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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Arctic Fox Adaptations - Free Comprehension Worksheet
Read and learn about Arctic fox adaptations with a set of printable Reading Comprehension Worksheets for 2nd and 3rd grade.
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Paired Passage Worksheets-Mammals vs. Reptiles
Compare mammals vs. reptiles and add to your reading instruction with leveled nonfiction, compare and contrast passages and worksheets.
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Animals With Scales, Fur, Shells and Feathers Worksheet Pack
Investigate different animal body coverings by sorting and coloring animals with feathers, fur, scales and shells.
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Fascinating Facts About Animals – Comprehension Worksheet
Build reading comprehension skills and learn about amazing animals with a printable 1st grade reading comprehension worksheet pack.
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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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Free Desert Animal Adaptations Worksheets - Comprehension
Discover desert animal adaptations with a printable reading comprehension worksheet pack for 3rd grade.
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Forest Food Chain – Cut and Paste Worksheet
Create a forest food chain to show how energy flows between organisms with this cut-and-paste worksheet.
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Biodiversity in a Habitat – Inquiry-Based Project
Use this biodiversity project to teach your students about the importance of species survival to life on Earth.
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Amphibians, Fish, and Reptiles Escape Room
Help your students discover the amazing characteristics of amphibians, fish, and reptiles with an exciting Animal Science Escape Game!
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Forest Biome Food Web – 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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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.
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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.
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Species Survival! Science Word Search
Explore vocabulary related to species survival and sustainability with a differentiated word search.
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Animal Classification Chart Activity
Help your little learners identify members of different animal classes using a handy animal characteristics worksheet.
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Animal Group Fact File Worksheets
Research and write about the characteristics of different animal groups with printable Animal Group Fact File Worksheets.
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Describing Animal Adaptations - Informative Writing Prompt Worksheets
Write to describe animals and their adaptations with a printable pack of informative writing worksheets.
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Classification of Animals - Teaching Slides
Teach your students about the different classes of animals and their characteristics with an Animal Classification teaching presentation.
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Animal Adaptations - Structural Adaptation Posters
Highlight some physical adaptations of animals with a printable set of labeled anchor chart.
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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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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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Inherited versus Learned Behaviors Poster
Explain the difference between inherited and learned behaviors with a set of printable anchor charts.
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Diagram of an Animal Cell Worksheets
Identify the parts of an animal cell and label them with a set of printable Animal Cell labeling activities.
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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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Food Chains – Worksheet
Use this worksheet to identify and describe the flow of energy in a food chain.
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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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Plant and Animal Sort - Task Cards
Sort plants and animals using different characteristics with a set of task cards and picture cards.
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Food Chain Poster
A poster to display in the classroom that shows the food chain.
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Life Cycle of a Fly Poster
A poster showing the life cycle of a fly.
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Animals and Their Habitats - Cut and Paste Worksheets
Match the animals and their habitats with a pack of printable cut and paste worksheets.
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Design the Perfect Dog Breed - Animal Traits Project
Investigate inherited traits that parents pass to their offspring with a Create-a-Puppy selective dog breeding project.
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Platypus Adaptations - Reading Passage & Questions
Learn about the physical and behavioral adaptations of the platypus with a set of printable reading comprehension worksheets for 4th grade.
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Life Cycle of a Butterfly Activity - Printable Accordion Book
Re-create the life cycle of a butterfly with a printable butterfly life cycle accordion book craft.