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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Animal Adaptations Teaching Slides
Teach your students about behavioral, structural, and physiological adaptations of animals with an interactive teaching slide deck.
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Amphibians vs Reptiles Worksheet Pack
Compare Amphibians vs. Reptiles and their characteristics with our printable animal comparison worksheets.
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Butterfly Life Cycle Poster and Worksheet
An educational poster and worksheet about the stages of a butterfly's life cycle.
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Animal Classification Word Search Pack - Lower Grades
Introduce your students to the six animal types/classes with a pack of printable animal word search worksheets.
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Animal Body Coverings Mini Book
Read and learn about the characteristics of animals with a printable Animal Body Coverings Mini Book.
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Platypus Adaptations - Reading Passage & Questions
Learn about the physical and behavioral adaptations of the platypus with a set of printable reading comprehension worksheets for 4th grade.
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Plant & Animal Cells and Organelles Worksheet
Learn about the differences between plant cells and animal cells with a printable cells and organelles worksheet.
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Tropical Rainforest Animal Adaptations Fact Template
Discover amazing rainforest animals’ adaptations and display your learning with miniature printable rainforest animal report templates.
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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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Survival Spotlight - Physical Adaptations Animal Riddle Worksheets
Shine a spotlight on animal adaptations and solve riddles with printable animal adaptation riddle worksheets.
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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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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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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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Inherited versus Learned Behaviors Poster
Explain the difference between inherited and learned behaviors with a set of printable anchor charts.
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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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All About Sloths - Animal Life Cycle Worksheets
Help your students learn about sloths using this research project booklet.
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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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Features of Insects Mini-Book
Learn about creepy crawly insects with a printable decodable book for first and second-grade readers.
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Insects for Kids - Bingo Game
Learn about creepy crawly insects with a Bug Bingo Game for preschoolers.
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Life Cycles – Instructional Slide Deck
Teach your students about the life cycle of plants and animals with this 19-slide instructional slide deck.
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Life Cycle of a Frog Flipbook
Sequence the stages of a frog’s life cycle with this printable flipbook.
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Celebrity Bug Head Game
A fun game to play when learning about the external features of living things.
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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.
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Animal Group Fact File Worksheets
Research and write about the characteristics of different animal groups with printable Animal Group Fact File Worksheets.
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Human Inherited Traits Activity - Science Experiment
Engage your students in learning about the traits inherited from their parents with a fun Human Inherited Traits Lab activity.
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Parts of an Animal Labeling Activity - Digital Learning Resource
Identify and label animal body parts with an interactive labeling activity for preschoolers.
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Adaptive Animals of the Arctic - Adaptations Worksheets
Explore the adaptations of polar animals and discover how they help them survive with a set of cut-and-paste labeling activity sheets.
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Characteristics of Living Things - Science Worksheets
Identify the common characteristics of different animals and animal classes with a pack of printable Animal Class Characteristic 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.
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Animal Adaptations Digital Learning Activity Slides
Discover a variety of structural, behavioral, and physiological adaptations with an Animal Adaptations Digital Learning activity.
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Design the Perfect Dog Breed - Animal Traits Project
Investigate inherited traits that parents pass to their offspring with a Create-a-Puppy selective dog breeding project.
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Vertebrates and Invertebrates Teaching Slides
Teach your students about the characteristics of vertebrates and invertebrates with an interactive teaching slide presentation.