Planning your own lapbook is quite do-able because of the wealth of free and instant resources available on the Internet. This lens will point you in the right directions for a free DIY animal lapbook. Once you understand the process, you can use these steps over and over for your own planning.
(Lion photo credit)
Ideas for Minibooks
What should I put in my lapbook?
So, you've chosen an animal.
Now, where to start?
What goes in the lapbook? Well, anything and everything about that animal! But to give you more direction, consider these topics for minibooks about your particular animal. Think of each topic here as one (or more) minibook.
The words in bold are keywords you can pair with your animal if you search the Internet for information or printables. So, if you're studying pandas, for example, you would seach for panda habitat map, panda life cycle, panda books, etc.
- Map of the animal's habitat
- Description of the animal's habitat(desert, rainforest) and or home(nest, burrow, colony)
- The animal's community/social structure
- Place in the food chain -- what it eats and what eats it.
- Importance in history or history of this animal. Was this animal "discovered" by explorers? Was this animal important to the culture of a certain people group?
- Taxonomy -- scientific name and its relatives
- Anatomy (look for diagrams) and especially the animal's distinguishing characteristics
- Life cycle and reproduction
- The animal's place in literature -- what famous books, tales, or poems feature this animal?
Animal Lapbooking
fish layered book
inside fish book
inside fish book
top tab dolphin book
dolphin tri-fold
penguin pop-up book
horse minibook
horse matchbooks
Animal Links
These links are great online references for any animal unit study.
- Animal Diversity Web
- This site will give you the scientific name of any animal as well as facts and photographs. A very useful site for any animal study.
- Answers in Genesis Kids
- (Christian perspective) This site has attractive webpages and several quality printables.
- America Zoo
- This is a fun interactive world map that teaches what animals are native to which continents.
- National Geographic Kids
- This is an excellent site for information about a variety of animals! And NG coloring pages are wonderful -- realistic and detailed.
Animal Reference Books
Although the Internet has a wealth of information, you still want to build your own reference library with real books. Every homeschool needs a thorough animal encyclopedia.
Animal Study Printables
These sites offer printables for a variety of animals or for any animal. They are a good place to start.
- Animal Studies
- This page has links to loads of printables for tigers, pigs, storks, pandas, ostriches, salmon, and frogs. More animals are being added continually!
- Animal Report Forms
- Report Forms with Writing Cues, Blank Report Forms, Simple Report Forms/Notebooking Pages, and Copywork Pages in two styles. These printables would work with any animal.
- Animal Classification Printables
- Bring all your animal studies together with these great ideas. A fabulous way to introduce animal taxonomy to young children.
- Animal Printable Minibooks
- Ready to print and fill in --Flip books, Minibooks, and Research Packs.
- Animal Report Page --PDF
- This blank form can be used for the study of any animal.
- Unit Studies By Gwen -- Short Books
- Free printable minibooks (she calls them short books) about these animals: ferrets, dolphin, hummingbird, polar bears, bats, spiders, sharks,and monkeys.
- Learning Treasures -- Make an Animal Notebook
- Belinda Mooney offers free printable divider pages for mammals, birds, fish, and reptiles. She's also got blank animal notebooking pages available.
Animal Coloring Sheets
I personally prefer realistic animal images and not the more cartoon style animals, so that is what I've emphasized in these links.
- Kaboose
- A small selection of attractive PDF coloring pages -- toucan, koala, kangaroo, panda, giraffe, dolphin, bison, fox, horse, and more.
- National Geographic Coloring Pages
- These are quality pages that actually teach something about each animal.
- Texas Wildlife
- Beautiful, realistic coloring pages of animals native to TX, USA--alligator, coyote, javelina, screech owl, prairie dogs, and much more.
- Pennsylvania Wildlife
- Detailed PDFs of either individual pages or the entire coloring book -- turkey, owl, chipmunk, hawk, otter, pheasant, coyote, and more.
- African Animal Coloring Book
- Simple but realistic images of dozens of African animals.
- Monterey Bay Aquarium: Coloring Pages
- Printable coloring pages of your favorite ocean animals from the Monterey Bay Aquarium in CA. Images include otters, whales, eels, hermit crabs, penguins,sharks, octopus, jelly fish, coral reef fish, and tide pools.
- International Wolf Center
- These animals are featured: black bear, dragonfly, beaver, deer, loon, frog, wolf, lynx, hare, moose, squirrel, and butterfly. Each page has a bit of information about the animal as well.
Animal Reproducibles and Activities
Searching the Web
some pointers for finding free printables
Some people have a knack for finding all the best online resources. Do you ever wonder how they do it? They know how to use search engines!
Don't forget to use a different search engine for different results. Besides Google, try Yahoo search. I really like its features better than Google's!When you search, pair your topic -- the animal -- with one of these keywords. So, you're searching for panda printables or panda reproducibles for example. You can also pair these phrases with the ideas in the above list -- panda habitat map worksheet; panda habitat map printable, etc.
- printables
- diagrams
- worksheets
- activities
- reproducibles
- coloring pages
- coloring sheets
- theme
- minibook
- foldable
- lapbook
- template
- blank book
- shape book
- puzzles
- lesson plans
- teacher guide
- diagram
- chart
Image Search
And don't neglect to use an IMAGE search. On most search engines, there are tabs -- WEB, IMAGE, etc. Search for topic plus one of these keywords: diagram, chart, template, drawing.
Flickr is another great resource if you want color photographs. The penguin photo to the right came from Flickr. When you search, you can look for photographs with a Creative Commons license. That means that the owner allow his pictures to be used by others (see CC license for details).
Animal Books on eBay
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Theme and Unit Study Links
These websites offer pages organized by themes. Search for the animal you're studying for a long list of possible printables and activities.
- A to Z Teacher Stuff
- From this page you can browse the themes at A to Z. Or you can search for your particular topic.
- EdHelper
- Search for your topic and you can find all of EdHelper's resources.
- eThemes
- This is a HUGE list of themes. To help you find what you want, use this browser shortcut -- CTRL F will bring up a search box at the bottom of your browser. Type in your topic and that word will be highlighted on the page. Be sure to click NEXT for any other occurrences of the theme.
- Unit Studies
- This is another LONG list. So use that CTRL F shortcut to focus in on what you want.
- Homeschool Helper Online
- Use their search function (be sure to search within Homeschool Helper) to find resources related to your animal.
Animal Bookmarks
Tagfoot is a new bookmarking site where I store all my favorite links. Here are my latest finds tagged "animals."
Fetching RSS feed... please stand byAnimal Pages
These pages can give you a headstart for your animal lapbook.-
Penguin Lapbook
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The penguin makes a great unit study and topic for a lapbook. There is the biology involved in the study of the animal itself. You can also add the earth science and geography of the penguin's habitat. Then there are great living books about pe...
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Rainforest Lapbook
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The tropical rainforest is a fascinating topic for a homeschool unit study! Just the botany and zoology alone could take weeks to cover. There are also the history of the rainforest, the indigenous peoples of the rainforest, and the economy of the ra...
Reader Feedback
Thanks for leaving a comment!
Marlena wrote
I have been homeschooling for 12 years. My middle child has been lapbooking for 2 years. We needed a break and decided to do a study on Tigers. After replacing my computer, I realized I had not transferred all of my sites and sat in wonder as to where to go. Glory be, yours was the second one on google and I liked the description. So here I am, overwhelmed by the amount of info you have compiled. It is more than all of the lapbooking sites that I had before. WOW! I will come here for now on, because all of the links, books and ideas are simply fantastic!!
Thanks!
Posted February 19, 2009
OhMe wrote...
Thank you for these great animal links. My grandson and I will check them out. He loves animals. We might even try to make a lap book.
Posted January 20, 2009
HarmonyArtMom wrote...
This was very helpful to me this morning Jimmie. Thank you for putting it all in one place. As usual, excellent lens!
Barb-Harmony Art Mom
Posted November 18, 2008
Pockets wrote
My son wanted to study animals. I am so grateful that I found your web site including all the links and how tos. Blessings and thanks.
Posted September 13, 2008
Rose wrote
This is great! I am new to lapbooking and this will make is soooo much easier.
Thanks
Posted June 28, 2008
Dinorah wrote
Howzit! All the way from South Africa - a resounding THANK-YOU for a site so useful. I'll be sure to visit often!
Posted February 13, 2008
Teresa wrote
I love your site!! I'm sharing with all my friends. I'm still new to homeschooling (1st grade) so I'm still learning alot myself. Your site gave me ALOT of great ideas. Thank you!
Posted December 30, 2007
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