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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Polar Bear Adaptations Reading Comprehension Pack
Learn about the physical adaptations of the polar bear with a set of printable reading comprehension worksheets for 3rd grade.
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Animals that Camouflage Teaching Slides
Learn about animals that use camouflage to survive with an engaging Animals that Camouflage instructional slide deck.
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Animals in Winter - Kindergarten Science Worksheet
Cut and sort animals that hibernate, migrate, and adapt with an ‘Animals in Winter’ sorting activity.
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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 Activity Book
Show what you know about hibernation and migration with a printable Animal Adaptations activity book.
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Animals in Winter - Adaptations Mini Book
Discover the amazing adaptations of animals in winter with a printable mini-book.
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Types of Insects - Fact Cards
Discover facts and features related to a variety of insects with a handy set of insect fact cards.
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Animals that Hibernate & Migrate Picture Posters
Explore animal hibernation and migration and learn about the animals that use these behavioral adaptations with a printable animal poster pack.
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Butterfly Camouflage Activity Pack
Experience camouflage in butterflies and create an engaging scientific simulation with our printable butterfly camouflage activity pack.
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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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Is It Inherited or Acquired? Traits Worksheets
Introduce your students to inherited and acquired traits with printable basic genetics worksheets for elementary grades.
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Winter Animals Coloring Page Booklet
Engage your little learners and build vocabulary skills with a printable winter animals coloring book.
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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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Animals in the Tundra - Adaptation Trading Cards
Discover the adaptations of animals in the tundra with printable animal trading card templates.
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Roll to Create an Animal - Adaptations Activity
Roll to choose cool animal adaptations for a mystery animal using a fun dice game and report template.
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Instinct vs. Learned Behavior Sort
Help your students determine the difference between a learned behavior and an instinct with a thought-provoking sorting activity.
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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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Animals that Use Camouflage - Fact File Cards
Discover animals that camouflage to survive using these printable Animal Fact File cards.
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Hibernation Word Wall - Illustrated
Discover the world of hibernation-related vocabulary with an illustrated hibernating animals word wall display.
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Classifying Vertebrates Flow Chart Poster
Classify vertebrates using an animal classification flowchart poster.
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Identifying the Parts an Earthworm Worksheet
Read, learn and label the parts of a worm with a set of printable animal features worksheets.
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Animal Blubber Experiment - Polar Adaptations Activity
Explores the structural adaptation of blubber with an Arctic Animal Adaptation experiment..
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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 a Butterfly - Labeling Activity Sheets
Learn about the anatomy of a butterfly with a printable reading passage and butterfly labeling worksheets.
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Animals That Adapt - Research Project & Report
Strengthen your students' understanding of conducting research with an Animal Adaptations research project.
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Amazing Animals With Adaptations - Worksheets
Research and write about amazing animal adaptations with our Amazing Animals Adaptation 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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Structural Adaptations Worksheets
Investigate the structural adaptations of animals with various animal adaptation worksheets.
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Ocean & Marine Word Wall Vocabulary
64 marine life word wall vocabulary cards.
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Bird Word Wall Vocabulary
Introduce your students to the features of birds and different bird species with bird related vocabulary cards for a word wall.
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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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Plant and Animal Adaptations Flipbook
Use this fun flipbook to teach students about adaptations while allowing them to connect to prior knowledge by answering questions on each page.