Classroom Activities: Classifying Animals

These classroom activities are designed to complement the Classifying Animals topic on BrainPOP Jr.

Smallest and Largest
What is the largest mammal? What is the smallest amphibian? What is the longest reptile? What is the largest arachnid, and the tiniest insect? Have your students visit a library or research on the Internet to answer different questions about the smallest and largest animal. Then as a math connection, cut lengths of string to represent each animal and line them up from smallest to largest. You can create word problems using the measurements and have partners answer them.

Trip to the Zoo

If possible, take your class to the zoo. Before you go, research different animals and discuss their habitats and feeding habits. Learn about how the lives of these animals are changing. Make sure you review proper rules of conduct at the zoo. You may want to provide your students with a checklist of different animals to explore. They can take notes, write down interesting facts or ask questions, and photograph or draw pictures. When you get back to the classroom, discuss which animals belong to which group, and how the students were able to deduce this.

Create an Animal

Have your students create their own animal and write a fact sheet about it. Is it a vertebrate or an invertebrate? Is it a mammal or a bird (or even a combination of the two)? Your students can draw pictures, write stories using their animals as characters, or create a model of their animal. Then have them share their animals with the whole class.