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!
- Free Plan
In the Arctic - Free Decodable Book
Engage your students and inspire them to read and learn about life in the Arctic with a printable book for 2nd grade.
- Plus Plan
Reindeer Research Guide - Mini Workbook
Research all about reindeer and use this guided research template to organize student learning.
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Reindeer Research - Instructional Slide Deck
Use an animated instructional slide deck to guide your students through a reindeer research project!
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The Life Cycle of a Turkey - Printable Thanksgiving Activities
Celebrate Thanksgiving while you organize, record, and display information about the life cycle of a turkey with these activity templates.
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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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Food Chains & Food Webs – Vocabulary Posters
Display this set of science vocabulary posters in your classroom when learning about food chains and food webs.
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Label a Turkey Worksheet
Bring Tom Turkey and animal studies into your Thanksgiving lesson plans with a turkey labeling worksheet.
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Printable Book - Dinosaurs
Learn about dinosaurs with a printable book for preschoolers, kindergartners, and first-graders.
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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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Features of Insects Mini-Book
Learn about creepy crawly insects with a printable decodable book for first and second-grade readers.
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Life Cycle of a Frog – Poster Pack
Display information about the life cycle of a frog with this set of 6 posters.
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Insects for Kids - Bingo Game
Learn about creepy crawly insects with a Bug Bingo Game for preschoolers.
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Printable Spider Book
Bring a bit of creepy into the classroom this Halloween with a printable leveled reader about spiders!
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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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Producers, Consumers, and Decomposers – Interactive and Printable Activity
Sort producers, consumers, and decomposers, with this printable and interactive activity.
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Dinosaurs - Vocabulary Cards and Writing Prompts for Second Grade
Inspire young paleontologists to read and write about dinosaurs with a dinosaur-themed writing center and word wall.
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Build-a-Bird - Owl Report Writing Template
Build beautiful content-aligned Fall bulletin boards with our Owl-themed informational writing template.
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Life Cycles – Instructional Slide Deck
Teach your students about the life cycle of plants and animals with this 19-slide instructional slide deck.
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Life Cycle of a Frog Flipbook
Sequence the stages of a frog’s life cycle with this printable flipbook.
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Life Cycle of a Frog – Activity Templates
Organize, record, and display information about the life cycle of a frog with these activity templates.
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Animal Needs and Adaptations Mini-Book
Read and learn about animal adaptations and basic needs with this 14-page mini-book.
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Food Chains – Teaching Presentation
Learn about the flow of energy in a food chain with this 12-slide teaching presentation.
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How Living Things Survive – Teaching Presentation
Use this 13-slide teaching presentation to teach your students about the physical characteristics of animals and plants, which help them meet their basic needs.
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Animal Needs – Worksheet
Practice and review vocabulary associated with basic animal needs with this worksheet.
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Life Cycle of a Frog – Booklet
Read and learn about the life cycle of a frog with this informational reader and frog booklet.
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Imbalance in Food Chains – Teaching Presentation
Explore how different factors can cause a break in a food chain and may affect an ecosystem with this 16-slide teaching presentation.
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Life Cycles – Worksheet
Give your students an opportunity to compare, observe, and draw different life cycles with this worksheet.
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How Organisms Survive – Worksheet
Use this worksheet to identify and describe different animal and plant adaptations which help them survive in their environment.
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Producer, Consumer, Decomposer - Poster
A poster explaining the roles of the Sun, producers, consumers, and decomposers in the food chain.
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Endangered Species Fact Cards
Explore 64 species and subspecies that are on the critically endangered list with this set of fact cards.
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Critically Endangered Species Map
Use this endangered species world map when exploring animals that have been placed on the Critically Endangered list.
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Grouping Plants and Animals – Sorting Activity (K-1)
Sort plants and animals using different characteristics with a set of task cards and picture cards.