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!
- Plus Plan
Build-a-Bird - Owl Report Writing Template
Build beautiful content-aligned Fall bulletin boards with our Owl-themed informational writing template.
- Plus Plan
Food Chain Imbalance – Worksheet
Predict how changes in a food chain affect species in an ecosystem with this worksheet.
- Plus Plan
Life Cycle of a Frog – Booklet
Read and learn about the life cycle of a frog with this informational reader and frog booklet.
- Plus Plan
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.
- Free Plan
Life Cycles – Worksheet
Give your students an opportunity to compare, observe, and draw different life cycles with this worksheet.
- Free Plan
Producer, Consumer, Decomposer - Poster
A poster explaining the roles of the Sun, producers, consumers, and decomposers in the food chain.
- Plus Plan
Food Chain Poster
A poster to display in the classroom that shows the food chain.
- Plus Plan
Vertebrates and Invertebrates Posters
A set of educational posters featuring the basic differences between vertebrates and invertebrates.
- Plus Plan
Basic Food Chain Worksheet
A basic food chain worksheet for your students to complete.
- Plus Plan
What Animals Live in Social Groups? PowerPoint Presentation
Discover what animals live in social groups and why with an engaging interactive Animal Behavior PowerPoint.
- Plus Plan
Animals That Live in Groups - Animal Behavior Worksheet Pack
Explore how animals survive and thrive in social groups with a printable Animal Behavior Worksheet pack.
- Plus Plan
Animal Pollinators Worksheets
Discover animal pollinators like butterflies, bats, and hummingbirds with our printable animal pollination worksheet pack.
- Free Plan
Who Pollinates Plants? Word Search
Introduce your students to a world of pollinators with a printable Who Pollinates Plants? Word Search.
- Plus Plan
Printable Worksheets About Bees - 2nd Grade
Use our 2nd grade worksheets about bees to discover what there is to know about bees, how they help plants, and how they make honey.
- Plus Plan
Helpful Honey Bees Worksheet Pack - 2nd Grade
Read and learn about honey bees with a Printable Honey Bees Worksheet Pack for second grade.
- Plus Plan
What Are Pollinators? Worksheet Pack
Introduce your students to the world of plants and pollination with a printable Pollinators Worksheet Pack.
- Plus Plan
Science Sparks - 4th Grade Science Activities
Give your students a little science boost with Science Sparks 4 – our newest set of fast finisher science activities for 4th grade!
- Plus Plan
Science Sparks - 5th Grade Science Activities for Fast Finishers
Review science standards during classroom downtime with Science Sparks, a set of 5th grade science activities for fast finishers.
- Plus Plan
Science Sparks - 2nd Grade Science Activity Cards
Review science standards during classroom downtime with Science Sparks, a collection of 2nd grade science activities for fast finishers.
- Plus Plan
Animal Habitat Diorama Project
Plan an Animal Habitat Project for your students with our animal habitat diorama project pack.
- Free Plan
Word Wall - Plant and Animal Cells
Help your students understand the different structures found in Plant vs Animal Cells with printable Plant and Animal Cell Vocabulary Cards.
- Plus Plan
Invertebrate Classification Chart Pack
Help your students differentiate between insects and arachnids, plus other creepy crawlies with a printable Insect Identification chart.
- Plus Plan
Shelter Building STEM Challenge (1-2)
Discove rhow shelters protect living things by challenging your students to build an animal shelter in this Shelter Building Stem Activity.
- Plus Plan
Pets and Their Needs Teaching Slides
Teach your students about the needs of living things with an engaging interactive slide deck about pets and their needs.
- Plus Plan
Human Innovation and Environmental Conservation Teaching Slides
Teach your students how human innovation is helping conserve the environment with this teaching presentation perfect for upper elementary students.
- Plus Plan
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.
- Plus Plan
Species Survival Scenario Task Cards
Explore how to save endangered species with this set of 16 species survival scenario cards.
- Plus Plan
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!
- Plus Plan
Animal Classification Chart Activity Pack
Classify mammals, reptiles, birds, and other animal groups with a printable pack of animal classification table worksheets.
- Plus Plan
Animal Classification Chart Activity
Help your little learners identify members of different animal classes using a handy animal characteristics worksheet.
- Plus Plan
Monster Mashup - Inherited Traits Activity
Introduce your students to inherited traits and learned behaviors through an exciting Monster Mashup Inherited Traits Activity!
- Plus Plan
Torpor vs Hibernation - Reading Worksheets
Help your students learn the difference between torpor and hibernation with a printable pack of reading comprehension worksheets.