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Evolution and Adaptation Cards: Free Printable Card Set for Year 6
- ForYear 6
- StageKey Stage 2
- CostFree
- FormatPrintable PDF
Evolution and Adaptation Cards is a free printable card set for Year 6 (ages 10 to 11). Children read cards about a camel, a cactus, a giraffe and a duck, and think about why living things are built the way they are. They also meet the idea that young inherit features from their parents. Page 2 gives the grown up notes, help ideas, a stretch task and the answers.
It comes from the Mini Minds Hub, the free library of printables from Jaques of London, the British games and toy company that has been making games for families since 1795. Print both pages, give page 1 to your child and keep page 2 for yourself. Black and white printing works well.
What is on the sheet
The sheet is a set of cards to cut out and use, with lines for writing. Each card names a living thing and a feature that helps it live in its habitat, such as a camel, a cactus, a giraffe or a duck. One card is about parents and their young, and how features are passed on. Children read each card, ask what would happen without that feature, and write their thinking on the lines.
- Camel: wide feet stop it sinking in soft sand
- Cactus: thick stem stores water in the desert
- Giraffe: long neck helps it reach leaves high in trees
- Duck: webbed feet help it swim fast
- Parents: young animals often inherit features like fur colour
Why study adaptation and evolution?
Adaptation is one of the big ideas in Year 6 science. Every habitat has its own challenges, such as heat, cold, water, food and danger. Living things that suit their habitat are more likely to survive. When children study adaptation, they learn to link a feature to the job it does. That link between feature and purpose is a key step in scientific explanation.
Evolution is the slow change in living things over very many generations. Young are similar to their parents but not identical. Some small differences help a living thing survive, so it is more likely to have young and pass those features on. Charles Darwin, a British naturalist, described this as natural selection. Year 6 children meet the idea at a simple level, with plenty of time to talk.
Things to know about adaptation
- An adaptation is a feature that helps a living thing survive in its habitat.
- Plants have adaptations too, not only animals.
- Young inherit features from their parents, but they are not exact copies.
- Adaptations build up over many generations. One animal cannot choose to grow a new feature.
- Fossils give evidence of living things that existed long ago.
Skills and curriculum link
- Adaptation
- Inherited features
- Scientific explanation
- Cause and effect thinking
- Reasoning from evidence
Ideas to help you talk about it
- Start with the habitatBefore reading a card, ask where the living thing lives. Is it hot, cold, wet or dry? The habitat gives children a reason to link to the feature.
- Feature and jobEvery adaptation has a job. Ask your child to finish the sentence: this feature helps because it lets the living thing...
- VariationBrothers and sisters from the same parents can look different. This shows that young inherit features but are not identical copies.
- Plants count tooAdaptation is not only about animals. Ask what a plant needs to survive and how its shape or parts might help.
Key words
- AdaptationA feature or behaviour that helps a living thing survive in its habitat.
- HabitatThe place where a plant or animal lives and finds what it needs.
- EnvironmentEverything around a living thing, including weather, land, water and other living things.
- InheritTo receive features from your parents, such as fur colour.
- VariationThe small differences between living things of the same kind.
- Natural selectionLiving things with features that suit their environment are more likely to survive and have young, so those features are passed on.
How to use it
- Print both pages. Page 1 is for your child. Keep page 2, which has the notes and answers.
- Cut out the cards. Read each one together and ask: what would happen without this feature?
- Work through the first cards together. Talk about each choice and let your child explain their thinking in their own words.
- Check against the notes and answers on page 2. Ask, "How do you know?" The reasoning matters as much as the answer.
- Come back another day and try the cards again in a different order. Repeating a familiar activity builds confidence.
Help, stretch and game ideas
If it feels too hard
Pick just two cards. For each one, ask where the living thing might live, such as a snowy place or a desert. Then say out loud what the feature helps it do. Come back to the other cards later.
To stretch confident children
Explain how Charles Darwin's idea of natural selection links to these adaptations. Use the words variation, inherit and survive. Then invent a new animal for a habitat of your choice and describe its adaptations.
Make it a game
Take turns to act out an animal without speaking. The rest of the family guesses which adaptation it shows and says what the feature helps the animal do. One point for the animal, one for the adaptation.
Mistakes to watch for
Watch forA child says an animal grew a feature because it needed it.
Try thisExplain that one animal cannot choose its features. Over many generations, helpful differences were passed on more often. Use the word variation.
Watch forA child thinks an animal changes its body during its life to suit a new habitat.
Try thisSay that adaptations build up slowly across generations. Ask, "Where did this animal get its features from?" to bring in inheritance.
Watch forA child thinks skills learned in life, such as riding a bike, are inherited.
Try thisSort examples into two piles: features we are born with and things we learn. Only the first kind is inherited.
Talk about it
- What would happen to this living thing without its special feature?
- Which habitat would be hardest to live in, and why?
- Can you think of a plant that is adapted to its habitat?
- Why do you look a bit like your family but not exactly the same?
- Why might two animals of the same kind be slightly different from each other?
- If a habitat changed over a very long time, what might happen to the living things there?
Take it off the page
Habitat sort
Draw or name four habitats on paper. Sort the cards into the habitat each living thing suits best, and explain each choice.
Design an animal
Draw an imaginary animal for a habitat you choose. Label each adaptation and write one sentence about the job it does.
Family features
Look at photos of your family. Talk about features that seem to be passed on, such as hair colour, and ones that vary.
Who it is for
Parents
Sit beside your child for the first few cards, then let them lead. Ask what would happen without each feature and listen to their ideas. Praise thinking and effort, not only correct answers.
Teachers
Use the cards as a starter, a plenary, an early finisher task, a supply resource or a table activity. They need no preparation beyond printing and cutting. Page 2 gives support and stretch ideas for mixed ability groups.
Home educators
Pair the cards with books, nature walks and everyday talk about animals and plants. The sheet is free to print again for brothers and sisters, or for revision a few weeks later.
Where this fits in science
Before Year 6, children learn about living things and their habitats, how plants and animals depend on their surroundings, and how living things are grouped. These ideas give them the words and examples they need to talk about adaptation.
In Year 6, children bring these ideas together in evolution and inheritance. They also look at fossils as evidence. Later, in Key Stage 3 biology, they study variation, inheritance and natural selection in more detail.
Questions parents and teachers ask
- What age is Evolution and Adaptation Cards for?
It is written for Year 6 (ages 10 to 11), in Key Stage 2. Younger children can join in with support, and older children can use the stretch idea on page 2.
- What will children practise?
Children practise explaining how living things are adapted to their environment. They also learn that young vary and inherit features from their parents. This links to evolution and inheritance in the Year 6 National Curriculum for England.
- Is it free?
Yes. It is free to print for home and classroom use. You can print it again for brothers, sisters or a class, and use it for revision later.
- What if it feels too hard?
Start small. Pick two cards and match each one to a habitat, such as snow or desert. Talk about what the feature helps the living thing do, then return to the other cards another day.
- Is this a screen free activity?
Yes. It needs only paper, scissors and a pencil. That makes it a good choice for quiet time after school, rainy days and school holidays.
- Can teachers use it in class?
Yes. Teachers can use it as a starter, plenary, early finisher task, homework or table activity. It needs no preparation beyond printing and cutting out the cards.
- Do I need to print in colour?
No. It prints well in black and white on plain A4 paper. Colour is not needed to use the cards or to do the writing.
Preview the full PDF
Made by Jaques of London, making games for families since 1795. A printable supports classroom learning and does not replace a teacher.