Hibernation

Explain how a long, deep winter sleep helps some animals survive.

Warm-up, learn, try it together, practice, then a quick check. About 15 minutes.

What children learn in Level 40

In winter, food like plants and insects is hard to find. Some animals survive by hibernating: going into a long, deep sleep.
Before winter, a groundhog eats and eats to store fat. Then it curls up in its burrow. Its heart slows down and its body cools.
Many bats hibernate in caves. Black bears in Georgia's mountains sleep through much of winter in dens.
In spring, when food is back, they wake up hungry!

Georgia Standards of Excellence in Science:

S3L1.b — Construct an explanation of how external features and adaptations (camouflage, hibernation, migration, mimicry) of animals allow them to survive in their habitat.