Living things and their habitats games

Explore living things and their habitats across grades. Choose by skill and readiness; the grades are a starting point, and this collection does not cover a whole curriculum.

These are enrichment activities with suggested grades, not a complete state curriculum. Schools may teach topics in a different sequence. Read how we choose games.

Grade 1: Food chains: who eats what?

In this game, children see the parts of a food chain mixed up and put them in order, starting with the plant. The chains use plants and animals from British gardens, woods and ponds, plus one from the African grasslands, so children can talk about habitats at the same time. The arrow in a food chain means "is eaten by", and saying it aloud helps children check each step.

Suggested grade 1 practice, selected by skill and reading demand. US states and schools teach these topics in different grades; this is not a state-standards alignment claim.

Next Generation Science Standards teaching connection: Science observation, models and explanations. Use this vocabulary or sequencing game before observing a real example, drawing a model, or explaining an idea with evidence. This is a teaching connection to the NGSS approach, not a claim that the game meets a particular performance expectation. Read the framework.

Play Food chains: who eats what? · Free printable

Grade 1: Habitats: where do animals live?

This game names an animal and asks which habitat it lives in. Each wrong answer is a habitat the animal really does not live in, so children have to think about how the animal is suited to its home. Look out for the classic trap: polar bears live in the Arctic (the north) and penguins live in Antarctica (the south). They never meet in the wild.

Suggested grade 1 practice, selected by skill and reading demand. US states and schools teach these topics in different grades; this is not a state-standards alignment claim.

Next Generation Science Standards teaching connection: Science observation, models and explanations. Use this vocabulary or sequencing game before observing a real example, drawing a model, or explaining an idea with evidence. This is a teaching connection to the NGSS approach, not a claim that the game meets a particular performance expectation. Read the framework.

Play Habitats: where do animals live? · Free printable

Grade 5: Classifying animals: vertebrates and invertebrates

This game asks which group an animal belongs to, or which animal belongs to a group. Some animals belong to two groups at once (a bee is an invertebrate and an insect), and the game never offers a second right answer. Watch for the classic surprises: a spider is an arachnid, not an insect; a woodlouse is a crustacean, related to crabs; an octopus is a mollusc, like a snail; and a whale is a vertebrate mammal, not a fish.

Suggested grade 5 practice, selected by skill and reading demand. US states and schools teach these topics in different grades; this is not a state-standards alignment claim.

Next Generation Science Standards teaching connection: Science observation, models and explanations. Use this vocabulary or sequencing game before observing a real example, drawing a model, or explaining an idea with evidence. This is a teaching connection to the NGSS approach, not a claim that the game meets a particular performance expectation. Read the framework.

Play Classifying animals: vertebrates and invertebrates · Free printable