Animals Teaching Resources
Explore animal life in your science classroom with printable worksheets, classroom posters, and more teaching resources all about the different types of animals, their life cycles, characteristics and more!
This teacher-created collection includes a series of animal-focused teacher resources covering reptiles, birds, fish, mammals, and amphibians plus resources that classify a selection of vertebrates and invertebrates!
This comprehensive collection of teaching resources includes editable curriculum-aligned lessons on wildlife, endangered species and more — all ready to be printed and used in the classroom!
New to teaching this section of the science curriculum or looking for some fresh ideas? Read on for some tips on teaching about animal classification from our teacher team!
What Is Animal Classification? A Kid-Friendly Definition
In science class (and in professional study) animals are classified into groups based on physical and genetic characteristics. Scientists use a classification system called the Linnaean system to group different animals into progressively more specific categories, starting with the largest (and most inclusive group) and ending with the smallest and most specific group.
The categories are:
- Kingdom
- Phylum
- Class
- Order
- Family
- Genus
- Species
Helping students to remember these categories of biological animal classification, you might want to use a mnemonic such as:
- King Philip came over from Germany swimming.
- King Philip came over for good spaghetti.
- King Philip came over for good soup.
Sometimes the word "domain" is added to the top of the animal classification list, and in those cases you can add the word "dear" to your mnemonic sentences to help your students recall them all.
In the Linnaean system, every animal in nature is assigned a unique scientific name. The name includes their genus and species and it's used globally to refer to that animal — so, for example, a dog is a dog, but it's also a "canis lupus familiarise" according to its scientific name.
The animal classification system is used all around the world to help scientists understand the relationships between different animals and how they evolved over time.
Teaching About Animal Classification in Elementary School
How in-depth should your lesson planning be for animal classification? In the elementary grades, learning classifications of animals sets the stage for understanding how important this system is when scientists are studying animals in the natural world.
Consider this: In elementary school, students typically learn about the basic categories of animal classification, such as mammals, birds, fish, reptiles, and amphibians.
Your animal classification lessons can extend into learning about specific examples of animals within each category, such as lions and elephants for mammals, and eagles and penguins for birds.
By the time they head off to high school, students should already know the characteristics that define each group — such as the presence of fur or feathers (in birds) or most mammals' ability to give birth to live young. Students should also know about the classification of animals within each group, such as the different types of mammals or birds.
Ready to get started? Explore the resources in this collection!
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Groundhog Day Worksheets - Cut and Sort Activity
Compare and contrast a groundhog and an elephant with a fun Groundhog Day themed compare and contrast sort.
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Animal Habitat Project PDF
An open-ended assessment task for students to demonstrate their understanding of living things and their needs.
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Animals in Winter - 1st Grade Reading Worksheets
Learn about animals in winter with a printable pack of 1st Grade Reading Worksheets.
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Animal Adaptations Vocabulary Display
Introduce animal adaptation and behavior vocabulary with a word wall featuring photographs and definitions of adaptation-related words.
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Classifying Animals Digital Learning Activity
Help students learn how to classify animals based on their characteristics with an engaging ‘Magic Looking Glass’ Interactive activity.
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Parts of an Animal Body - Labeling Worksheets
Examine and identify animal body parts with printable ‘Label the Animal’ activities for preschoolers and kindergarteners.
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Preschool Arctic Animal Lacing Cards
Help your students develop fine motor skills with a set of Preschool Arctic Animals lacing cards.
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Animals in Winter - Hibernation Mini Book
Read and learn about animals that hibernate with a printable hibernation book for kids.
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Would You Rather? Animal Adaptations Game
Discuss and debate the best animal adaptations with the Would You Rather? Animal Adaptation game.
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What Animals Hibernate? Teaching Slides
Discover which animals hibernate and how they survive the winter with an interactive teaching slide deck.
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Animal Classification Worksheets for Kindergarten
Identify and sort animals according to their characteristics with a printable pack of kindergarten science worksheets.
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Survival Spotlight - Physical Adaptations Animal Riddle Worksheets
Shine a spotlight on animal adaptations and solve riddles with printable animal adaptation riddle worksheets.
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Koala Adaptations Comprehension Worksheets for 4th Grade
Learn about the physical and behavioral adaptations of the koala with a set of printable reading comprehension worksheets for 4th grade.
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What Animals Migrate? Teaching Slide Deck
Discover why animals migrate and which ones make the longest journeys with an interactive teaching slide deck.
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Naked Mole Rats – Comprehension Worksheet
Read and learn facts about the naked mole rat with a printable reading comprehension worksheet pack for 5th grade.
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Ocean Animal Research Activity Sheets
Research and record information about marine animals with one of four ocean animal worksheets.
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Parts of an Ant - Labeling Activity
Learn about the anatomy of an ant with a printable reading passage and ant labeling worksheets.
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Ocean & Marine Word Wall Vocabulary
64 marine life word wall vocabulary cards.
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How Seasons Affect Plants and Animals Sorting Activity
Set up this sorting activity in your classroom to teach students how the seasons affect plants and animals by categorizing them.
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Rainforest Food Chain - Cut and Paste Worksheet
Create a rainforest food chain to show how energy flows between organisms with this cut-and-paste worksheet.
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Plant and Animal Adaptations - Vocabulary Worksheets
Review key vocabulary associated with plant and animal adaptations with a pair of vocabulary worksheets.
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Animal Adaptations Teaching Slides
Teach your students about behavioral, structural, and physiological adaptations of animals with an interactive teaching slide deck.
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Animals and Their Habitats- Interactive Activity
Help a lost polar bear (and his friends) return to the correct habitat with a Google Slides interactive activity.
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Animals and Their Habitats - Cut and Match Worksheets
Match animals with their habitats with a set of cut and paste worksheets.
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Animal Classification Sort
Determine if an animal is an amphibian, reptile, mammal, or bird with this sorting activity.
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International Sloth Day - Paper Plate Craft
Craft a paper plate sloth on International Sloth Day with this easy-to-use template.
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Insect Investigation - Research Task
Explore insect life cycles and food chains with this research task.
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Food Chains & Food Webs – Vocabulary Booklet
Reinforce science vocabulary by creating a booklet to reference when studying food chains and food webs.
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Life Cycle of a Frog – Vocabulary Cards and Puzzles
Reinforce science vocabulary with this set of word wall cards and vocabulary puzzles covering the life cycle of a frog.
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Food Webs vs. Food Chains – Instructional Slide Deck
Learn the difference between a food chain and a food web with this 18-slide instructional slide deck.
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Life Cycle of a Frog – Mini-Book
Read and learn about the life cycle of a frog with this informational reader and activity booklet.
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Animal Fact File Worksheet
An animal fact file for students to complete when learning about a variety of animals.