ESL WORKSHEET - Animals and nature

LESSON PLAN FOR ENGLISH TEACHERS

ANIMALS

LinguaHouse

Jul. 25, 2025

Level: Intermediate (B1-B2)
Type of language: General English
Tags: Environment and Nature; Describing Animals; Vocabulary Lesson; 13-15 Years Old; 16-18 Years Old; 18+ Years Old
Publication date: 07/25/2025

In this new lesson, students work with vocabulary related to types of animals and conservation issues and practice listening, reading, as well as dictionary skills. A writing homework activity is included. There is also an optional extension activity which reviews and extends more categories of animal vocabulary. (by Stephanie Hirschman)

• CLICK HERE to download the student’s worksheet in American English.
• CLICK HERE to download the teacher’s lesson plan in American English.
• CLICK HERE to download/listen to the audio in American English.
• CLICK HERE to download the student’s worksheet in British English.
• CLICK HERE to download the teacher’s lesson plan in British English.
• CLICK HERE to download/listen to the audio in British English.

AUDIO TRANSCRIPT

Narrator: Hi there! Welcome to our new series, The Animal Kingdom, where we visit different habitats and look at creatures that are native to these environments.
You can tell by the birdcalls that we’re in a tropical forest. Birds are some of the most numerous animals that live in these environments and one of the best-known species is the beautiful blue-throated macaw, a type of parrot native to the rainforests of the Amazon area of South America. These highly social and intelligent birds are now under threat from the pet trade as well as habitat loss.
Another easy-to-recognize rainforest inhabitant is the three-toed sloth, now sadly endangered. These mammals do everything slowly, from moving through the trees to reproducing. In fact, they can only give birth to one baby every fifteen months.
Rainforest reptiles have a bit of a reputation for being dangerous – and none more so than the anaconda. This impressive predator usually goes after very large animals like caimans (which are related to crocodiles), jaguars (a type of big cat) and even deer. It’s not their bite you have to watch out for because they actually squeeze their prey to death with their powerful bodies.
It’s not just rainforest birds that are brightly colored. Amphibians like tree frogs also share this feature. While this has long been thought to be a warning to predators, research has shown that, surprisingly, these bright colors sometimes help the animals to hide from danger. Amphibians breathe through their skin so are extremely sensitive to pollution and diseases. This puts them at risk of becoming extinct.
In our next episode, we’ll be returning to the rainforest, but this time to Africa, where we’ll be looking at both mini-beasts and river creatures.

Adapted from: https://www.linguahouse.com/esl-lesson-plans/general-english/animals. Accessed on August 11, 2025. LinguaHouse.com © 2008–2025. All rights reserved.