Australian Animals Teaching Resources

Australian Animals in the Classroom

Australian animals are one of the most engaging topics you can bring into your classroom. From kangaroos and koalas to quokkas and platypuses, our unique wildlife captivates students and provides rich opportunities for cross-curricular learning — connecting English, Science, Geography, and the Arts through a single theme.

Whether you're looking for reading comprehension passages about native animals, information report templates, handwriting practice, craft activities, or whole-class reading packs, TeachBuySell has a growing collection of teacher-created resources designed specifically for Australian classrooms.

Australian animals offer far more than a fun topic — they connect directly to curriculum outcomes across multiple learning areas and year levels.

Cross-Curricular Connections

• English: Reading comprehension passages, information report writing, narrative prompts, handwriting practice, cloze activities, and vocabulary development
• Science: Animal habitats, life cycles, classification, adaptations, and conservation
• Geography: Where Australian animals live, mapping habitats, and understanding ecosystems
• The Arts: Animal craft activities, drawing, and creative projects

Australian Curriculum Alignment

Australian animals resources support content descriptors across the Australian Curriculum (v9), particularly:

• English — Literacy: Reading comprehension, creating informative texts, and handwriting (Foundation–Year 6)
• English — Language: Vocabulary building, sentence structure, and text organisation through non-fiction animal texts
• Science — Biological Sciences: Living things, habitats, structural features, and adaptations (Foundation–Year 6)
• HASS — Geography: Places and environments where animals live (Foundation–Year 2)

Student Engagement

Students are naturally curious about animals — especially the unique species found only in Australia. Using Australian animals as a theme turns routine literacy and science activities into something students genuinely look forward to.

Reading Comprehension

Passages and worksheets that build fluency and comprehension skills using engaging non-fiction texts about Australian animals. Many packs include questions at different levels — from literal recall to inferential thinking — making them easy to differentiate for your class.

Information Report Writing

Templates and planning sheets that guide students through writing structured information reports about Australian animals. These resources help students gather facts, organise their ideas into paragraphs (classification, description, habitat, diet, interesting facts), and write clear, well-structured non-fiction texts.

Whole-Class Reading Packs

Science of Reading-aligned whole-class reading packs that use Australian animal topics — such as wetland animals — as the text base. These packs include teacher-led reading activities, comprehension tasks, vocabulary development, and discussion prompts designed for shared reading sessions.

Handwriting & Cloze Activities

Handwriting passages and cloze worksheets that combine fine motor practice with content learning. Students practise their letter formation while reading about Australian animals — a much more engaging approach than disconnected handwriting exercises.

Craft Activities

Hands-on craft activities featuring Australian animals that complement your literacy or science units. From simple cut-and-paste crafts for younger students to more detailed projects for upper primary, these activities add a creative, tactile element to your teaching.

As Part of a Science Unit

Many teachers build entire Science units around Australian animals — covering habitats, adaptations, life cycles, and conservation. Pair science investigations with information report writing in English for a natural cross-curricular connection that addresses outcomes in both learning areas simultaneously.

For Guided Reading Groups

Australian animal reading comprehension packs are ideal for guided reading rotations. Choose passages at different levels of complexity and pair them with comprehension questions, vocabulary tasks, or retelling activities. The high-interest topic keeps students engaged during independent reading time.

As a Whole-Class Theme

Run an Australian animals theme across several weeks, rotating through different animals and activity types. Start with a whole-class reading session, follow up with information report writing, and finish with a craft activity. This approach gives students repeated practice with the same text structures while keeping the content fresh.

For Early Finishers & Extension

Australian animal wordsearch, cloze, and craft activities make excellent early finisher tasks. They're self-directed, on-topic, and require minimal teacher supervision — freeing you up to work with small groups.