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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How Seasons Affect Plants and Animals Teaching Slides
Share this informational slide deck with your 2nd grade class to teach students about how seasons affect plants and animals on planet Earth.
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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.
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Plant & Animal Adaptations Poster Set
Display these informative posters in your 2nd grade classroom to remind students of the five ways animals and plants adapt to seasonal changes in their environment.
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Environmental Factors That Affect Plants and Animals – Interactive Activity
Help your students learn about how environmental factors such as the weather affect plants and animals using this engaging and informative interactive activity.
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What Could Happen? - Environmental Changes Worksheet
Explore the effects of environmental change on plants and animals with a printable science worksheet.
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Food Webs - Research Project
Explore the food webs that exist in various biomes around the world with this student-centered inquiry task.
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Swamp Food Chain - Cut and Paste Worksheet
Create a swamp food chain to show how energy flows between organisms with this cut-and-paste worksheet.
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Ocean Food Chain - Cut and Paste Worksheet
Create an ocean food chain to show how energy flows between organisms with this cut-and-paste worksheet.
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Arctic Food Chain - Cut and Paste Worksheet
Create an Arctic food chain to show how energy flows between organisms with this cut-and-paste worksheet.
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Producer, Consumer, Decomposer - Comprehension Worksheets
Explore the role of producers, consumers and decomposers within ecosystems with this comprehension task.
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Food Chains - Interactive Activity
Review producers, consumers and decomposers in food chains with this interactive digital quiz.
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Producer, Consumer and Decomposer - Sorting Activity
Explore the roles and relationships of producers, consumers and decomposers in food chains with this hands-on sorting activity.
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Animals With Adaptations - Worksheet Pack
Use these animal adaptation worksheets when teaching students about the structural, behavioral, and physiological adaptations of animals.
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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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Living and Non-Living Things - Word Wall Vocabulary
Discover the world of living and nonliving things, starting with a printable vocabulary word wall..
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Ocean Biome Food Web Activity Worksheet
Challenge students to create a food web and explain how energy flows between organisms with this Ocean Food Web Activity Worksheet.
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Grassland Biome Food Web - Cut and Paste Worksheet
Challenge students to create a food web and explain how energy flows between organisms with this cut-and-paste worksheet.
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Tundra Biome Food Web - Cut and Paste Worksheet
Challenge students to create a food web and explain how energy flows between organisms with this cut-and-paste worksheet.
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Freshwater Biome Food Web - Cut and Paste Worksheet
Challenge students to create a food web and explain how energy flows between organisms with this cut-and-paste worksheet.
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Biome Food Web - Anchor Charts
Learn how energy flows through food webs in different biomes with this set of classroom anchor charts.
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Plant and Animal Adaptations – Word Wall Vocabulary
Build scientific vocabulary skills with a printable display of words relating to plant and animal adaptations.
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Protecting Native Plants and Animals – Comprehension Worksheets
Build comprehension skills and learn about human impact on ecosystems with a reading passage and worksheets.
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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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All About Sloths - Animal Life Cycle Worksheets
Help your students learn about sloths using this research project booklet.
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Animal Classification Posters
Display information about birds, mammals, amphibians, fish, and reptiles with this poster pack.
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All About Sloths - Animal Research Project Instructional Slides
Use an animated instructional slide deck to guide your students through a sloth research project!
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All About Sloths Animal Project Guidebook
Research and learn about the amazing tree sloth with a printable research guide for kids.
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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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Dinosaur Words - Word Wall Vocabulary Cards
Use a dinosaur vocabulary word wall display to introduce your students to the world of dinosaurs.
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Insect Investigation - Research Task
Explore insect life cycles and food chains with this research task.
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Herbivores, Carnivores, and Omnivores – Sorting Activity
Determine if animals are omnivores, carnivores, or herbivores based on their diet with this sorting activity.
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Reindeer Research Guide - Mini Workbook
Research all about reindeer and use this guided research template to organize student learning.