How Do Animals Survive Winter?
Age: K-6th grade Objectives: Help students learn to think about adaptations and how they help animals survive. Materials: Copies of How do Animals Survive the Winter? poster and How do Animals Survive the Winter? chart Directions: I. Ask questions and discuss hibernation with students. II. Look at the Hibernation Poster together as a class. III. Afterward have students fill out the Hibernation Chart. I. Ask your students questions about hibernation and discuss the answers. Mammals Mammals have adapted in many ways to survive the cold winter months. One way to survive the winter is by hibernation. Hibernation is when an animal goes into a deep sleep. The heart beat and breathing slows down. The body cools down. They don’t eat food or drink water. 1. Why do animals hibernate? Animals use up their body’s fat much more slowly when they hibernate than if they were awake and moving around. In winter there is little or no food available. They have to put on a lot of extra weight in the fall,
