Winter Animal Adaptations Lesson & Scavenger Hunt

Got the winter blahs? This library lesson includes everything you need to celebrate snow and ice! The first part is a discussion of animal adaptations to cold weather. The second part includes fun facts, trivia, would-you-rathers, and more!

Please note that this presentation is designed to complement a winter themed read-aloud. The actual read-aloud story comes from you!

This lesson has 82 slides & pages, and includes:

• 64-slide Lesson Presentation in Microsoft PowerPoint + Google Slides
  • All body text is editable; you choose which slides you want to use.
  • 21 slides are for the read-aloud and/or guided lesson that walks you through the storytime lesson.
  • 39 slides are “scrolling presentation” slides that are great for extending storytime lessons or scrolling in the library during checkout and downtimes.
• List of 22 winter-themed recommended books to accompany this lesson (1 page, PDF)
  • The list is great to hand out to parents, teachers, and students looking for related books.
• Two (2) editable, differentiated scavenger hunts (3 pages)
  • Students “hunt” for images and information in the “scrolling slides” part of the presentation. This gives students something to focus on during library checkout and downtime.
  • Includes 2 scavenger hunts. One is images-only, and the other is images and text.
  • Answer key is included.
• Detailed, pre-filled Library Lesson Plan in editable PDF and PowerPoint formats (2 pages), aligned to:
  • AASL National School Library Standards for Learners,
  • National Common Core ELA Standards, and
  • Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS).
• Lesson tips and tricks (6 pages, PDF)
• Google Classroom Basics (4 pages, PDF)
• Instructions on how to set up PowerPoint slide timings for digital bulletin boards (2 pages, PDF)

21 Storytime Lesson Slides

Part 1 is a guided whole-class discussion. The slides walk you through the entire class discussion, from start to finish.

• Storytime song: “I’m a Little Snowflake”
• ASL sign language for “winter/cold” — includes video links and step-by-step directions for making the signs
• Discussion of how animals adapt to cold weather. Includes: fur, feathers, blubber, hibernation, brumation, going deep, burrowing, migration, huddle up, change color, and store food.
• Slide for your read-aloud (paste the book cover on the slide).
• Checkout reminders slide — Add your own reminders!
• “What Should We Do Now?” slide — This is very clear instructions on what students should be doing after the lesson.

39 Scrolling Slides

Part 2 is the scrolling slides. Set them on a timer to scroll on a screen during library checkout. Students can use the scrolling slides to complete one of the two Scavenger Hunts.

• Vocabulary Words of the Week: “blizzard,” “hemisphere,” and “down feathers”
• Winter idioms: “cold snap” and “brain freeze”
• Fun facts about cold-weather animals, snow, ice, Winter solstice, Iditarod race in Alaska, World’s snowiest city, world record for largest snowball, Aurora Borealis, “hat trick” in hockey
• Winter joke, Would You Rather questions, This or That question,
• This week’s birthdays

IMPORTANT! Due to copyright law, read-aloud videos of the snow and ice picture books are NOT included. You will have to record yourself reading the book, or do a live stream of the read-aloud for students to access the book. If your library owns an interactive ebook that has audio read-aloud, you could also share how to read or access it through your online catalog or ebook management platform.

Standards Addressed:

AASL National School Library Standards – See the AASL Standards Framework for Learners to view full text. 

• Inquire –  C.1. – D.1. – D.2. – D.3. – D.4.

Common Core English Language Arts Standards –
© Copyright 2010 National Governors Association Center for Best Practices and Council of Chief State School Officers. All rights reserved.

• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.K.10. – CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.1.10. – CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.2.10.
• CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.3.10 – CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.4.10 – CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RL.5.10

Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS)
© Copyright 2019 Texas Education Agency. 

• TEKS SCI.3.10.A
• TEKS SCI.3.10.B.
• TEKS SCI.4.10.A.
• TEKS SCI.5.10.A.

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