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!
- Free Plan
Life Cycles – Worksheet
Give your students an opportunity to compare, observe, and draw different life cycles with this worksheet.
- Plus Plan
Animals and Their Habitats - Cut and Paste Worksheets
Match the animals and their habitats with a pack of printable cut and paste worksheets.
- Plus Plan
Animal Adaptations Foldables - Shutter Card Templates
Write and draw about the behavioral, structural, and physiological adaptations of animals from around the world with a set of fun printable shutter card templates.
- Plus Plan
Animal Adaptations - Structural Adaptation Posters
Highlight some physical adaptations of animals with a printable set of labeled anchor chart.
- Plus Plan
Giant Squid Reading Comprehension Worksheets - 5th Grade
Read and learn about the features and adaptations of the giant squid with reading comprehension worksheets for 5th grade.
- Plus Plan
Amazing Animals With Adaptations - Worksheets
Research and write about amazing animal adaptations with our Amazing Animals Adaptation Worksheets.
- Plus Plan
Build a Food Chain - Sorting Activity
Create food chains for a variety of ecosystems with this hands-on, student-centered activity.
- Plus Plan
Food Chains - Interactive Activity
Review producers, consumers and decomposers in food chains with this interactive digital quiz.
- Plus Plan
Protecting Native Plants and Animals – Comprehension Worksheets
Build comprehension skills and learn about human impact on ecosystems with a reading passage and worksheets.
- Plus Plan
All About Sloths - Animal Research Project Instructional Slides
Use an animated instructional slide deck to guide your students through a sloth research project!
- Plus Plan
Food Chains & Food Webs – Vocabulary Posters
Display this set of science vocabulary posters in your classroom when learning about food chains and food webs.
- Plus Plan
Food Webs vs. Food Chains – Instructional Slide Deck
Learn the difference between a food chain and a food web with this 18-slide instructional slide deck.
- Plus Plan
Life Cycles – Instructional Slide Deck
Teach your students about the life cycle of plants and animals with this 19-slide instructional slide deck.
- Plus Plan
Life Cycle of a Frog Flipbook
Sequence the stages of a frog’s life cycle with this printable flipbook.
- Plus Plan
Life Cycle of a Frog – Activity Templates
Organize, record, and display information about the life cycle of a frog with these activity templates.
- Plus Plan
Food Chain Poster
A poster to display in the classroom that shows the food chain.
- Plus Plan
Wildlife Conservation Vocabulary Words
Help your students build academic vocabulary skills surrounding animal and wildlife conservation with a printable word wall.
- Plus Plan
Animal Classification Chart Activity
Help your little learners identify members of different animal classes using a handy animal characteristics worksheet.
- Plus Plan
Is It An Insect? Classification Chart Pack
Help your students differentiate between insects and arachnids, plus other creepy crawlies with a printable Insect Identification chart.
- 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.
- Plus Plan
Parts of an Animal Labeling Activity - Digital Learning Resource
Identify and label animal body parts with an interactive labeling activity for preschoolers.
- Plus Plan
Nocturnal Animals Activities for Preschool & Kindergarten
Introduce your students to the creatures of the night with five nocturnal animal activities for kids!
- Plus Plan
Sloth Adaptations – Comprehension Skills Worksheet
Read and comprehend nonfiction text about the adaptations of a sloth with a printable pack of reading skills worksheets.
- Plus Plan
Poison Dart Frog Adaptations – 4th Grade Reading Worksheets
Explore the adaptations of a poison dart frog with printable reading comprehension worksheets for 4th grade.
- Plus Plan
Rainforest Bird Craft & Writing Template
Pair a fun bird craft and informational writing to create a fun jungle-themed bulletin board.
- Plus Plan
Animal Adaptations Vocabulary Display
Introduce animal adaptation and behavior vocabulary with a word wall featuring photographs and definitions of adaptation-related words.
- Plus Plan
Polar Bear Adaptations Reading Comprehension Pack
Learn about the physical adaptations of the polar bear with a set of printable reading comprehension worksheets for 3rd grade.
- Plus Plan
Parts of an Animal Body - Labeling Worksheets
Examine and identify animal body parts with printable ‘Label the Animal’ activities for preschoolers and kindergarteners.
- Plus Plan
Tropical Rainforest Animal Adaptations Fact Template
Discover amazing rainforest animals’ adaptations and display your learning with miniature printable rainforest animal report templates.
- Plus Plan
Animal Adaptations Crossword Puzzle
Use an Animal Adaptations Crossword puzzle to review concepts related to physiological, structural, and behavioral adaptations.
- Plus Plan
Naked Mole Rats – Comprehension Worksheet
Read and learn facts about the naked mole rat with a printable reading comprehension worksheet pack for 5th grade.
- Plus Plan
Ocean Animal Research Activity Sheets
Research and record information about marine animals with one of four ocean animal worksheets.