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Animals Activities

29 animals activities. Teacher favorites: Fish Parts Activity and Animal Habitats Activity - Freshwater, Grasslands, Forest, Ocean. How teachers use these

Animals Activities

29 animals activities. Teacher favorites: Fish Parts Activity and Animal Habitats Activity - Freshwater, Grasslands, Forest, Ocean. How teachers use these

Activity
ActivityKindergartenFish Parts Activity

This fish parts activity has kindergarten and 1st grade children catch picture cards and label the eye, mouth, gills, fin, scales and tail, with an answer key included for quick checking.

Activity
ActivityKindergartenAnimal Habitats Activity - Freshwater, Grasslands, Forest, Ocean

This animal habitats activity has kindergarten to 2nd grade students sort 16 animal cards onto freshwater, grassland, forest and ocean mats. A practice page and an answer key are included.

Activity
ActivityKindergartenFrog Facts Activity

This frog facts activity has children sort 12 fact cards onto TRUE and FALSE lily pads. Made for Kindergarten to 3rd Grade, with a practice page and answer key included.

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ActivityPreschoolA Boy and His Dog Puzzle

This boy and his dog puzzle lets Preschool to 1st grade children cut out and rebuild a 15-piece picture of a boy and his puppy, building problem solving and scissor skills.

Activity
ActivityKindergartenNutty Nouns Activity

This nutty nouns activity lets Kindergarten to 2nd grade students sort picture cards into person, place and thing, then practice with a word-box sort. Answer key included.

Activity
Activity1st GradeAnimal Riddles Activity

This animal riddles activity has students read clues and match each riddle to the right animal card. Made for 1st-2nd grade with self-check cards, a practice page and an answer key included.

Activity
ActivityKindergartenLand or Water Activity

This land or water activity is a K-2nd grade animal sorting card game with a spinner and sorting mat. Children classify animals by where they live, and an answer key is included.

Activity
ActivityKindergartenLiving and Nonliving Activity

This living and nonliving activity gives kindergarten to 2nd grade students 12 picture cards and a sorting mat to classify things that are alive. A practice page and answer key are included.

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ActivityPreschoolFarm Sequencing Activity

Kids finish farm animal patterns with picture cards in this farm sequencing activity for Preschool through 1st Grade, then practice on a worksheet. Answer key included.

Activity
ActivityPreschoolFarm or Zoo Matching Activity

This farm or zoo matching activity has PreK-1st Grade children sort 12 animal picture cards onto a farm and zoo mat, with a practice worksheet and answer key included for easy checking.

Activity
Activity2nd GradeSurvivor Desert Edition Activity

Using this Survivor Desert Edition Activity, students play the survivor board game to test your knowledge of animals and their habitats.

Activity
ActivityPreschoolFarm Puzzle

This farm puzzle activity lets Preschool to 1st grade children cut out and rebuild a 15-piece farm picture, building problem solving, scissor skills and farm animal words.

Activity
ActivityKindergartenThings That Grow Activity

Using Things That Grow Activity, students play UNO to practice classifying things that grow into four categories.

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Activity3rd GradeFlorida Wildlife Animal Project

Using this Florida Wildlife Animal Project, students research, design a poster, create a model and give a presentation to learn about the animals that live in Florida.

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Activity3rd GradeBrazil Wildlife Animal Project

This Brazil wildlife animal project activity has students sort ten rainforest animals by layer, then research one animal and share it. Made for 3rd to 5th grade, answer key included.

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ActivityKindergartenLife Cycle Three Pack Science Life Cycles Activity

Try this life cycle three pack science life cycles activity with kindergarten to 2nd grade students. Kids sequence chicken, frog and butterfly picture cards; an answer key is included.

Activity
ActivityKindergartenA Frog and a Log Position Words Activity

This frog and a log position words activity helps K-2nd Grade children match picture cards to on, under, above, next to, in front of and behind, with practice and an answer key included.

Activity
Activity2nd GradeSurvivor Ocean Edition Activity

Using this Survivor Ocean Edition Activity, students play the survivor board game to test your knowledge of animals and their habitats.

Activity
ActivityKindergartenFarm Numbers Activity

This farm numbers activity has kindergarten and 1st grade children put 50 barn number cards in order from 1 to 50, with a practice page and answer key included.

From our teachers' playbook

Fur, feathers, scales and slime

What do kids learn about animals in science?

Kids are natural animal experts, and science gives that curiosity a structure. Young learners sort animals by what they look like and where they live. Then they learn the big groups: mammals, birds, fish, reptiles, amphibians and insects, each with clues like fur, feathers or scales. Older students dig into life cycles, food chains and adaptations, like why a polar bear's thick fur helps it survive. The click moment is when a child sees a whale and says "That's a mammal, not a fish, because it breathes air!"

How we make animal science stick

Animal units can easily turn into fun facts that fade by Friday. These three moves help kids remember the big ideas.

Sort, then explain

Give each group a stack of animal picture cards and let them sort however they like. Then share the rules they used. Most groups land close to the real classes, and you introduce mammals, birds and reptiles as the scientist's version of their sort.

Why it works: going from real objects to pictures to symbols is a core recommendation of the U.S. Department of Education's elementary math guide.

Mammal Classification WorksheetTry it withMammal Classification WorksheetWorksheetsOpen it →

Sing the animal groups

A catchy song gives kids a hook for the classification clues. We play it during transitions for a week, then pause it and let kids fill in the next animal group. It's amazing how many hands go up.

Why it works: words set to a repeating melody are easier to recall than the same words spoken (Wallace, 1994).

Animal Song (Animated Music Video)Try it withAnimal Song (Animated Music Video)SongsOpen it →

Quick check, not a big test

A short reading and quiz on mammals tells you who really understands the traits. Go over the answers right away and let kids fix their own mistakes. The quick feedback is what makes it stick.

Why it works: researchers who compared ten study methods found practice testing is one of the two that work best (Dunlosky and colleagues, 2013).

Learning about Mammals WorksheetTry it withLearning about Mammals WorksheetAssessmentsOpen it →

Animal science questions from teachers and parents

What are the main animal groups kids learn?

Most elementary science covers mammals, birds, fish, reptiles, amphibians and insects. Kids learn one or two clues for each, like mammals have hair and feed their babies milk.

How do you teach animal classification to kids?

Let them sort animal pictures first, then compare their groups to the scientific ones. Tricky animals like whales, bats and penguins make great discussion starters.

What is an animal adaptation?

An adaptation is a body part or behavior that helps an animal survive where it lives. A camel's hump stores fat, and a duck's webbed feet help it swim.

What age do kids learn about animal habitats?

Kindergarten and 1st grade students match animals to homes like oceans, forests and deserts. By 3rd to 5th grade they connect habitats to food chains and adaptations.

Are these animal worksheets printable?

Yes. Every worksheet on this page is a printable PDF you can use in class or at home, and members get the whole library.