Animal Habitat Sort

If my kids had to pick a science topic they love the most, it would hands-down be learning about animals. Which is why I love starting our animal habitat lesson with this fun picture sort. It is a great way to introduce kids to animal habitats!

Scroll below to download the freebie!  Then, ready for more science?  Our 30 Science Experiments will make your students’ jaws drop every time!

Getting Ready

Prep for this activity was easy peasy.

To get ready, I printed the cards on cardstock and laminated them for durability.

After chopping them up with my paper cutter, my cards were ready to go!

Animal Habitat: Land or Water?

To start the animal habitat activity, I placed the land and water cards in the pocket chart.

Then, I asked the kids to tell what they knew about land or water, what experiences they’ve had, and what they might see on each.

The discussion really got their minds visualizing the similarities and differences between the two habitats.

After the introduction, I told my students that we would be sorting animals based on where they lived using clues that would help us figure out where they would fit best.

For example, we talked about how most animals that live on land will have legs, while some in the water may not because they swim!

Then one student at a time came up and pulled a card.

The first child chose the elephant. She pointed out the four legs, the trunk and the big ears. She had seen the elephant at the zoo, so she confidently slid the elephant into the “land” column.

Students took turns until all of the cards were sorted.

Then, we talked about the features of each group.

For example, the land group had legs but the water creatures did not. The animals that live underwater swim while the other animals use their legs to walk.

Grab Your Copy

Ready to sort some animals?

Scroll down and click the blue download button to snag your free animal sorting set. Then, grab more science with our amazing 30 Science Experiments in our shop!