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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All About Bowerbirds Mini Book
Discover the wonderful world of Bowerbirds with your students using this activity mini book.
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Types of Bird Feet and Bird Beaks - Adaptations Lesson Slides
Take a look at the types of bird beaks and feet that help our flying friends survive in different environments.
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Animal Coverings Teaching Slides
Discover animals with scales, shells, fur, and other body coverings with an interactive teaching slide deck.
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What is Mimicry? Teaching Slides
Help your students understand the purpose of mimicry and its variations with an engaging, interactive teaching slide deck.
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Female, Male and Baby Animals Worksheet
Identify the names of female animals, male animals and their babies with an Animal Family Worksheet.
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All About Bowerbirds PowerPoint
Learn about the fascinating creatures that are Bowerbirds with this engaging and beautifully illustrated set of teaching slides.
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Acquired or Inherited? Trait Sort
Identify the differences between acquired and inherited traits with an engaging picture sort for 5th Grade.
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Nocturnal vs. Diurnal Animals Interactive Task Cards
Identify nocturnal and diurnal animals with an engaging, interactive task card game.
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Classifying Animals Digital Learning Activity
Help students learn how to classify animals based on their characteristics with an engaging ‘Magic Looking Glass’ Interactive activity.
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Animals that Camouflage Teaching Slides
Learn about animals that use camouflage to survive with an engaging Animals that Camouflage instructional slide deck.
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Preschool Arctic Animal Lacing Cards
Help your students develop fine motor skills with a set of Preschool Arctic Animals lacing cards.
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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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Would You Rather? Animal Adaptations Game
Discuss and debate the best animal adaptations with the Would You Rather? Animal Adaptation game.
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What Animals Hibernate? Teaching Slides
Discover which animals hibernate and how they survive the winter with an interactive teaching slide deck.
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Animals and Hibernation Worksheet Pack
Help your students learn about animals that hibernate with a printable pack of worksheets about animals and hibernation.
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Animals that Hibernate & Migrate Picture Posters
Explore animal hibernation and migration and learn about the animals that use these behavioral adaptations with a printable animal poster pack.
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Butterfly Camouflage Activity Pack
Experience camouflage in butterflies and create an engaging scientific simulation with our printable butterfly camouflage activity pack.
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Is It Inherited or Acquired? Traits Worksheets
Introduce your students to inherited and acquired traits with printable basic genetics worksheets for elementary grades.
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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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Roll to Create an Animal - Adaptations Activity
Roll to choose cool animal adaptations for a mystery animal using a fun dice game and report template.
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Instinct vs. Learned Behavior Sort
Help your students determine the difference between a learned behavior and an instinct with a thought-provoking sorting activity.
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Animal Adaptations Crossword Puzzle
Use an Animal Adaptations Crossword puzzle to review concepts related to physiological, structural, and behavioral adaptations.
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What Animals Migrate? Teaching Slide Deck
Discover why animals migrate and which ones make the longest journeys with an interactive teaching slide deck.
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Animals that Use Camouflage - Fact File Cards
Discover animals that camouflage to survive using these printable Animal Fact File cards.
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Hibernation Word Wall - Illustrated
Discover the world of hibernation-related vocabulary with an illustrated hibernating animals word wall display.
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Classifying Vertebrates Flow Chart Poster
Classify vertebrates using an animal classification flowchart poster.
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Naked Mole Rats – Comprehension Worksheet
Read and learn facts about the naked mole rat with a printable reading comprehension worksheet pack for 5th grade.
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Identifying the Parts an Earthworm Worksheet
Read, learn and label the parts of a worm with a set of printable animal features worksheets.
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Amazing Animals With Adaptations - Worksheets
Research and write about amazing animal adaptations with our Amazing Animals Adaptation Worksheets.
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Parts of an Ant - Labeling Activity
Learn about the anatomy of an ant with a printable reading passage and ant labeling worksheets.
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Facts About Insects Poster
Display this poster showcasing interesting insect facts and characteristics in your classroom.
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Ocean & Marine Word Wall Vocabulary
64 marine life word wall vocabulary cards.