Designing the Animals of the Future – Art Lesson / Week-Long Scheme of Work

This resource provides a flexible and engaging art activity focused on how animals might evolve in response to climate change, rising sea levels and pollution. Ideal for a single class session or easily expanded into a week-long unit.

Students will:

• Consider how our planet is changing and how animals might need to adapt artistically and biologically.
• Explore two species — one turtle and one penguin — using informative posters/hand-outs.
• Complete questionnaires to imagine what physical changes these animals might undergo to survive future environments.
• Use a drawing worksheet to design their own “animal of the future,” incorporating adaptation features and creative visuals.

Included:

• Fully editable teacher PowerPoint (step-by-step lesson guide)
• Student hand-outs and posters for the turtle and penguin
• Questionnaires for both animals
• Creative drawing worksheet ready for student use

Perfect for Art classes, cross-curricular links with Science or Geography, and adaptable to different timeframes and abilities.