animal research project for middle school

Writing Unit of Study: Animal Research Project

This free animal research project will provide you with a writing unit of study that will help you build excitement about writing informational text in your classroom.

You can download this free animal research project to help your writers develop their research and writing skills.

This project will be a great fit for your first, second or third grade writing workshop.

This is another free resource for teachers and homeschool families from The Curriculum Corner.

Why should I introduce my students to research through animal study?

Animal research can be a great topic for writing informational text because students tend to be curious about animals.

Nothing seems to spark interest in most kids like learning about animals in our world. Turn their enthusiasm into an engaging animal research writing project.

They can take the time to learn about different habitats and diets.

You can also encourage students to expand their vocabulary by having them create a glossary to accompany their writing.

About this animal research project

Within this post you will find over 30 pages of anchor charts, mini-lesson ideas, writing planners and graphic organizers.

The unit will help guide your students through the complete process. In the end, you will be helping to teach your students how to write their own pieces of informational text.

The intended end product for students is an animal booklet that they can staple together to share with others.

Students who are ready for more advanced work, can create a larger project with less direction.

A description of the mini-lessons

Lesson 1: introduction.

• Begin the unit by having the students brainstorm a list of animals that they might see everyday.
• Then, have them brainstorm a list of animals they see when they visit the zoo or walk in the forest. You can do this on the blank anchor chart provided or on cart paper.
• Another option is to place students in groups. They could work to create a list together.  
• You might assign each group a continent and have them find animals that live there.
• Pull the class together and have each group share what animals they found that live on their continent.

Lesson 2: Noticings

• Next you might want to get your students familiar with common characteristics about informational texts that teach about animals.
• Have them work in pairs or small groups to go through some books and record their “noticings” about the writing.
• Then come together in a community circle to discuss those noticings and create a class anchor chart.

Lesson 3: Opinion vs. Facts

• Before getting truly into this unit, you might need to conduct a lesson on opinions vs. facts.
• After a brief discussion you can use the giraffe paragraph provided in our resources to give your students some practice differentiating between the two. This paragraph contains both opinions and facts.
• With your class read through the paragraph and record facts and opinions on the T-chart.
• Discuss both sides and how they are different from each other.
• A black & white copy of this giraffe paragraph has also been provided.  You can have them work in pairs or groups to distinguish between the facts and opinions.
• If you need more resources for your students surrounding fact & opinion check out our   Fact & Opinion Sort .

Lesson 4: Choosing a Topic for the Animal Research Project

• We want to help students to narrow their topic choices by giving them some guidance.
• Gather students and begin a discussion about choosing an animal research topic.
• For this lesson we have provided two pages where students can individually brainstorm the animals they are interested in.
• You might have students work in groups or independently to make their choice. Conference with students as needed to help.
• Don’t shy away from letting more than one student research about the same animal.  This can be a great way to promote group work. It might also help out with some of your literacy center choices throughout this unit.

Lesson 5: Good Places to Find Information about an Animal

• At this age we want students to begin to understand that all they read online about animals isn’t always true. Sometimes writing might sound true without being filled with facts.
• Show students two possible places to find information online about their animal. One should be a trusted site with reliable and accurate information. Another should be a site that perhaps a child has created.  (There are many that you can find if you search.)
• Pose these questions: Is everything on the internet true? Why?  How can you tell? Why is it important for your research writing to contain accurate information?

Lesson 6: Taking Notes

• Sometimes giving students resources and a blank sheet of notebook paper can be too overwhelming for them. Some students will copy word for word. Others might feel overwhelmed.  We need to guide them to read and pull out facts & relevant information to use later in their writing.
• For this lesson we have provided four templates for note-taking that you might choose to use for your students.
• You might need to provide different organizers to students depending on their needs.
• You will want to model the organizers your students are use. Show them how to take notes as they read.
• After initial teaching, you may find that you need to pull small groups for extra practice. Others might benefit from a conference as you take a look at the notes they are taking.

Lesson 7: Word Choice in Research Writing

• To help students think about making their writing more interesting, have them brainstorm words about their animal.
• Together brainstorm words that would be appropriate for animals. They might add words about what they look like, their movement, their habitats, their life cycles, their diets, etc. You can create a class anchor chart on the page provided.  You might even think about using the real life picture of the wolf in the download. This can get the students to begin thinking of more interesting words for animals (fierce, mighty, strong, etc).
• Then, pass out the individual brainstorm pages. Students can use the anchor chart as a guide to begin their own word choice pages about their animal. This might be a good partner activity as well.

Lesson 8: Writing Sketch for the Animal Research Project

• Next, you can model the writing sketch planner for your class.
• One idea to help your students narrow down all of the information they have learned about their animals is to give them a specific number of animals facts that they can focus on.
• Each of these facts can serve as the actual text that they will put on each page of their animal research book. Or the facts could serve as a focus for each paragraph in their writing.
• You might find that this would be a good mini-lesson to do with smaller groups of children.

Lesson 9: Creating a Table of Contents

• Another idea that can be a writing planner AND a page in their animal research book is the table of contents. Pull out one of the Table of Contents pages from the resources provided and model how to fill in the blanks on each page.
• This page will then serve as their Table of Contents (with a focus discussion on what that is and the purpose it serves) and also their writing planner so they know what they will put in the pages of their booklet.

Lesson 10: Creating a Glossary

• There are two pages provided in the resources that might help your students to learn to pull out topic specific words to put into a glossary for the end of their animal research book.
• Be sure to model how you would like for your students to use these organizers (keeping in mind that you may need to copy more than one page if there are more words than the page provides for).
• If your students need a refresher on ABC order check out these links for some added practice/review: ABC Order Task Cards & Fry Word ABC Order Task Cards

Lesson 11: Writing Your Animal Research

• You will decide on the best method for your students to showcase their published animal research.
• You may want your students to use their own creativity in the texts that they write and share. If you’d like a first experience to provide a bit more guidance, we have provided two different sets of pages for booklets.
• One is more guided and the other has less structure and smaller lines for more writing.  15 pages are provided so that you or students can pick what fits their needs.
• This “lesson” may actually become a series of lessons if you choose to model how each page can be used.  (We have also included a page with simple writing lines in case students need less guidance than the booklet pages provided.)

Lesson 12: Labeling Pictures

• One final lesson idea that pairs well with writing informational text is to teach your students how to label pictures.
• Since most nonfiction writing has real photographs, students can find some pictures online to print out and label for their booklet.  Hand-drawn pictures are also great if you would rather encourage some or all of your students in that direction.
• Whatever you choose, show your class how to effectively label a picture so that it teaches the reader more.  You can use the picture of the polar bear provided to model how to add words or even short facts as labels.  (For example if the simple label “fur” wouldn’t add additional information to the book, you might teach them to label it with a short fact such as “dense fur protects the animal’s skin from the weather”.
• To make this idea more user friendly, you might want them to use the page of blank white boxes provided to write their labels for their pictures.  Then all they need to do is cut them out and glue them to a printed picture.

Lesson 13: Writing Celebration

As always, find a way to celebrate your students’ writing.  

Invite guests (younger students or special adults) to read the books with your young authors. You might simply want to pair or group them, or some students might choose to present their book to everyone.  

Provide some light snacks if possible to give it a party atmosphere and pass out the author certificates to each child for his/her hard work.

You can download this free writing unit of study here:

Writing Download

As with all of our resources, The Curriculum Corner creates these for free classroom use. Our products may not be sold. You may print and copy for your personal classroom use. These are also great for home school families!

You may not modify and resell in any form. Please let us know if you have any questions.

Christine E.

Saturday 8th of May 2021

Thank you so much for this resource and the many pages that I can use in my homeschooling. It is exactly what I've been looking for to help me get my kids to write about our animal units! You are doing a great job, keep up the amazing work you do. I appreciate the hard work you put into putting these together.

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Saturday 14th of July 2018

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The Best Middle School Animal Adaptations Project

Do you know what a Beargle is? Neither did I. Not until one of my students turned in this fictional creature as a project. In case you were wondering, it’s half bear, half eagle. This middle school animal adaptations project is pure magic. 

I created this out of sheer desperation, knowing I had to teach animal adaptations and having no idea what to do. It turned out to be one of my favorite things I’ve ever made. There are about a hundred different versions of this project online. The students create an animal with different adaptations, draw it, and write about it. This is that. 

Except, this is NOT that. 

Teaching 8th grade science, I knew I needed something that was going to not just be fluff. It needed to be rigorous, yet capture their imagination. 

Nailed it! 

Imagination Meets Research

My students were super interested when they heard they were going to create their own animal!

I mean, who doesn’t want to make a scorpion wolf?! Their animal had to include five structural adaptations and three behavioral adaptations that addressed specific survival needs. 

They got a planning sheet, helping them detail some of these requirements. Each student completed their own research on animal adaptations. If they wanted their animal to be an herbivore, they looked up what herbivores needed to survive. They really did a good job finding adaptations and meeting the requirements. 

After they finished their research, they named their animal and created a Google Slides presentation addressing each adaptation and it helped their animal survive. 

If you’re looking for the perfect, no prep activity to teach structural and behavioral adaptation before introducing this project, you can find one here!

Ya’ll, these projects were bomb!

I was so impressed! I did not have high expectations (and that makes me a terrible teacher). Come on. It’s a middle school animal adaptation project… it can’t be that great. 

I got a Beargle. One student made a Butterfish – half butterfly, half fish. I will never forget the sound BeeveCoon makes… because every time the student said, “ BeeeeeeveCooooon !” she would make the sound effect too. They made models out of Legos, clay, dog toys… you name it! 

Imagination Meets Rigor

The same day the slides presentation on their animal was due, they completed the second phase of the project, answering the question, “Can my animal can survive in a mystery environment?” Based on the adaptations they gave their animal, would it survive in the rainforest, the taiga, or the desert? However, they didn’t have the locations until the last day of the project.

After some quick research, they made a claim – their animal could or could not survive in that environment. They completed two prompts using their animal’s adaptations as evidence to explain their reasoning.

Their responses were impressive! I read well thought out, clear, and accurate arguments. They told me exactly what adaptations allowed their animal to live there. Definitely a winning moment for me!

Show It Off

Once I realized HOW COOL these turned out, I knew we had to display them. We added their presentations to a QR code and put them in the display case in the hallway. I wish I had taken a picture, because they looked SO AWESOME. Parents came through at conferences and could scan the QR code to look at the presentations. 

Finally, here’s my last favorite part of my project. It takes about a week of class time to complete. I’m all about having kids work instead of talking at them.

I’m serious. This middle school animal animal adaptations project is a MUST HAVE if you teach life science. Imagination meets rigor . That’s the only way to do it. Grab your copy of this project here!

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Criteria for determining retention periods

In any other circumstances, we will retain your information for no longer than necessary, taking into account the following:

• the purpose(s) and use of your information both now and in the future (such as whether it is necessary to continue to store that information in order to continue to perform our obligations under a contract with you or to contact you in the future);
• whether we have any legal obligation to continue to process your information (such as any record-keeping obligations imposed by relevant law or regulation);
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• how valuable your information is (both now and in the future);
• any relevant agreed industry practices on how long information should be retained;
• the levels of risk, cost and liability involved with us continuing to hold the information;
• how hard it is to ensure that the information can be kept up to date and accurate; and
• any relevant surrounding circumstances (such as the nature and status of our relationship with you).

We take appropriate technical and organisational measures to secure your information and to protect it against unauthorised or unlawful use and accidental loss or destruction, including:

• only sharing and providing access to your information to the minimum extent necessary, subject to confidentiality restrictions where appropriate, and on an anonymised basis wherever possible;
• using secure servers to store your information;
• verifying the identity of any individual who requests access to information prior to granting them access to information;
• using Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) software to encrypt any payment transactions you make on or via our website;
• only transferring your information via closed system or encrypted data transfers;

Transmission of information to us by email

Transmission of information over the internet is not entirely secure, and if you submit any information to us over the internet (whether by email, via our website or any other means), you do so entirely at your own risk.

We cannot be responsible for any costs, expenses, loss of profits, harm to reputation, damages, liabilities or any other form of loss or damage suffered by you as a result of your decision to transmit information to us by such means.

Your information may be transferred and stored outside the European Economic Area (EEA) in the circumstances set out earlier in this policy.

We will also transfer your information outside the EEA or to an international organisation in order to comply with legal obligations to which we are subject (compliance with a court order, for example). Where we are required to do so, we will ensure appropriate safeguards and protections are in place.

Subject to certain limitations on certain rights, you have the following rights in relation to your information, which you can exercise by writing to the data controller using the details provided at the top of this policy.

• to request access to your information and information related to our use and processing of your information;
• to request the correction or deletion of your information;
• to request that we restrict our use of your information;
• to receive information which you have provided to us in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format (e.g. a CSV file) and the right to have that information transferred to another data controller (including a third-party data controller);
• to object to the processing of your information for certain purposes (for further information, see the section below entitled Your right to object to the processing of your information for certain purposes); and
• to withdraw your consent to our use of your information at any time where we rely on your consent to use or process that information. Please note that if you withdraw your consent, this will not affect the lawfulness of our use and processing of your information on the basis of your consent before the point in time when you withdraw your consent.

In accordance with Article 77 of the General Data Protection Regulation, you also have the right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority, in particular in the Member State of your habitual residence, place of work or of an alleged infringement of the General Data Protection Regulation.

Further information on your rights in relation to your personal data as an individual

You can find out further information about your rights, as well as information on any limitations which apply to those rights, by reading the underlying legislation contained in Articles 12 to 22 and 34 of the General Data Protection Regulation, which is available here: http://ec.europa.eu/justice/data-protection/reform/files/regulation_oj_en.pdf

Verifying your identity where you request access to your information

Where you request access to your information, we are required by law to use all reasonable measures to verify your identity before doing so.

These measures are designed to protect your information and to reduce the risk of identity fraud, identity theft or general unauthorised access to your information.

How we verify your identity

Where we possess appropriate information about you on file, we will attempt to verify your identity using that information.

If it is not possible to identity you from such information, or if we have insufficient information about you, we may require original or certified copies of certain documentation in order to be able to verify your identity before we are able to provide you with access to your information.

We will be able to confirm the precise information we require to verify your identity in your specific circumstances if and when you make such a request.

Your right to object

You have the following rights in relation to your information, which you may exercise in the same way as you may exercise by writing to the data controller using the details provided at the top of this policy.

• to object to us using or processing your information where we use or process it in order
• to  carry out a task in the public interest or for our legitimate interests , including ‘profiling’ (i.e. analysing or predicting your behaviour based on your information) based on any of these purposes; and
• to object to us using or processing your information for  direct marketing purposes (including any profiling we engage in that is related to such direct marketing).

You may also exercise your right to object to us using or processing your information for direct marketing purposes by:

• clicking the unsubscribe link contained at the bottom of any marketing email we send to you and following the instructions which appear in your browser following your clicking on that link;
• sending an email to [email protected]         , asking that we stop sending you marketing communications or by including the words “OPT OUT”.

Sensitive Personal Information

‘Sensitive personal information’ is information about an individual that reveals their racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, or trade union membership, genetic information, biometric information for the purpose of uniquely identifying an individual, information concerning health or information concerning a natural person’s sex life or sexual orientation.

Our website does not allow you to register any ‘Sensitive Information’, however if we ask for this, you will be considered to have explicitly consented to us processing that sensitive personal information under Article 9(2)(a) of the General Data Protection Regulation.

We update and amend our Privacy Policy from time to time.

Minor changes to our Privacy Policy 

Where we make minor changes to our Privacy Policy, we will update our Privacy Policy with a new effective date stated at the beginning of it. Our processing of your information will be governed by the practices set out in that new version of the Privacy Policy from its effective date onwards.

Major changes to our Privacy Policy or the purposes for which we process your information 

Where we make major changes to our Privacy Policy or intend to use your information for a new purpose or a different purpose than the purposes for which we originally collected it, we will notify you by email (where possible) or by posting a notice on our website.

We will provide you with the information about the change in question and the purpose and any other relevant information before we use your information for that new purpose.

Wherever required, we will obtain your prior consent before using your information for a purpose that is different from the purposes for which we originally collected it.

Because we care about the safety and privacy of children online, we comply with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 (COPPA). COPPA and its accompanying regulations protect the privacy of children using the internet. We do not knowingly contact or collect information from persons under the age of 18. The website is not intended to solicit information of any kind from persons under the age of 18.

It is possible that we could receive information pertaining to persons under the age of 18 by the fraud or deception of a third party. If we are notified of this, as soon as we verify the information, we will, where required by law to do so, immediately obtain the appropriate parental consent to use that information or, if we are unable to obtain such parental consent, we will delete the information from our servers. If you would like to notify us of our receipt of information about persons under the age of 18, please do so by contacting us by using the details at the top of this policy.

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OUR COOKIES AND YOU

Hello! If you are reading this, then you care about privacy – and your privacy is very important to us. Cookies are an important part of almost all online companies these days, and this page describes what they are, how we use them, what data they collect, and most importantly, how you can change your browser settings to turn them off.

WHAT IS A COOKIE?

A cookie is a file containing an identifier (a string of letters and numbers) that is sent by a web server to a web browser and is stored by the browser. The identifier is then sent back to the server each time the browser requests a page from the server.

Cookies may be either “persistent” cookies or “session” cookies: a persistent cookie will be stored by a web browser and will remain valid until its set expiry date, unless deleted by the user before the expiry date; a session cookie, on the other hand, will expire at the end of the user session, when the web browser is closed.

Cookies do not typically contain any information that personally identifies a user, but personal information that we store about you may be linked to the information stored in and obtained from cookies.

HOW WE USE COOKIES?

We use cookies for a number of different purposes. Some cookies are necessary for technical reasons; some enable a personalized experience for both visitors and registered users; and some allow the display of advertising from selected third party networks. Some of these cookies may be set when a page is loaded, or when a visitor takes a particular action (clicking the “like” or “follow” button on a post, for example).

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Animal Studies and School Project Ideas

From Science Fair Project Ideas on Mammals to Experiments About Insects

David Williams / EyeEm / Getty Images

• Cell Biology
• Weather & Climate
• B.A., Biology, Emory University
• A.S., Nursing, Chattahoochee Technical College

Animal research is important for understanding various biological processes in animals , humans included. Scientists study animals in order to learn ways for improving their agricultural health, our methods of wildlife preservation, and even the potential for human companionship. These studies also take advantage of certain animal and human similarities to discover new methods for improving human health.

Learning From Animals

Researching animals to improve human health is possible because animal behavior experiments study disease development and transmission as well as animal viruses . Both of these fields of study help researchers to understand how disease interacts between and within animals.

We can also learn about humans by observing normal and abnormal behavior in non-human animals, or behavioral studies. The following animal project ideas help to introduce animal behavioral study in many different species. Be sure to get permission from your instructor before beginning any animal science projects or behavioral experiments, as some science fairs prohibit these. Select a single species of animal to study from each subset, if not specified, for best results.

Amphibian and Fish Project Ideas

• Does temperature affect tadpole growth?
• Do water pH levels affect tadpole growth?
• Does water temperature affect amphibian respiration?
• Does magnetism affect limb regeneration in newts?
• Does water temperature affect fish color?
• Does the size of a population of fish affect individual growth?
• Does music affect fish activity?
• Does the amount of light affect fish activity?

Bird Project Ideas

• What species of plants attract hummingbirds?
• How does temperature affect bird migration patterns?
• What factors increase egg production?
• Do different bird species prefer different colors of birdseed?
• Do birds prefer to eat in a group or alone?
• Do birds prefer one type of habitat over another?
• How does deforestation affect bird nesting?
• How do birds interact with manmade structures?
• Can birds be taught to sing a certain tune?

Insect Project Ideas

• How does temperature affect the growth of butterflies?
• How does light affect ants?
• Do different colors attract or repel insects?
• How does air pollution affect insects?
• How do insects adapt to pesticides?
• Do magnetic fields affect insects?
• Does soil acidity affect insects?
• Do insects prefer the food of a certain color?
• Do insects behave differently in populations of different sizes?
• What factors cause crickets to chirp more often?
• What substances do mosquitoes find attractive or repellent?

Mammal Project Ideas

• Does light variation affect mammal sleep habits?
• Do cats or dogs have better night vision?
• Does music affect an animal's mood?
• Do bird sounds affect cat behavior?
• Which mammal sense has the greatest effect on short-term memory?
• Does dog saliva have antimicrobial properties?
• Does colored water affect mammal drinking habits?
• What factors influence how many hours a cat sleeps in a day?

How to write an animal report

Your teacher wants a written report on the beluga whale . Not to worry. Use these organizational tools from the Nat Geo Kids Almanac so you can stay afloat while writing a report.

STEPS TO SUCCESS:

Your report will follow the format of a descriptive or expository essay and should consist of a main idea, followed by supporting details and a conclusion. Use this basic structure for each paragraph as well as the whole report, and you’ll be on the right track.

Introduction

State your main idea .

The beluga whale is a common and important species of whale.

Provide supporting points for your main idea.

1. The beluga whale is one of the smallest whale species.

2. It is also known as the “white whale” because of its distinctive coloring.

3. These whales are common in the Arctic Ocean’s coastal waters.

Then expand on those points with further description, explanation, or discussion.

1a. Belugas range in size from 13 to 20 feet (4 to 6.1 m) in length.

2a. Belugas are born gray or brown. They fade to white at around five years old.

3a. Some Arctic belugas migrate south in large herds when sea ice freezes over.

Wrap it up with a summary of your whole paper.

Because of its unique coloring and unusual features, belugas are among the most familiar and easily distinguishable of all the whales.

Key Information

Here are some things you should consider including in your report:

What does your animal look like? To what other species is it related? How does it move? Where does it live? What does it eat? What are its predators? How long does it live? Is it endangered? Why do you find it interesting?

SEPARATE FACT FROM FICTION: Your animal may have been featured in a movie or in myths and legends. Compare and contrast how the animal has been portrayed with how it behaves in reality. For example, penguins can’t dance the way they do in Happy Feet.

PROOFREAD AND REVISE: As with any essay, when you’re finished, check for misspellings, grammatical mistakes, and punctuation errors. It often helps to have someone else proofread your work, too, as he or she may catch things you have missed. Also, look for ways to make your sentences and paragraphs even better. Add more descriptive language, choosing just the right verbs, adverbs, and adjectives to make your writing come alive.

BE CREATIVE: Use visual aids to make your report come to life. Include an animal photo file with interesting images found in magazines or printed from websites. Or draw your own! You can also build a miniature animal habitat diorama. Use creativity to help communicate your passion for the subject.

THE FINAL RESULT: Put it all together in one final, polished draft. Make it neat and clean, and remember to cite your references.

Download the pdf .

More resources

Homework help, science lab, (ad) national geographic kids almanac.

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5 Animal Research Websites for Students

• stayingcoolinthelibrary
• February 24, 2019
• Lesson Plans , Research

Ready to do some animal research? Finding trustworthy and appropriate animal websites for students to use can be a challenge. Below are my go-to websites that you can feel confident having your students go to. Most of these sites also have videos, games and other educational activities as well.

National Geographic for Kids

DK Find Out

San Diego Zoo Kids

These websites below do have some advertisements on them.

Animal Fact Guide

Ready to research and use these animal websites for students?

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Privacy Overview

A Virtual Animal Behavior Research Project for an Introductory Biology Course

In December 2019, I was preparing to teach the lab section for the second half of an introductory biology sequence, which includes evolution, form and function, and ecology. I’d taught this course many times in the past, though I hadn’t for a few years before 2019. I knew I wanted to move away from rote learning through memorization or canned laboratory activities, and to create an authentic experience that would allow me the overarching theme of developing students’ scientific skills, as well as their science identity. Therefore, I redesigned the course so that our scheduled lab time was used for knowledge and skill development. The course focused on the research skills in the Vision and Change Biology Core Concepts (AAAS 2011) and supporting literature outlining how to apply the core concepts (Branchaw et al. 2020) so that students developed the necessary skills to conduct the research project at the end of the course.

Unfortunately, my initial plans were sidelined by the ongoing global pandemic, which required a portion of our laboratory activities to be conducted virtually. I ended up developing a multiweek virtual model to develop basic scientific knowledge and skills using BioInteractive resources that culminated in an eight-week-long animal behavior research project.

In developing this course, I focused on skill development because it’s essential for building confidence. When students are more confident in their skills, this confidence generates a sense of belonging in science, contributing to their science identity. This is essential for retention of students identified historically as Persons Excluded because of their Ethnicity or Race (PEERs), who may be marginalized and less comfortable in the science environment (Asai 2020).

Ethogram and Time-Budget Study

In order to move students toward more open-ended experiments, I chose ethograms with a time-budget study as their final research project. Ethograms are used in the field of animal behavior to collect data during observations and require making a series of field observations that result in a catalog of behaviors and activities identified by the observer.

For this research project, students conducted independent ethological research observing the behavior of an animal species of their choice. I asked students to choose between focusing on a group of animals or an individual, since these require different observational techniques. In observing a group of animals via webcam, students needed to understand that they should focus on one individual of the group for set intervals. Students could also choose to focus on an individual animal for longer and more frequent observations, though that comes with its own limitations.

Initial observations of specific behaviors helped students construct their data-collection instruments, which are used to construct a basic ethogram. Students determined how they would collect data, which helped to develop observational skills and rudimentary experimental design. I provided students with some examples of ethogram templates. (Many zoos have a basic version posted for students, such as this one: Virtual Classroom | Animal Ethograms - Denver Zoo .)

Finally, students used the list of behaviors they collected for their ethogram to observe their animal(s) several more times. They were required to create a data-collection tool to record the number of times each behavior was observed during a specified period of time for at least three more observation periods. These data were used to create a time-budget study, which is a study that identifies the activities an animal is performing in order to determine how the animal uses its energy during a specific time period.

Overall, ethograms and time-budget studies ease students into research before they are introduced to experimental variables and more advanced research methodology. Plus, it’s fun because they choose their own study animal, so it allows for an authentic final assessment in which students demonstrate the skills they have learned and take ownership of their project.

Weekly Modules

For context, this course consisted of a three-credit lecture and a one-credit lab. The first six weeks of the 15-week laboratory portion were conducted in a synchronous virtual format, using BioInteractive materials to teach the basic skills necessary to start the ethogram project. (The first six weeks, as well as the culminating project description, are presented here.) Starting in Week 7, we also conducted in-person lab activities that enhanced students’ background knowledge on animal behavior and taxonomy. All work for the ethogram project was submitted through the course learning management system.

Week 1: Science Literacy Part 1 & Evaluating Science in the News

The first week of lab class introduced students to the process of science by having them evaluate scientific news articles to prepare them for the literature review of their animal behavior project. During our synchronous meeting time, I provided a minilecture on scientific literacy, pseudoscience, and understanding logical fallacies, followed by a short quiz using an online polling system. I then assigned students into breakout groups. Each team completed the short handout for the activity “Evaluating Science in the News,” which involves using the CRAP (Currency, Reliability, Authority, and Purpose) test to evaluate a science news source.

Each team evaluated a “science” article about SARS-CoV-2 that was filled with misinformation by filling out the handout. I assigned the extended version of the “ Scientist Role Models” activity as homework because I wanted them to begin creating their science identity so that they considered themselves as scientists.

Week 2: Scientific Literacy Part 2: Reading Scientific Articles

During Week 2, we continued exploring scientific literacy to scaffold skills they learned in Week 1. The synchronous virtual meeting began with a case study activity that provided students with information about experimental design and basic data analysis. This case study also showed an animal observation study in which there is no laboratory experiment, but data were still collected based on a hypothesis.

We discussed the case study as a class, with students responding in the chat or out loud. Once we completed the case study, I created teams for another article analysis activity. We used this activity to become familiar with the structure of a scientific paper and describe what kind of information is provided in each section (abstract, introduction, methods, results, and conclusion). The activity goals were:

• Identify hypotheses in scientific writing.
• Evaluate evidence in support of a claim in scientific and journalistic writing.
• Identify appropriate search terms.
• Effectively search library databases to find relevant peer-reviewed scientific literature.
• Gain experience reviewing peer-reviewed literature.

Here are guiding questions that I asked students to keep in mind when reading a scientific article. (I also provided an optional resource article: “How to (Seriously) Read a Scientific Paper.” )

• What basic research question are the authors trying to answer?
• What makes that research question significant? (That is, why try to answer that question? Why does it matter?)
• What data did the authors collect?
• What is the authors’ interpretation of their data?
• Do you think that the data they collected supports their conclusions? Why or why not?

This activity consisted of two parts:

Part 1: I reviewed how scientists formulate a hypothesis, test it, and share their information with their peers through publication. I briefly introduced a topic using a short video. While students watched the video, I asked them to focus on how an observation, no matter how trivial, could help form a testable scientific question and emphasized that observation is the beginning of all scientific investigations.

I used a video about penguin defecation to maintain the theme of research related to animal observation. It gave students a chuckle, but is related to actual research, which they review in Part 2 of the activity.

Part 2: Students were divided into groups to read an article about penguin defecation ( Meyer-Rochow and Gal 2003 ) related to the research depicted in the video. Students were asked to work as a team to identify various components of the article, including the scientist’s hypothesis, the evidence used to accept or reject the hypothesis, and whether the hypothesis was accepted or rejected. For the activity, students chose one person from their group to be the notetaker and one person to report back to the entire class when we reconvened.

When the groups finished, we reconvened and students shared out. I recommend doing this as a group activity after they watch the video, with a follow-up discussion, because both of my sections found this particularly difficult. The article was a bit complex for them to understand, but as we talked through it, they understood the importance of becoming familiar with primary literature. I also reminded students that they were not expected to fully understand the paper.

Homework for Week 2 consisted of a similar reading assignment that related to the work they would do in Week 4 (Lizard Evolution Lab). Students watched a BioInteractive video on reproductive isolation and speciation in lizards , then read “Rapid evolution of a native species following invasion by a congener” ( Stuart et al. 2014 ).

In the directions for the article analysis, I reminded students that they were working toward a course goal of being able to understand scientific journal articles. I also allayed students’ concerns about the complexity of the article by reassuring them that I would do my best to teach them the background information needed to understand each article before we read it. I also told them to focus their attention on what they wanted to glean from the article.

Week 3: Sampling Distribution Lab

During Week 3, students were introduced to graph analysis and the concept of sample distributions using the Sampling and Normal Distribution Click & Learn and its accompanying worksheet. I converted the worksheet to a Google Form that students could easily fill out and submit online, since they would be working asynchronously. During the synchronous meeting, we did a quick recap of the article that students read for their homework from Week 2. I also showed the annotated summary of the same article entitled “There's a new kid in town” posted on Science in the Classroom .

After the article discussion, I did a minilecture on sampling distribution and how to use the Click & Learn. I then allowed students to work individually or in teams during class time. I stayed online in the virtual classroom so that students could pop in if they had questions for me. This activity proved to be difficult for some students, so I set up individual virtual meetings to go over their questions. No homework was assigned this week as they were working on the activity asynchronously.

Week 4: Lizard Evolution Lab

Week 4 included one of the favorite activities for both of my groups. Like in Week 3, I spent the synchronous meeting time showing students how to use the Lizard Evolution Virtual Lab and its accompanying worksheet. I also showed the related video The Origin of Species: Lizards in an Evolutionary Tree , which helped students understand how the data for the virtual lab were collected. I reminded them that observational skills were key to this research and that this was the research from the article they read in Week 2.

As in Week 3, I converted the worksheet questions into a Google Form. Similarly, no homework was assigned as they worked on this virtual lab asynchronously.

Week 5: Animal Behavior & Communication Part 1

Students were now ready to apply their skills. For Week 5, I used the synchronous time to go over the following topics with students via videos, a minilecture, and exemplars of previous work:

• How to keep a field journal (discussion and examples posted)
• Overview on ethograms and how they are created (videos and examples posted)
• Various types of animal behaviors that can be observed and methods of sampling animal behavior (videos)

I found several good video examples on YouTube and various examples of ethograms, which I also posted in the learning management system.

For homework, students reviewed the materials, then conducted an initial observation of an animal species of their choice. I’ve written about a similar project here: “Teaching Ecology and Animal Behavior in an Online Setting.” These observations helped them decide on the animal species they would like to study.

I also asked them to find at least two peer-reviewed articles about their animal species. I will admit that I was surprised that, at this point, students struggled with understanding what this meant. Many started off with non-peer-reviewed resources, such as encyclopedias and popular websites. I provided feedback on their resources and did not award the points for the assignment until they submitted peer-reviewed articles. In some cases, this took a virtual meeting to discuss this with students.

Week 6: Animal Behavior & Communication Part 2

For Week 6, students were introduced to a more in-depth example of animal observations so they could apply their problem-solving skills, as well as the knowledge we had learned in class thus far. This example really created a deeper understanding of the process of science once students saw how it was done.

For the synchronous class time, we used the How Animals Use Sound to Communicate Click & Learn. Students were provided with a Google Doc version of the accompanying worksheet so they could fill it in as we worked through the Click & Learn. With the class, I clicked through and discussed the “Introduction” slides to provide students with the knowledge base for the activity.

On Slides 3 and 4, students watched a video of the various animal behaviors identified and defined by the researchers. On Slide 3, I played the video and asked students to try to identify which of the auditory signals they observed the animals using. After this, we moved to Slide 4, which has the same video but highlights the auditory signals that students should have observed. This really showed that observational work, especially when there are multiple animals, is difficult.

This example connected with what students should have done during their observations the previous week. The example also assisted them in that week’s homework, which was constructing their data-collection tool. In addition, we discussed how animals use sound to communicate as we continued to watch the videos. This was much more interesting than reading about animal behavior in their textbook!

At this point, students should also have been thinking about the types of behaviors they could have been observing in Week 5. Some opted to redo their initial observation because they realized they did not adequately observe their animal. I loved that this happened because it let them experience the actual process of science in action. In other words, they realized that their original observational skills were not honed and were better able to understand the types of behaviors they should be looking for in their chosen species.

Once we finished the introduction of the Click & Learn, as a class, we worked through the first case study about how elephants communicate across long distances. This case study begins with an introduction to various types of elephant sounds and describes the combination of low- and high-frequency vocalizations used in elephant communication. This is a great thinking exercise that shows students how observational research can be used to develop a quantitative research study.

As homework for this week, students were asked to revise/develop descriptions of the behaviors they had identified. Then, they developed a definition for each behavior and created their data-collection sheet for the time-budget study.

The time-budget study was created by each student based on the list of behaviors they had generated. Once they identified the timeframe (e.g., observing animals for two 15-minute intervals twice per week at a specific time of day) for their observations, they would count how many times the animal presented with each behavior within the time they observed the animal. This is where they would use the ethogram to create a checklist used during the time-budget study observations. They were provided with a detailed instruction sheet for the entire project.

Once students submitted their data-collection table and received feedback from me (either written or via a meeting), they could start collecting data. They were required to collect data on three separate dates.

After Week 6

After working through Weeks 5 and 6, which helped students design their projects, students collected data for the rest of the semester (Weeks 7–14), with at least three separate data-collection periods required for their time-budget study. The final assessment for the course included an oral presentation of their results, as well as a written paper. I created a slide template for them and a sample of a research paper (I used a former student’s paper with permission), as many were not familiar with how to present authentic research.

After Week 6, the students met for in-person lab exercises (we were masked and in full PPE) where we practiced skills they would need to successfully complete their project. For example, they practiced behavioral observation skills via a pill-bug experiment where they made their own hypotheses and tested them.

During these final weeks, I also scheduled time to meet with students in-person to discuss issues with their projects. I tried to highlight the importance of interacting with a mentor (in this case, me) and helped them practice the skills they would use in graduate school or at work.

All but one student out of 30 successfully completed the project. The final presentations were conducted virtually. Students proudly presented their authentic research and clearly showed how they had developed their research skills with this project. I was ecstatic that students were able to accomplish so much during a global pandemic. They were able to get a feel for what it is like to work with a research mentor and develop their own research projects. I really enjoy mentoring students, and this is a perfect way to interact with them and model for them what it is to be mentored and to engage them in the process of science. Through the creation of the student-mentor bond, I was able to help them begin to see themselves as scientists. The seed for the base of their science identity was planted.

American Association for the Advancement of Science. Vision and Change in Undergraduate Biology Education: A Call to Action . Washington, DC: American Association for the Advancement of Science, 2011.

Asai, D. J. “Race Matters.” Cell 181, 4 (2020): 754–757. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2020.03.044 .

Branchaw, J. L., P. A. Pape-Lindstrom, K. D. Tanner, S. A. Bissonnette, T. L. Cary, B. A. Couch, A. J. Crowe, et al. “Resources for Teaching and Assessing the Vision and Change Biology Core Concepts. CBE—Life Sciences Education 19, 2 (2020): es1. https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.19-11-0243 .

Meyer-Rochow, V. B., and J. Gal. “Pressures produced when penguins pooh—calculations on avian defaecation.” Polar Biology 27, 1 (2003): 56–58. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-003-0563-3 .

Stuart, Y. E., T. S. Campbell, P. A. Hohenlohe, R. G. Reynolds, L. J. Revell, and J. B. Losos. “Rapid evolution of a native species following invasion by a congener.” Science 346, 6208 (2014): 463–466. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1257008 .

Melissa Haswell is currently the Associate Dean of Science and Mathematics at Delta College in Michigan. Previously, she taught introductory biology and science ethics for a biology majors program, and anatomy and physiology, and pathophysiology for the nursing program at Davenport University, a private university in Michigan. When she’s not focused on working to improve higher education, she enjoys hiking and camping with her husband and Dalmatian, Chloe, as well as reading, cooking, and spending time with their two cats.

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Glacier National Park

Essential Question

How do scientist study animals?

Students will be able to: • Discuss difference between cultures with relation to animals. • Use guiding questions to conduct effective research about animal species living in Glacier National Park. • Illustrate their animal research. • Communicate the results of their research with others.

This lesson is one part of Work House: A Glacier National Park Science and Indian Education Program. It can be completed as a stand alone lesson or as part of the greater Work House course.  The full  Work House Program  is available on Glacier National Park's website.  Background information as well as the full lesson plan can be found as a  PDF here . Assign student reading. Get books for student research. Mark specific reference pages in suggested books. Arrange internet access and download the “ Animal Field Guide, Flathead Reservation Riparian Species ” App if applicable. Review the websites referenced in the introduction for this unit. You may want to compile a list for students to use in their research or make it into more of a “webquest” with the websites provided. Have questions for research ready to handout/display and a completed example (or grading rubric if applicable) to show students of the expected report results from their research.

Preparation

• Prepare for two 50 minute class periods - one for reading/discussion, choosing animal and starting research. One to finish research and write report with animal illustration. More time needed for extension activities.
• Theme and art paper
• Pencils, colored pencils
• Internet access, encyclopedias, wildlife books, and particularly books about the animals of Glacier National Park, as well as People Before the Park by Sally Thompson, Kootenai Culture Committee & Pikunni Traditional Association
• Students should do the Student Reading for Unit 5 , pages 34-40, before starting this lesson. Use the “Checking for Understanding” questions to focus on the lesson objectives of exploring how people relate to animals, especially wild animals and the idea of sharing the Earth with other creatures. Included in the objectives is for students to realize that different people and cultures all relate differently to animals. In doing their animal research, they should be thinking of their relationship or beliefs/feelings toward wild animals and why they feel that way. How do the different ways people feel about animals influence national parks?
• Let students know that they are going to learn more about the wild animals in Glacier National Park by creating research reports of a favorite animal that they are certain lives in Glacier National Park (and if going on a field trip, one that they would like to see on their visit). Be sure that they have a second choice so that there are not duplicates. The instructor may wish to specify animals that would frequent beaver habitat, or that would live in a burned forest, or that appear in a traditional Blackfeet, Kootenai, Salish or Pend d’Oreille story (or that conform to some other precondition). There are numerous references to uses and importance of specific animals found in Glacier National Park by the Kootenai and Blackfeet in the book, People Before the Park. There are also a variety of books in the Blackfeet Reading Series and from the Salish and Kootenai Culture Committees of animal stories. The Fire on the Land Project from CSKT has a section on wildlife, and  Bull Trout’s Gift and Explore the River from CSKT has information on animals. If students have access to Apps, the CSKT Riparian Animals Field Guide is a result of CSKT putting all their animal research together in one place for people to use- could your students make an App for Glacier?
• Go over the “Questions for Animal Research” to make sure students understand what they should be trying to find out about their animal. (Perhaps having a sample to show or one from a previous year’s student will help). Show the students how to find resources in the library, and walk through the Montana Field Guide on-line to help them begin their research.
• Ask students to illustrate their writing on a separate piece of art paper. Some students may find research more to their liking if they are allowed to draw the picture first. (There are animal coloring book pages on the park website.)
• For advanced students, have them make a movie documentary of their animal research. Here is an example the park received from a student who did research on wolverines .

Questions for Animal Research

• Give the common name and scientific name of the animal you have chosen to research (and if you wish, the Blackfeet, Kootenai, Salish-Pend d’Oreille name). Give a physical description of the animal.
• How does this animal reproduce? Are the young born alive? Are they hatched from eggs?
• How does this animal care for its young? Do parents supply food directly? Do they nurse them? Are the young taught to find food or are they left on their own?
• What does this animal eat? Does it eat plants and animals (omnivorous)? Does it eat only plants (herbivorous)? Does it eat only animals (carnivorous)? The Glacier National Park Teacher’s guide has a chart of “Who eats Whom” other activities to learn about Glacier’s wildlife.
• How does this animal move about? Does it fly, walk, crawl, etc.?
• In what kind of environment does this animal live? Does it live on the ground, in the air, in water, or in a combination environment? Does this animal prefer special terrain such as alpine tundra, marsh, open meadow, forest, stream, etc. ?
• What other interesting observations can you make about this animal?
• Draw the animal in an appropriate environment on a separate sheet of art paper.

Writing Extension

When writings have been edited and drawings are completed, have the students present their reports and pictures to each other in order to share knowledge of all the animals. Choose a title and help students assemble their reports and art in a book - maybe even a field guide for a trip to Glacier!

Field Trip Extension 

• Play traditional American Indian games. Contact the International Traditional Games Society to obtain lesson plans and game kits. How did these games help children learn the skills needed to improve their observation skills of animals? 
• Family Forestry Expo  and  River Honoring  - organized annually, target specific grades and include information about wildlife.
• Invite someone from the local community or tribal government to discuss wildlife management in your area. Compare local management objectives with the National Park Service objectives.
• Invite an elder to your class to talk about wildlife experiences he/she may have had in the past.
• Contact the wildlife division for one of the Reservations and ask it it’s possible to arrange a speaker or a field trip.
• Ranger-Led Field Trips  and  Service Learning Projects  in Glacier National Park. The park’s native plant restoration program has service learning field trips for middle and high school students; the  Forest Processes  and  Fire Ecology  field trips can be modified for 3rd - 8th grade.
• Self-Guided Field Trips  as well as Guided Tours - various concession operated - in Glacier National Park.
• Glacier Institute  - geology and other education programs.
• Guided Tours in Glacier National Park - various concession operated.
• Flathead Community of Resource Educators (CORE) -  outdoor education guide for field trips  in the Flathead Region.

Carnivorous, environment, herbivorous, omnivorous, reproduction.

Assessment Materials

Play the Animal Story Guessing Game. After students have presented their stories, have them take turns telling animal stories that give vital information, except name and physical description, about some animal that lives in the park. The other students ask for clues and guess which animal is being described. Play an animal pantomime game. Have students take turns doing a silent imitation of animal behavior until the other students successfully guess which animal they are imitating. Both of these activities are fun for students and provide a good review.

Additional Resources

• Research the ten thousand acre Grizzly Bear Conservation Area in the Mission Mountains Tribal Wilderness by contacting CSKT’s Division of Fish, Wildlife, Recreation, & Conservation.
• Fire on the Land DVD - contains information about wildlife and fire.
• Glacier Education Trunks available to borrow that have wildlife connections: Songbird Trunk, Fire Works Trunk, Mammals Kit, Bear Trunk, Wolf Trunk.
• Glacier NP Student Resource Guide - has copyright free images of Glacier wildlife, fact sheets about the plants and animals, podcasts about bear research and Citizen Science, resource bulletins about various animals, coloring books, alphabet books, and much more.
• Browning Public Schools has a Blackfeet English Language Animal Coloring Book.
• Look at a copy of Glacier National Park’s Bear Management Plan and Bear Management Guidelines and discuss them.
• Montana State Park’s Indian Education for All Lesson plans associated with state parks in Montana.
• Flathead Community of Resource Educators (CORE) - list of education trunks available from various organizations across the state. Also links to various education resource providers in the Flathead Region.

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Last updated: September 15, 2023

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Free Animal Report Printables and Notebooking Pages

Published: June 8, 2018

Contributor: Sarah Shelton

Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning if you decide to make a purchase via my links, I may earn a commission at no additional cost to you. See my disclosure for more info.

Do you  have a child that loves learning about animals but may struggle with writing? If so, then having them write a report on their favorite animal may be a great way to get them out of their writing funk and help them to get excited about writing. These free animal report templates and printables can help them organize their thoughts for a fun writing assignment.

Get Kids Excited to Learn About Animals

I have two daughters that are struggling learners. They are also amazing animal lovers and will soak up all of the information and facts on animals that they can. 

My favorite part of homeschooling is how we can tailor our learning experiences to our children’s interests and to things that are important to them. If you have an animal lover that struggles with reading and writing, try having them do some research and write a report about their favorite animal.

Writing an Animal Report

You may find that children get excited about what they are learning and want to share it in their report. When working on their report, they won’t even realize that they are doing “school” and that real learning is getting done! This is a great alternative to a textbook and works wonderfully for struggling learners that don’t like feeling “pushed”. 

What to Include in an Animal Report

Of course your student will cover the basics about each individual animal in his report, but here’s an idea of some of the topics your child can write about:

• Geography – where is the animal found in the world?
• Habitat – what is the habitat like for your animal?
• Lifespan – what is the animal’s lifespan?
• Lifecycle – what does the lifecycle look like for the animal?
• Animal Kingdom – where in the animal kingdom is your topic animal?
• Diet – what does your animal eat?
• Appearance – what does your animal look like?
• Food chain – where does the animal fit on the food chain?
• Animal tracks – what does the animals tracks look like? You can grab our free unit study on identifying animal tracks to learn more and incorporate into your report. 

Those are just some basic ideas – you can really take it however far you’d like when writing a report about animals. 

Observing Live Animals

Obviously you are not likely able to travel the world viewing animals live in their habitats, but that doesn’t mean you have to miss out! Watching animals via live animal cams is a fun way to get a glimpse into every day life for animals. 

Free Animal Report Templates and Notebooking Pages

I have compiled a list of some great free animal reports and notebooking pages that you can use without a curriculum, and for extra learning fun:

Animal Report Forms

Animal Report Form – This is a great form if your student wants to outline facts on zoo animals.

Rainforest Animal Research Report Form  – If you are researching animals specific to the rainforest, then this free printable animal report is perfect for your early elementary or beginning writer as it uses primary lines. 

Ocean Animal Mini Reports – Studying the animals of the ocean? These ocean animals report pages would be a perfect companion to your study of the ocean .

Animal Report Pages

Animal Report Writing Printable and Rubric – I like that this printable animal report also contains a rubric so that you can determine if your child put enough effort into their animal research project.

Animal Research Booklet – This 9-page animal report printable pack has blank templates that you can make your own.

Printable Animal Report Page – This animal report sheet has some decorative boxes and lines and a world map.

Animal Report Outlines

Animal Report Outline for Grades 3 – 5 – This freebie contains cute card prompts that will assist your elementary students in outlining their animal facts into categories.

Animal Report Printable – These free animal report pages are my favorite. I think even a middle school student could have fun researching a particular animal and then writing a paper using these sheets.

Animal Research for Kids with Zoey and Sassafrass Printable – Do your kids enjoy reading the Zoey and Sassafras series? If so, these animal research pages printable will be sure to delight them to no end. 

Animal Report Worksheets

Zoo Field trip Worksheets – Going on a field trip to the zoo? Take along these free zoo field trip worksheets so your kids can report on the animals they saw and learned about.

Animal Report Worksheet with Geography Map – This free animal report worksheet is simple. but contains all the spaces for the animal facts that your kids gather. 

ABC Animal Report 26 Printables – Young children can practice the alphabet and learn about animals at the same time with this freebie. 

Animal Research Websites

Kids National Geographic: Animals – is a great animal research site. You can quickly search for animals by type and there are facts and amazing photographs and videos.  San Diego Zoo Kids has amazing photos and easy to read simple facts on the different animals. Science Kids Animal Facts has simple animal facts for each animal as well as fun facts.

Animal Fact Guide has photos of each animal that you click on. It will give you very detailed facts of the animal and it’s scientific name, as well as geographical location, and conservation status.

More Free Animal Printables and Downloads

Animal Behavior Copywork Pack – Discover some terminology related to how animals act and behave in the wild. 

Animal Families Notebook Journal – Learn more about animal families using this printable research journal. This set of animal family worksheets would make a great addition to your report.

Animal Parts Vocabulary Copywork – Help your kids learn the meanings of 25 animal-related words with this Free Animal Parts Vocabulary Copywork.

Animals Science Notebook Journals   – Check out our free series of research notebooks on various animals and habitats.

Curriculum & Unit Studies About Animals

Discovering Plants and Animals Volume One: Africa and Asia –  Your elementary and middle school students can have fun learning about some of the many animals and plants that live in more than 100 countries with  Discovering Plants and Animals of the World, Volume One . It’s  perfect for students in 3th-6th grade , but it can easily be adapted for younger or older students.

Migration – Explore the Amazing Journeys of Animals –  This unit study   is a fun way to introduce your kids to migration and help them discover how 18 different animals migrate. It’s perfect for students in 4 th -8 th  grade, but it can easily be adapted for younger or older students.

From birds to mammals, insects to reptiles, your students will learn about pilchards, penguins, wildebeests, butterflies, and much more.

Sarah Shelton

Sarah is a wife, daughter of the King and Mama to 4 children (two homeschool graduates) She is a an eclectic, Charlotte Mason style homeschooler that has been homeschooling for over 20 years.. She is still trying to find the balance between work and keeping a home and gardens. She can only do it by the Grace of God, coffee and green juice

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Animal Research Project: Writing an Animal Research Paper

Resources to Research Animals

Use library books, encyclopedias and magazines to research your animal. In addition, there are numerous online resources. Our school provided a list of three online resources (noted by *). Since these resources require a membership, we provided a few more online sites to assist in researching an animal.

Online Resources for Animal Research Paper

Each student selects an animal of her choice and should take good notes when collecting facts and important details about her animal. Good note taking will greatly assist a student when writing his animal research paper. You may want to remind each student to use his own words.

Writing Prompts for Animal Research Paper

After a student selects her animal, she must answer the questions below. It is important to instruct your child or student to take her time and answer each question thoroughly. These answers will be used to create the animal research paper.

After a student completes the above questions, it’s time to begin writing the first draft of the research paper. Take the information obtained above and put it on paper.

Each answer to the questions above should be a paragraph with the exception of the interesting facts question. The two facts should get put into the paragraph that is most applicable, e.g., habitat, physical description or life span.

If you are a teacher, consider visiting our writing rubric page for different templates used to grade writing papers.

Reader Interactions

April 24, 2018 at 5:19 pm

Thanks very much, perfect for 3rd grade!

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