Animals ESL Worksheets, Flashcards and Lessons
408 worksheets, 103 lessons, 32 vocabulary decks and 5 shadowing scripts · Animals & nature
Start here — 65 free samples
Free to try: open, print and play them — no account needed.
Animals worksheets
408 printable worksheets with answer keys; the 24 most used, easiest level first.
Animals lessons
103 ready lessons for the four skills: teach on the board, set online or print.
Animals vocabulary
32 word decks with meanings, examples and pronunciation: flip, quiz, print as flashcards or play as a game.
Animals shadowing
Listen, repeat, record and compare: short scripts for pronunciation and fluency.
Warm-ups and fillers
Quick Fun Corner activities on the same theme: no preparation.
About Animals
Animals are one of the most loved topics in English teaching, especially with children, and one of the largest collections on the site. They are visual, fun to mime and connect easily with colors, numbers, body parts, habitats and the environment.
Kids and A1 learners name pets, farm and wild animals and use can and can't (A fish can swim but it can't walk), have/has and simple adjectives. A2 and B1 learners compare animals with comparatives and superlatives, describe habitats and diets with present simple, and write fact files. At B2 to C2 the topic opens up to conservation, animal rights, zoos, animal testing and animal idioms such as let the cat out of the bag.
Here you will find hundreds of printable worksheets along with ready-to-teach lessons and vocabulary flashcard decks about animals. Narrower topics such as pets, farm animals, wild animals, sea life and bugs and birds have their own pages too.
Teaching tips: Animals
- Play animal charades where learners mime and the class asks "Can it fly? Does it have four legs?"
- Use "The cheetah is the fastest animal" facts to practice superlatives, then let learners research their own record-breaking animals.
- Correct "a sheeps" and "fishes" gently and teach irregular plurals (sheep, fish, mice, geese) as a set.
- Give each group an animal to research and have them present a fact file covering habitat, diet and appearance.
- At higher levels, set up a debate on whether zoos should exist, with learners preparing arguments on both sides.
Questions teachers ask
Which animal words should I teach young learners first?
Start with familiar pets and farm animals (cat, dog, fish, bird, cow, horse) and a few favorite wild animals (lion, elephant, monkey), then expand by habitat.
What grammar pairs well with animals?
Can/can't for abilities, have/has for body parts, present simple for habits and diet, and comparatives and superlatives for comparing animals.
Is there material for adults on this topic?
Yes. B2 to C2 resources cover conservation, animal rights, animal testing and wildlife documentaries, which work well for discussion and debate.
Are the animal flashcards suitable for pre-readers?
Yes. The flashcard decks are picture-based and work for pointing, memory and matching games with learners who cannot read yet.