Sleep, Fly or Stay? How Animals Survive Winter

About This Resource

A complete Grade 2 science pack on how animals survive the cold of winter in three main ways: hibernating (hedgehogs, dormice and some bats sleep deeply), migrating (many birds and whales travel to warmer places) and adapting (arctic foxes grow thick white coats, squirrels store food). Children sort animals, read fact cards and design a winter-ready animal. Includes slides, a lesson plan, worksheet, quiz, homework, flashcards, a rubric and answer keys.

Overview

Children learn that winter can be hard for animals because it is cold and there is less food. Animals have three main ways to cope. Some hibernate: they go into a very deep sleep, and their bodies slow down, like hedgehogs and dormice. Some migrate: they travel long distances to warmer places with more food, like swallows and humpback whales. Others adapt and stay active: arctic foxes and snowshoe hares grow thick white coats, and squirrels store nuts to eat later. Children sort animals by their winter plan and design an animal that could survive a snowy winter.

Resource Details

Subject: Science
Topic: Animals in Winter
Category: Animals
File Type: PDF
File Size: 324.6 KB
Published: 11 Nov 2026
Downloads: 0

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Grade 2 (ages 7–8) 45 minutes Life science sorting and classifying reading facts explaining

Learning Objectives

Explain why winter is hard for many animals.
Describe three ways animals survive winter: hibernate, migrate and adapt.
Sort animals by how they survive winter and give a reason.

How to Use This Resource

Start with the slides: ask, "Where do you think the hedgehogs go in winter?"
Teach hibernate, migrate and adapt with the slides and flashcards, then do worksheet activities 1 and 2 together.
Children complete activities 3 to 6, then use the quiz and take home the homework page.

Classroom Activity Ideas

Winter plan game: call out an animal; children curl up for hibernate, flap their arms for migrate or shiver and stay for adapt.
Blubber glove: children put a hand in a bag of vegetable fat inside icy water to feel how fat keeps animals warm.
Migration map: draw arrows on a world map to show the long journeys of swallows and humpback whales.

Differentiation

Support: use picture cards and focus on one animal for each plan. Challenge: children research one more animal and explain which plan it uses and why.

Assessment

Use the worksheet and quiz to check the three winter plans. Use the rubric to assess the homework animal design and explanation.

Teacher Tips

Bears are a tricky example: they sleep for months, but their bodies do not cool down as much as true hibernators like hedgehogs. Say "many bears sleep through most of the winter" to keep it accurate.

What's Included

10-page printable PDF lesson pack: teacher lesson plan with timings, materials and differentiation
Key vocabulary list (8 words with meanings and examples)
Student worksheet (6 activities)
Quiz / assessment (3 parts)
Homework practice page
Printable flashcards: 8 A5 picture cards (separate PDF)
Assessment rubric (4 levels)
Lesson slides (editable PowerPoint)
Editable Word version of all student pages
Complete answer key (also as a separate PDF)