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Animal Adaptations Unit Study

$14.95

Let’s learn how animals survive and thrive around the world! Explore the animal kingdom through the lens of animal adaptations, learning the differences between physical and behavioral adaptations as well as the role an animal’s habitat plays in each. This inquiry-based unit examines such concepts as camouflage, dormancy, tonic immobility, estivation, and migration. Through investigations, demonstrations, and hands-on learning, this unique approach to studying animals is truly special. Your trips to the zoo will never be the same!

Pages (unit lesson plans): 44 
Printables: 17 high-quality pages 
Program length: 4 Weeks of fully planned lessons
Multimedia links: 8 vetted links to enhance learning
Full color images to enhance learning: 114 curated images 
Recommended ages: 6 to 12 Years Old 
Subjects: Life science, language arts, & fine arts
Developmental domains: Gross motor, fine motor, & sensory

Authored by Susie Allison, M. Ed. & Erica Spear, BA, BS

Love this unit? Explore Animal Relationships and Dinosaurs.

This unit is sold as a digital PDF.
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More About Animal Adaptations

Airborne is a 44-page PDF. You will receive immediate access and an email with a link to your online profile with lifetime access to your purchase.

Creating an immersive learning environment helps children retain knowledge. In addition to Animal Adaptations lesson plans, you will also receive:

  • A full book list of nonfiction reference books, picture books, poetry anthologies, and a family read-aloud chapter book
  • Full color Scan-to-See support materials
  • Themed playlist, recommended board games, weekly open-ended play prompts
  • A Start-Up Guide to help you teach with confidence from the very first lesson

Sources used for the Animal Adaptations unit include Encyclopedia Britannica, National Geographic, National Parks Service, The Sloth Conservation Foundation, and more.

Overhead shot of the Animal adaptations unit with animals, school supplies, and visuals behind the image, blurry.

Discover the Magic of Offshoots

Offshoots units take a unique approach to knowledge building through hands-on activities, immersive learning, cross-subject connection, and family time.

Rhythm

A simple, repeatable rhythm for your day with a guiding question, discussion, & activity

Activities

Experiments, projects, and real-world learning for elementary-aged learners

Guidance

Lightly scripted with built in prompts and background knowledge to help you teach with confidence

Knowledge

Each unit is a four-week deep dive designed to build lasting knowledge and vocabulary.

Planning

Weekly overviews, daily plans, and all the materials laid out and ready for you. Just open and go.

Connection

Build memories as a family through shared experiences and joyful moments learning together.

Frequently Asked Questions

Offshoots is a multi-age elementary curriculum built for the family to learn together, designed especially for kindergarten through 5th grade. The author of Offshoots, Susie Allison, wrote Playing Preschool for families with children age 2.5 to 5 years old.

If your oldest child is entering kindergarten, Playing Preschool Year 2 might be a better fit for their first year of homeschooling.

Offshoots is not leveled. It is one program designed for the whole family to do together. Each unit has been developed for ages kindergarten through fifth grade.

If your oldest child is entering kindergarten, Playing Preschool Year 2, written by Offshoots creator Susie Allison, might be a better fit for their first year of homeschooling.

Offshoots is an ebook and the files are PDFs. You can find your downloadable files in the Offshoots Dashboard, which you will receive access to at checkout. The downloads for Offshoots do not expire. You are licensed to print one copy of each unit for your use.

We recommend using an online print shop. Watson Family Press is our favorite (not an affiliate, just a fan).

Yes! Of course! Please check out our samples page to see interior pages of Offshoots and a full week of the program.

Offshoots is a secular home learning curriculum. It is “evergreen” and does not follow a calendar, season, religion, or hemisphere.

Offshoots is built with a flexible routine and is designed to take about 45 minutes to 1 hour per lesson. This will vary from family to family and day-to-day, depending on the age of your learners, the suggested materials you use (books, games, etc.), and how many extensions or offshoots you take inside the daily lesson plans. Each lesson can be done all at once or broken into pieces to fit your schedule best. Discuss the guiding question at the breakfast table. Listen to the unit’s chapter book as an audiobook in the car. Do a hands-on experiment after dinner. Offshoots supports all learning styles and schedules.

Yes! Offshoots units are sold individually and bundled for a discount. You can go in any order and at the pace that works best for your family.

Offshoots is a unit study program. Units are sold individually or in bundles. They can be done as singles or consecutively for a richer learning experience. We recommend doing 6-8 units over the course of a school year.

The Offshoots curriculum leans into the power of multi-level, multi-age, multi-ability learning. Offshoots uses open-ended questions, creative prompts, and hands-on activities to help topics and concepts resonate with different ages. In some areas of the program, you’ll see leveled options where you can choose the best path for your child(ren). Working with multi-age learners often returns to the application of knowledge. Asking, “Why don’t ocean animals sink?” is a valid question for both a 6-year-old and a 10-year-old, and the answers will be vastly, beautifully, and wonderfully different. Listening and sharing new ideas helps all of us grow as learners.

Offshoots focuses on the discovery subjects: science, social studies, the arts, and more. We always recommend you check your state homeschooling laws to ensure you are meeting your local requirements. Offshoots is designed to be done as a family in addition to separate, leveled math and reading. This program does not include any explicit reading or math instruction. We recommend finding math and reading programs that work for your children in addition to learning together with Offshoots. Depending on the ages of your children, additional language arts (grammar, writing skills, spelling) may also be helpful.

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