Let’s Learn About the Animals on Each Continent!

Whether you teach kindergarten or fifth grade, one subject will grab the attention of almost every student in your classroom. Animals! Kids love them, and for good reason. There are so many amazing species of animals around the world, and there just isn’t enough time to learn about them all in your day-to-day Science lessons. That’s why we encourage you to take your Science instruction across the curriculum and bring it into Reading and Writing class, too!

This year, you can kick off a blended learning unit that combines a variety of subject areas into a single learning segment by introducing your students to the Animals Around the World Vocabulary Word Mats! 

Animal Word & Picture Mats Blend Geography, Life Science, Vocabulary and Writing!

These printable animals of the world word mats are the perfect starting point for blending a variety of subject areas and curriculum standards into a single instructional unit. You can use these word mats to supplement your cross-curricular lessons in various ways. Here are a few ideas for how you can use them!

• Identifying Continents – Have students learn about the continents by matching animals on the word mats to the continents they belong to on a map. It’s a fun way to learn about geography and animal recognition at the same time.
• Creative Writing Prompts – Use the animals on the word mats as prompts for informational or creative writing exercises. Students can write stories, poems, or descriptive paragraphs featuring the animals and their habitats.
• Animal Games – Use the word mats to play interactive games such as bingo or charades.

We’ve included the following Animal Word Mats in your resource download. Each mat features 12 animals found on each continent, along with a miniature map showing the outline of each continent.

• African Animals
• European Animals
• Asian Animals
• North American Animals
• South American Animals
• Australian Animals
• Antarctic Animals

Download Your Animals Around the World Word Mats

Ready to get your lesson plans under wraps? Your new resources are ready and waiting. Give that dropdown arrow on the Download button a click for your choice of Editable Google Slides or easy-to-print PDF. Download, Print, and Go!

This resource was created by Lindsey Phillips, a teacher in Michigan and Teach Starter Collaborator.

Even More Printable Animals & Habitats Activities

Keep the momentum of inspiration going by checking out these engaging animal habitat activities. You might find just what you need to bring your living and nonliving lessons to life.

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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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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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How Living Things Survive – Teaching Presentation

Use this 13-slide teaching presentation to teach your students about the physical characteristics of animals and plants, which help them meet their basic needs.