Specialized for the Sea

Adaptations help animals find and eat food, avoid predators, move, and reproduce. During this activity students discuss adaptations in many contexts. They explore how desert animals are adapted to the harsh heat and dryness of their environment, and how animals in the Arctic are adapted to live where it is very cold with lots of snow and ice. Students use pictures and make a mural to investigate how ocean animals are adapted to certain parts of their environment. The lesson introduces the keywords adaptation, habitat, surface, predator, prey, nearshore, offshore, photic zone, and aphotic zone. Educational levels: Primary elementary