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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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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Winter Animals Coloring Page Booklet
Engage your little learners and build vocabulary skills with a printable winter animals coloring book.
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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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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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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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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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Polar Bear Craft Template
Pair a polar bear craft and informational writing to create a fun winter animals bulletin board.
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Penguin Craft & Writing Template
Research and write about penguins and their adaptations, then create a fun penguin craft to display student work.
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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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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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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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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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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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Life Cycle of a Chicken Poster
Teach your students about the life cycle of a chicken with this colorful classroom poster perfect for early years science lessons.
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Butterfly Life Cycle Sort
Help your students concrete their understanding of life cycles with this interactive game.
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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.
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Winter Survival Adaptations - Sorting Activity
Match the animals with the behavioral adaptation that helps them survive the winter in this printable animal adaptation sorting activity.
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Winter Animal Adaptations - Clip Cards
Discover which behavioral adaptations animals use to survive the winter with a set of Animals in Winter Clip Cards.
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Echidna Adaptations – Reading Worksheet Pack
Discover the adaptations of the echidna with a printable reading passage and comprehension worksheet pack.
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Animal Features Playdough Mats
Use our Animal Playdough Mats to introduce your kindergarten students to the physical features of animals.
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Kangaroo Adaptations – Reading Comprehension PDF Worksheets
Discover amazing kangaroo adaptations with a printable Reading comprehension worksheet pack.
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Sloth Adaptations – Comprehension Skills Worksheet
Read and comprehend nonfiction text about the adaptations of a sloth with a printable pack of reading skills worksheets.
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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.