# 58. Winter Animals and Water: 2nd and 5th Grade NGSS Activities

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Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/naturally-teaching-elementary-a-podcast-for-teachers-and-homeschool-families-6910612/58-winter-animals-and-water-2nd-and-5th-grade-ngss-activities.md
Podcast: [Naturally Teaching Elementary: A Podcast for Teachers and Homeschool Families](https://stenobird.com/podcast/naturally-teaching-elementary-a-podcast-for-teachers-and-homeschool-families-6910612)
Published: 2026-02-23T08:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://naturallyteaching.com/episode58
Audio file: https://episodes.captivate.fm/episode/6237686e-7580-4e9a-bc9c-4c2b3dc4044e.mp3
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Duration seconds: 587

## Resource

Water is a critical part of animal survival, yet it's so scarce during the winter! With freezing temperatures, water is trapped as snow or ice and it makes winter a really hard time for animals to fulfill all of their needs. Now is a great time to study winter animals and the role water plays in their survival! Press play to hear descriptions for a states of matter water experiment for 2nd graders and an observational study for 5th graders, both aligned with Next Generation Science Standards. During the episode I share the standard that inspired the activity, how the activity relates to winter animals and water, and a description of how to implement the activity with your learners. And make sure to listen all the way through the episode; you may find yourself inspired to adapt one of these activities or use an activity for a different grade level. Next Generation Science Standards addressed in this episode: 2-ESS2-3: Obtain information to identify where water is found on Earth and that it can be solid or liquid 5-ESS2-1: Develop a model using an example to describe ways the geosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere, and/or atmosphere interact Resources mentioned 💚 Episode 57: Winter Animals and Hibernation: 1st and 4th Grade NGSS Activities Episode 6: 5 Outdoor Education Safety Tips for Teaching Outside Snowy Science: A Guide to Teaching About Matter in Winter Show Notes: https://naturallyteaching.com/episode58 🗂 Find activities easily with the Naturally Teaching Activity Index 🛒 TpT Shop: Naturally Teaching 💚 Get more tips and tricks on the website: NaturallyTeaching.com 📸 Follow along on Instagram: @naturally.teaching 💻 Check us out on Facebook: @naturally.teaching

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