Students can learn the taxonomy of animals from the ocean, American forests, African forests and rivers and backyards while playing an interactive game titled "What Kind of Animal is This?" on the Sheppard Software website. Animated background scenes with different types of animals prompt players to categorize the animals throughout the game in rapid-fire succession. The Ocean Animals game requires players to separate ocean animals into the categories of fish, mammal, bird, crustacean, mollusk and reptile while the American Forest Animals games categorizes the animals into mammals, reptiles, birds, amphibians and insects.
The Animal Characteristics Game on the Sheppard Software website allows students to sort different animal characteristics into classifications of fish, birds, amphibians, reptiles and mammals or the category of all animals. Players drag and drop characteristics such as "warm blooded," "hard-shelled eggs" or "four legs" into containers marked for each animal category. This site also has an animal classification webpage that describes the differences between mammals, birds, reptiles, fish and amphibians, in addition to offering games about warm- and cold-blooded animals and animal babies.
An animal taxonomy scavenger hunt is a fun way to engage students in educational activities. EdZone has a downloadable Word document template that allows students to go on an Animal Classification Scavenger Hunt, finding animals for each category such as birds, reptiles or insects. This game can be played in the real world, looking for real-life examples of the animal classifications, or the search can be done online using recommended websites. Taking this checklist to a zoo is a fun field trip activity as well.
The Smithsonian Institute offers a downloadable sheet to take to the National Zoo, which could be used in any zoo or even in any neighborhood. The sheet asks students to identify animals that have different characteristics such as fur, whiskers or different colors. Quia offers a simulated game show that requires players to answer multiple choice animal classification questions for graduated amounts of virtual money. Quizlet has 12 flashcard sets for the topic of animal taxonomy, which include printable and virtual flashcards, worksheets and quizzes.