🐘 Animal groups
A five-minute lesson. Tap play and I’ll read every step, or read along and tap 🔊 on any step.
Sorting animals
Scientists sort animals into groups by what their bodies are like. Here are six groups.
Mammals
Mammals have hair or fur, breathe air, and feed their babies milk. People are mammals, and so are whales.
Birds
Birds have feathers, wings and a beak, and hatch from eggs with hard shells. Not every bird can fly.
Reptiles
Reptiles have dry skin covered in scales, and most lay eggs on land. They warm up in the Sun.
Amphibians and fish
Amphibians, like frogs, start life in water and have soft, wet skin. Fish live in water their whole lives and breathe through gills.
No backbone
Most animals have no backbone at all: insects, spiders, crabs, octopuses and jellyfish.
Quiz: three questions
Draw it, and try it at home
Fold a sheet of paper into six boxes. Draw one animal from each group, and write the group's name under it. Then try this at home: Gather toy animals, or pictures from a magazine. Sort them into the six groups. Which ones were hard to sort, and why?
For teachers: Grades 1–4
- NGSS 4-LS1-1: Animals have structures that support survival, growth, behavior and reproduction.