Read it, then sort the animals. Pick Little, Middle or Big for the reading. Print the pack for four pages: the reading, a cut-and-sort, a worksheet and the answers.
Read
The Arctic is very cold. There is snow and ice. Polar bears, arctic foxes and walruses live there. Thick fur and fat keep them warm. Some arctic foxes turn white in winter to hide in the snow.
The Arctic is the icy land and sea around the North Pole. Winters are long, dark and very cold, and even in summer the sea is full of ice. Animals that live there are built for the cold. Polar bears have thick fur and a layer of fat called blubber. Walruses and seals have blubber too, which keeps them warm in icy water. Most arctic foxes grow a thick white coat in winter, which keeps them warm and hides them in the snow, then turn brown in summer. Musk oxen grow a soft, woolly undercoat under their long hair.
The Arctic is the region around the North Pole: the Arctic Ocean, much of it frozen, and the cold land at the edges of North America, Europe and Asia. Winters there bring weeks without sunrise and temperatures far below freezing. Arctic animals survive with a mix of adaptations. Many have thick fur with a dense underlayer, and sea mammals such as walruses, seals and whales rely on blubber, a thick layer of fat under the skin. Small ears and short legs lose less heat, which is why an arctic fox looks rounder than a desert fennec fox. Some animals change color with the seasons, white in winter and brown in summer, to stay hidden. Others, like many birds and the reindeer of some herds, travel long distances to find food as the seasons change. The Arctic is warming, and its sea ice is shrinking, which scientists watch closely.
Sort it
Where does it live? Sort each animal: snow and ice, savanna or rainforest.
❄️ Arctic animals: read
Reading level: Little
The Arctic is very cold. There is snow and ice. Polar bears, arctic foxes and walruses live there. Thick fur and fat keep them warm. Some arctic foxes turn white in winter to hide in the snow.
Reading level: Middle
The Arctic is the icy land and sea around the North Pole. Winters are long, dark and very cold, and even in summer the sea is full of ice. Animals that live there are built for the cold. Polar bears have thick fur and a layer of fat called blubber. Walruses and seals have blubber too, which keeps them warm in icy water. Most arctic foxes grow a thick white coat in winter, which keeps them warm and hides them in the snow, then turn brown in summer. Musk oxen grow a soft, woolly undercoat under their long hair.
Reading level: Big
The Arctic is the region around the North Pole: the Arctic Ocean, much of it frozen, and the cold land at the edges of North America, Europe and Asia. Winters there bring weeks without sunrise and temperatures far below freezing. Arctic animals survive with a mix of adaptations. Many have thick fur with a dense underlayer, and sea mammals such as walruses, seals and whales rely on blubber, a thick layer of fat under the skin. Small ears and short legs lose less heat, which is why an arctic fox looks rounder than a desert fennec fox. Some animals change color with the seasons, white in winter and brown in summer, to stay hidden. Others, like many birds and the reindeer of some herds, travel long distances to find food as the seasons change. The Arctic is warming, and its sea ice is shrinking, which scientists watch closely.
Arctic animals: cut and sort
Where does it live? Sort each animal: snow and ice, savanna or rainforest. Cut out the cards and glue each one in its box, or write its name there.
Gray wolf
Wood frog
African elephant
Grévy's zebra
American bison
Jaguar
Red-bellied piranha
Musk ox
Green anaconda
❄️ Snow and iceIt lives in the cold, with snow and ice.
🌾 Savanna and grasslandIt lives in warm, open grassland.
🌴 RainforestIt lives in the hot, wet forest.
Arctic animals: worksheet
Circle the right animal. Then answer the last two in words or a drawing.
Which one lives in the snow and ice?
OstrichArctic foxLeafcutter ant
Which one lives in the savanna?
WalrusKomodo dragonBornean orangutan
Which one lives in the rainforest?
Golden poison frogPolar bearPronghorn
Name two ways arctic animals stay warm.
Draw an arctic animal in the snow. Label its warm coat.
Arctic animals: answer key
Cut and sort
Snow and ice: Gray wolf, Wood frog, Musk ox
Savanna and grassland: African elephant, Grévy's zebra, American bison
Rainforest: Jaguar, Red-bellied piranha, Green anaconda
Worksheet
Which one lives in the snow and ice? Arctic fox
Which one lives in the savanna? Komodo dragon
Which one lives in the rainforest? Golden poison frog
Any two of: thick fur, blubber (a layer of fat), small ears, a white winter coat, a woolly undercoat.
Look for an arctic animal (a polar bear, an arctic fox, a walrus, a musk ox…) with its fur or coat labelled.
Every answer comes from the animal pages on peabody.kids, where each animal’s homes and Red List status are listed with their sources.
For teachers: grades K–3, January
NGSS K-ESS3-1: Use a model to show the relationship between the needs of animals and the places they live.
NGSS 3-LS4-3: Construct an argument that in a particular habitat some organisms can survive well, some less well, and some not at all.
Gray wolf
Wood frog
African elephant
Grévy's zebra
American bison
Jaguar
Red-bellied piranha
Musk ox
Green anaconda