducks
can go under the water to get food.

Compare and contrast wetlands and

grasslands.

Frogs live in
wetlands. C

Review
Complete these compare and contrast
statements.
1. An animal’s ______ is smaller than its
whole environment.
2. In winter, many ______ are colder.
3. Some desert habitats are flat and
sandy. Others have rocks and ______ .
4. ______ do not get much rain, but they
get more than deserts do.
23

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 GLOSSARY
adaptation (ad•uhp•TAY•shun) A trait that
helps a living thing survive
climate (KLY•muht) What the weather is like in a
place over a long period of time
environment (en•VY•ruhn•muhnt) Everything
that is around a living thing
habitat (HAB•ih•tat) The place in an
environment where a plant or animal lives
hibernate (HY•ber•nayt) To spend the winter in
a deep sleep
migrate (MY•grayt) To travel from one place to
another and back again
reproduce (ree•pruh•DOOS) To produce new
living things
trait (TRAYT) A characteristic or feature of a
living thing
survive (ser•VYV) To stay alive

24

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 Think About the Reading
1. Think of two things you read about in this
book that were new to you. How are they
different from what you knew before?
2. Where can you find answers to questions
you may have?

Hands-On Activity
You read about things that help plants and
animals. Adaptations help them live in different
habitats.
1. Look for plants with different parts, such
as leaves and flowers. Bring an example to
show your class.
2. Draw a habitat for an animal at the zoo.
What does the animal need to survive?

School-Home Connection
Tell someone in your family about a plant or an
animal that you read about. Draw a picture of
this plant or animal in its environment. Show
what the climate is like. Share the picture with
your family.

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