Table Of ContentGRADE 3: MODULE 2A: UNIT 2: LESSON 1
Staying Alive:
Animal Adaptations
“Adaptation helps organisms do the things they must do to survive in their environments. Hard shells,
warm fur, and sharp thorns are examples of how an organism’s form or body can adapt if for survival.
These are called physical adaptations. Behavior also helps animals survive. Monarch butterflies
migrate. American shad swim in schools for protection.”1
Every animal in the world needs to survive. Animals might have special colors or special parts on their
body to help them survive. They also might behave a certain way to help them stay alive. These
physical characteristics and behaviors are called adaptations. Adaptations help an animal survive in
its habitat.
Big eyes, webbed feet, or special colors are some examples of a physical adaptation. This means
that the animal has a unique body part. These body parts help them survive where they live. For
example, an animal that lives in the water might have webbed feet to help it move in the water. Some
animals have big eyes to help them see both their predators and prey.
Ducks use their webbed feet to swim. The great horned owl has large This school of fish scares away
eyes to help it see its prey. predators.
Animals also have behavioral adaptations. This means they behave or act in a certain way. For
example an animal might move in a particular way that helps it stay safe. Small fish group tightly
together and form a school. This large group of fish looks like one big fish to its predator. The
predator will stay away from the large group.
Animals have lots of ways to adapt to their habitat. Their adaptations are often what make any animal
amazing.
Copyright © 2013 by Expeditionary Learning, New York, NY. All Rights Reserved. NYS Common Core ELA Curriculum • G3:M2A:U2:L1 • August 2013 • 9
GRADE 3: MODULE 2A: UNIT 2: LESSON 1
Glossary
adaptation: something that helps a living thing to live in a particular place or in a certain way
physical adaptation: how a certain part of a living thing (such as fur color or webbed feet) or an
ability (such as super speed or being able to see at night) gives it a better chance of survival
behavioral adaptation: a special way that an animal acts that helps it to survive, such as migration
or traveling in flocks or schools
Written by Expeditionary Learning for Instructional Purposes
1From “Adaptations: Designs for Survival,” New York State Department of Environmental Conservation:
www.dec.ny.gov/docs/remediation_hudson_pdf/hrlpadapt.pdf (last accessed 10/28/12)
Copyright © 2013 by Expeditionary Learning, New York, NY. All Rights Reserved. NYS Common Core ELA Curriculum • G3:M2A:U2:L1 • August 2013 • 10
GRADE 3: MODULE 2A: UNIT 2: LESSON 1
Close Reading as Researchers:
Main Idea and Details
Text title and page numbers:
Topic:
Main idea of this section of the text
Key details from the text that help me understand the main idea
Key details from the illustrations that help me understand the main idea
What is one kind of animal adaptation? Name the adaptation and give an example.
Copyright © 2013 by Expeditionary Learning, New York, NY. All Rights Reserved. NYS Common Core ELA Curriculum • G3:M2A:U2:L1 • August 2013 • 11
GRADE 3: MODULE 2A: UNIT 2: LESSON 2
Text Feature Scavenger Hunt
Recording Form
Use your expert research text to find the following text features. Once you have found each text
feature, write down the page number where you found it and the new information that the feature
taught you.
Text Title
Text Feature That Helps Us Page Information I Learned
Find Information Efficiently Number
Photograph
(Picture that shows the reader
what something looks like)
Close-Up
(Image that gives a reader a closer
look at something small to see
details)
Caption
(Words that describe a picture or
photograph so the reader better
understands it)
Bold Words
(Words in heavy type that helps
the reader spot the most
important words)
Index
(Alphabetical list of important
topics in the text, with page
numbers, at the end of the text)
Glossary
(Mini dictionary that helps the
reader define important words in
the text)
Copyright © 2013 by Expeditionary Learning, New York, NY. All Rights Reserved. NYS Common Core ELA Curriculum • G3:M2A:U2:L2 • August 2013 • 8
GRADE 3: MODULE 2A: UNIT 2: LESSON 2
Table of Contents
(List of key topics in the order
they appear to help the reader find
information more easily)
Other
Copyright © 2013 by Expeditionary Learning, New York, NY. All Rights Reserved. NYS Common Core ELA Curriculum • G3:M2A:U2:L2 • August 2013 • 9
GRADE 3: MODULE 2A: UNIT 2: LESSON 2
Vocabulary Notebook
Words about:
Vocabulary Word Definition Definition in My Own Picture or Symbol
Words
Copyright © 2013 by Expeditionary Learning, New York, NY. All Rights Reserved. NYS Common Core ELA Curriculum • G3:M2A:U2:L2 • August 2013 • 10
GRADE 3: MODULE 2A: UNIT 2: LESSON 2
3-2-1 Exit Ticket
3 interesting facts I learned from text features:
1.
2.
3.
2 text features I learned more about today:
1.
2.
1 new vocabulary word I learned more about today:
1.
Copyright © 2013 by Expeditionary Learning, New York, NY. All Rights Reserved. NYS Common Core ELA Curriculum • G3:M2A:U2:L2 • August 2013 • 11
Description:This large group of fish looks like one big fish to its predator. www.dec.ny.gov/docs/remediation_hudson_pdf/hrlpadapt.pdf (last accessed 10/28/12)
