This article describes a special third-grade classroom unit based on the reality show "Survivor." The goal of this engaging and interactive unit was to teach students about physical and behavioral adaptations that help animals survive in various desert biomes. The activity combines research, argument, and puppet play over one week of instruction. It was designed to specifically address the third-grade "Next Generation Science Standard" regarding interdependent relationships in ecosystems. The performance expectation (3-LS4-3) states that students should "Construct an argument with evidence that in a particular habitat some organisms can survive well, some survive less well, and some cannot survive at all" (Achieve Inc. 2013, p. 27). The students collected, analyzed, and evaluated data about three given desert animals and the deserts those animals lived in. Next, they interpreted that data in an attempt to draw a conclusion about the likelihood of that animal being able to survive in a different desert. Finally, they communicated their understanding to their peers in the form of a final puppet play that they wrote themselves. This activity allowed the teachers to also incorporate three of the eight essential practices found in "A Framework for K-12 Science Education" (NRC 2012): analyzing and interpreting data; engaging in argument from evidence; and obtaining, evaluating and communicating information (NRC 2012).