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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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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Winter Animals Coloring Page Booklet
Engage your little learners and build vocabulary skills with a printable winter animals coloring book.
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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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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 - Adaptations Mini Book
Discover the amazing adaptations of animals in winter with a printable mini-book.
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Build a Food Chain - Sorting Activity
Create food chains for a variety of ecosystems with this hands-on, student-centered activity.
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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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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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Reindeer Research Guide - Mini Workbook
Research all about reindeer and use this guided research template to organize student learning.
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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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Poison Dart Frog Adaptations – 4th Grade Reading Worksheets
Explore the adaptations of a poison dart frog with printable reading comprehension worksheets for 4th grade.
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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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Insect Word Wall - Insect Names and Pictures
Use a printable insect word wall to introduce your students to the creepiest, crawliest creatures on the planet.
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Animals in Winter - Hibernation Mini Book
Read and learn about animals that hibernate with a printable hibernation book for kids.
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Desert Animal Adaptations - Trading Card Templates
Discover amazing desert animals’ adaptations and display your learning with printable animal trading card templates.
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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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Desert Food Chain - Cut and Paste Worksheet
Create a desert 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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Rainforest Food Chain - Cut and Paste Worksheet
Create a rainforest food chain to show how energy flows between organisms with this cut-and-paste worksheet.
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Plant and Animal Adaptations - Comprehension Worksheets
Boost reading comprehension skills with a comprehension passage, with questions, about structural, behavioral and physiological adaptations.
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Desert 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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Animal Classification Sort
Determine if an animal is an amphibian, reptile, mammal, or bird with this sorting activity.
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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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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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Printable Book - Dinosaurs
Learn about dinosaurs with a printable book for preschoolers, kindergartners, and first-graders.
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Endangered Species Research Flipbook
Get your students to research an endangered species using this easy-to-compile flipbook scaffold.
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Species Survival Scenario Task Cards
Explore how to save endangered species with this set of 16 species survival scenario cards.
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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.