Animal Fact Files and Writing Craftivity

If you’re looking for an informational writing activity designed specifically for young learners, you’ve come to the right place!

This resource combines research and writing skills with a hands-on craft element, helping students learn about animals in an enjoyable way. To complete the activity, students choose one of four animals: elephant, monkey, cheetah or giraffe. After reading the provided fact file about their chosen animal, students then use the facts to fill in a structured table with key information about the animal. The complete the craftivity, students color in a template of the head of their chosen animal and attach it to their report

Inside the resource, you will find:

• Instruction page
• 4 x animal head templates
• 4 x animal fact tables
• 4 x animal fact files

The resource downloads as either a quick-print PDF or an editable Google Slides file.

Once completed, the colorful reports make for a fantastic classroom display! You can create a gallery of animal reports, showcasing the students’ writing and artwork for everyone to see. This not only gives students a sense of pride in their work but also reinforces what they’ve learned through a visual representation.

A Great Introduction to Information Report Writing 

This animal report writing template and craft activity makes a great introduction to informational writing for your youngest students. Here’s why:

1. Hands-On Learning – Combining writing with crafting keeps students engaged and motivated. The act of creating something with their hands also helps solidify the information they’ve learned about their chosen animal.
2. Structured Support—The fact files and information table help teach students how to gather and organize facts logically. This is a crucial skill for both report writing and research in general.
3. Provision of Choice – Allowing students to choose which animal to research taps into their interests and encourages them to take ownership of their learning. This autonomy fosters a positive attitude toward the task.

Download to Access These Animal Fact Files

Use the dropdown menu on the Download button above to access the PDF or editable Google Slides file. (Note: You will be prompted to make a copy of the Google Slides template before accessing it).

As this worksheet pack contains multiple versions of the writing templates, we recommend printing one copy of the entire file. You may then wish to remove the pages you wish to use before copying them for your students.

This resource was created by Lindsey Phillips, a teacher in Michigan and a Teach Starter collaborator.

Informational Writing Resources in Abundance!

Teach Starter has created an extensive range of informational writing activities to support you with your planning and to engage your learners! Click below to explore more of our high-quality, curriculum-aligned resources.

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Build an Animal Fact File – Cut and Paste Worksheets

Use this set of 5 writing prompts to assess your students’ informative writing skills.

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Animal Information Text Cloze Worksheets

Get your students to write a simple information text on an animal with this set of structured templates.

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Informative Writing - Animal Research Task

Use a printable animal research organizer booklet for students to record facts about animals when learning to write informative texts.