Mega Set of Animal Sorting Mats

Description

Need a fun, hands-on activity for students to review their knowledge of animals? This reusable sorting activity will help your students organize the information they are learning!

Often children need help ‘filing’ what they learn in the correct ‘drawers in their brains’ and building connections between the concepts they learn. This resource provides hands-on, active practice at organizing a variety of concepts related to animals.

Five sets of sorting mats:

• Classification (Mammals, fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, arthropods.)
• Sleeping Habits (Diurnal, nocturnal.)
• Eating Habits (Herbivore, carnivore, omnivore.)
• Seasonal Changes (Hibernation, migration, adaptation.)
• Biomes (Desert, fresh water, grasslands, tropical rain forest, temperate forest, tundra, ocean.)

Two levels:

• Beginner level: The definition and/or characteristics are printed on the sorting mat. For example, Diurnal: Animals are active during the day and sleep at night. Students match real photos of animals to the appropriate mat.
• Advanced level: Students match the definition and/or characteristics as well as photos of animals to each mat.

Two sets of animal photos are included for each sorting activity so students can repeat the activity for further practice.

This activity is great for centers and/or for assessing what students learned at the end of a unit about animals. It makes a great assessment tool for students with disabilities that may have difficulty taking traditional tests.

Students can work alone or in small groups. The Animal Sorting Mats can also be turned into a game by setting a timer to see how fast students can match the pictures to the correct mat. Students can work to improve and beat their prior time or compete against other students.

An answer key is included that students can use to self-check their work.

Further differentiate the activity by putting out the mats for just two or three concepts at a time. And/or limit the number of matching cards you set out.

81 pages

K, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th grades