Show and Tell is a common and important classroom activity for kindergarten and elementary-aged children.
When children participate in Show and Tell, they get to flex their public speaking skills and build up more self-confidence.
An animal-themed Show and Tell is a popular choice with teachers — kids easily get excited about animals and will be eager to participate!
But we get it — when young kids get assignments like this, a lot of the work often falls on us parents.
So here are some easy Show and Tell ideas for pets and animals to get you started:
- Small Pet Show & Tell
- Stuffed Animal
- Favorite Animal Facts Presentation
- How to Take Care of a Pet
- “What Animal am I?” Game
- Animal Sorting
- Animal Book
Now, let’s take a closer look into each one.
Small Pet Show & Tell
If your child has a small pet that lives in a cage, you could help them bring it to school to show the class.
Pets like hamsters, fish, small reptiles, birds or guinea pigs would work well for this.
Your child can tell the story of how they got the pet, how they named it and what the process of taking care of it looks like.
He or she could also share a funny or meaningful story about the pet with his or her classmates.
Be sure to check with the teacher before bringing in any live animals!
Stuffed Animal
In lieu of a real animal, your child can bring in a favorite stuffed animal instead.
He or she can begin by introducing the animal, saying why they chose the animal, then continue on to explain real-life facts about the animal.
“Real” stuffed animals work best here — bears, horses, penguins, farm animals, etc.
Animal Facts Presentation
Another way to get your child talking about animals is by creating a big “fact sheet” poster on the animal of their choice.
If your child is old enough to manage making and going through a PowerPoint slideshow, you could do this instead.
Cut and paste or draw a big picture of the animal on the middle of the poster.
All around the animal, create headings that say things like “habitat,” “diet,” and “family.”
Then make bullets beneath these headings to record the facts about the animal.
On a slideshow, each slide can include a picture and quick facts.
How to Take Care of a Pet
Let’s say you have a dog or a cat at home that your child wants to talk about, but bringing in the pet is not possible.
Instead of bringing in the animal, your child could bring in a picture and the supplies needed to take care of the pet.
She or he could bring in:
- some of the food
- a leash
- toys
- treats
- etc
… and explain the responsibilities he or she has in caring for the pet.
“What Animal am I?” Game
This game only requires stickers that you can write on (such as the “Hello, my name is…” stickers) and a marker.
First, think up some animals with your child.
You should only include animals that everyone in class will know and recognize easily.
Next write these animal names on the stickers with a marker.
When your child gets to class, he or she can explain the game and give a demonstration that the whole class participates in.
The game goes like this:
- Everyone in class gets a sticker with an animal name on it.
- The kids are told not to look at their own names, but to place the stickers on their foreheads without looking.
- Next, the kids go around the room (or, with their deskmate) and ask “yes or no” questions about the animal on their head, in order to guess it.
- Examples include “Am I big? Do I fly? Do I live on a farm?” and so on.
If time allows, the stickers can be redistributed for another round.
Animal Sorting
Does your child have many animal figurines at home?
This is a great opportunity to give them some Show & Tell action.
You will need:
- 3 giant rings
- some labels
- and of course these toy animals.
The rings can be made of anything, as long as they are at least a foot in diameter. String would work fine.
The labels will depend on what kind of animals you have on hand.
Some examples include places they live: Land, Air, Water, or Jungle, Mountain, Desert.
You could also have labels describing their coats: Striped, Spotted, Plain.
Just make sure they are in sets of 3 (for the 3 rings) and have at least 3 sets of 3 labels, to keep it interesting.
Your child will set up the rings in class, with a label in each ring, and all the animals in the center.
Then the class can take turns placing an animal in a certain category, until they are all complete.
Animal Book
A child who is an avid reader might want to bring their favorite animal-themed book to class.
They can tell the class why they love it and read the book to the class, or ask the teacher to read for them.
The local library is likely full of books about all kinds of animals for children.
This could be a great excuse to have a family outing to the library, and you all might learn some new things!
It’s best to stick with books that are not too content heavy that read like encyclopedias, as these could get boring to read out loud.
Try an Eric Carle book, like My Very First Book of Animal Homes, or Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?
Your child can ask the class if cats are really blue, and what other animals live in certain homes.
Wrapping Up
With animals and pets being such a fun topic for Show & Tell, it’s easy to find lots of ideas that your kids can get excited about.
These are just a few possibilities listed.
Let your child get creative with the process, just remember to help them before presentation day by giving them practice runs.
You can be the first one to cheer them on and give helpful tips to give a great Show & Tell time.
For more Show and Tell ideas for kids, check out:
Hope this helps!